just got my whole arm zapped!

[Mike Panic]

Blisters from laser treatment are slightly abnormal, meaning they don't happen to everyone, but there are a number of factors that will result in you getting them.

* Pigments used - with more than 1,000 different tattoo pigments on the market and no FDA regulation, well lets just say you're better off not knowing what's in most pigments.

* Laser technician. The process in how the treatment is done, speed, efficiency and proper settings will play a factor

* Your own immune system. This does the vast majority of ink removal, and smokers see slower results Color, Size and Smoking Affect Tattoo Removal - WSJ.com

After consulting with several tattoo artists, they confirmed that some people are just more prone to swelling. In those instances, they suggest using pre-wrap (Pre-wrap, the best selection anywhere!) for up to 24 hours after the area has been prepped and cleaned per your aftercare instructions. This has been shown to drastically reduce swelling and minimize blistering.

Don't ever pop them, follow your aftercare instructions and if anything looks terribly odd call the place you had it done and / or your family doctor.

[YOMONEY]

thanks for dropping knowledge here, mike. i hope that didnt scare anybody whos thinking of getting hit. its really not that bad, and my dude definantly knows what hes doing. like i said, this only happened during the first treatment, i was getting a large area treated (my whole arm, for the most part), and i didnt keep ice on it post-treatment.

i just wanted to gross people out. i dunno..

[Napalm Pancakes]

whoa. that sounds next level. what the hell does it mean? otherwise, how are the treatments coming along?

Treatments are going as well as can be expected and I'm happy with the results so far. I plan on posting a thread when I'm done, since I don't take pictures on my own. I'm going to have the clinic email me the pictures since they take one before every treatment. I also had some gnarly blisters about the size of yours that appeared only after my first treatment. Having five tattoos done is a pain, but I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end.

[a1steaks]

After my first treatment on my leg I had some crazy blisters. I also had serious swelling which tends to be worse closer to the extremities. I can confirm putting them on is a lot less trouble then taking them off.

[YOMONEY]

shit, glad im not alone. while it was fun and kind of cool while it lasted, it would definantly be a huge annoyance to have blistering and swelling after every treatment. good luck to you guys on your journeys..

[aleksksks]

Those blisters look crazy, I didn't get any blisters at all even though I had pretty much half my back treated at once, but I guess it depends on the area you're getting lasered among other things.

[SStu]

I had significant blistering the 1st time (freaked out the wife, for sure), and a lot less the 2nd.

[MP34108]

Going through the laser process myself on an armband. I started to show significant blistering, bruising, and swelling the day after the first treatment. Blisters finally went away after a week. Two weeks to the day and now its just peeling with a few tender spots on the inside of my arm. Im really hoping the second treatment doesn't blister like the first. It really skeeved me out along with anybody that saw it.

[YOMONEY]

nice, dude. i dont think it will. but everyone does react different.

[Nallac94]

Hey YOMONEY just curious as to why you wanted to have your sleeve removed? Do you plan to start over with new tattoos?

[YOMONEY]

yes, definantly a getting coverup work. bad deciscions, man.

went in again on thurs. pains really starting to get to me here. again, not to scare anyone away from laser. the area(s) im getting treated in one sitting are pretty extreme. i was left shaken afterward, and it was warm out. but once i hop on that greyhound, aint no turning back..

[Nallac94]

sounds rough man!

How many more sessions have you to go through?

[samuse]

Hang in there man.

I just got lasered from my elbow up to the top of my shoulder.

It sucks.

This is the third or fourth time I've had it done and it gets a little easier each time. I have the swelling and blisters too. Makes it tough to go to work and have to mess with the bandages and yuckiness.

[Sparko]

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread but I just wanted to say that I experienced a great deal of swelling following my laser session. The tattoo is on my torso and for weeks I'd be going down the stairs and having this fluid filled mass jiggling even when I'd stopped moving! I'll definitely be applying ice after my next session.

As far as blistering goes, I experienced quite a lot of blistering, though my tattoo artist was honest about the fact that he turns the laser up HIGH, as he figures people would rather put up with the extra discomfort for quicker results.

[xmowglix]

@YOMONEY Curious as to how things are coming along for you since your last session?

This thread, among others have me shopping around Los Angeles to get some work lasered. I am having a hard time pulling the trigger on a place due to most my options in LA being a "med spa" or Dr. Tattoff which really isn't where I want to go.

Not to hijack @YOMONEY 's thread, but @Mike Panic I wanted to know what your opinion on the R20 method is? Your insight holds a lot of value to me as you've done a great job guiding others in this forum through the laser process. There is one place in my area that uses R20 and I want to know if that is something I should even consider. (I tried to use the search tool, but R20 but it was too short of a term to use).

[YOMONEY]

slow, man.. slow..

thanks for asking and for all of the comments here. i just got back from round 3 and nothing noticable. hoping to see some results here in a few weeks, in which case ill def throw out some more pics.

the whole process- the travel, money (even though it could be a lot more), the pain (it gets worse for me!), walking around with blobs on my arm (lol), has really been bumming me out, which is why i havent been around. trying to stay focused on other things, since ill probably be walking around with some fucked up ass arms for a little bit here.

@Nallac94, i really dont know at this point, im trying not to stress it and just stay positive, instead of being like yeah man i want this this and that for cover up work. just going with the flow here. im still looking into dean williams at elm street. i keep seeing his work all over dallas and think its pretty rad.

mowgli, i think, but not positive, that in LA dr tatoff might be the best bet. i just felt/feel real indebted to alan for hooking me up and doing, what i see as, a service to tattood people. and dont worry but a hijack or anything. i like this thread and others here because its opened a lot of discussion and answered a lot of questions for i think anybody looking to get laser done.

anyway, good luck to everyone. ill be posting. just had to give my mind a break for a minute.

peace..

[Mike Panic]

@Mike Panic I wanted to know what your opinion on the R20 method is? Your insight holds a lot of value to me as you've done a great job guiding others in this forum through the laser process. There is one place in my area that uses R20 and I want to know if that is something I should even consider. (I tried to use the search tool, but R20 but it was too short of a term to use).

I've never done it, and it's just that, a method. Essentially, from what I've learned about it, it's waiting 20 minutes after treatment then going over the same area again, then waiting another 20 minutes and doing another treatment.

I asked my trainer when learning how to do this and getting certified and he basically told me this: yes, it should work, but your client will be in the office for 90 minutes instead of 15-20, so for a business standpoint it's bad business. More clients per hour = bigger profits. What he said next was more revealing. Lasers don't remove tattoos. They facilitate the body to remove them. Doing multiple passes is supposed to continue the fragmentation of pigment to allow more of it to be carried away by your immune system. The problem with the R20 method, in my personal opinion, is that you're bringing 2-4x the amount of heat into the dermis and causing a larger impact (wound) for the body to heal, not just deal with pigment fragmentation.

There's also usually a 2-3x cost increase to do the R20 method. Yes, it may take 6 visits instead of 11 to the office, but you end up paying about the same money.

Going through treatments myself, I personally notice more fading between weeks 3-7, and in my case, weeks 12-18 (been a while since my last treatment) they I ever have with a treatment that's between weeks 1-4. It takes the body a while to do its thing, and sometimes time is what you have to give it.

[Nathanb19]

These laser removal clinics must be making a killing... Just wish I was financially stable enough to start on my left arm being removed. Broke ass college kid.

[tattooedgirl]

Keep us posted on your progress with this. It is rough I know. My friend did this and said that it was super expensive and the pain was great. Wishing that you do not have many more treatments to go and that it works for you. Best of luck.

[Mike Panic]

These laser removal clinics must be making a killing...

It's a profitable business, but so is tattooing. We just did a 3-day tattoo convention and I'm beyond humbled with how well we where accepted by all the artists attending. A common thing we heard as people passed, sometimes under their breath and sometimes right to our faces was, you guys have some balls for having a tattoo removal booth at a tattoo convention!

Those who actually stopped to talk to us about it though, either out of curiosity or because they want treatments found our answers much different then they where expecting. 80% of our business comes from tattoo shop referrals. That being said, it's a tough sell on a $300 cover-up tattoo that the artist is suggesting you get $600+ worth of laser treatments before hand.

There is still a large group of people who want "cheap" tattoos - the nice thing now, especially w/ the community that I'm working within, is that people are now appreciating art and willing to pay for it, and pay to have older, unfinished or tattoos that won't fit into a larger, more cohesive piece lightened to get the artwork they really love.

It's also a time thing. How many on here (myself included) have a piece that was started over a year ago and we never went back to get it finished? Same happens with laser treatments, sometimes it can backtrack a new tattoo by a year or more.

[Nathanb19]

This thread is giving me hope though. Might just go ahead and finish off my other arm and hold off on the lasering for now. I'll post some pics up so you all can see the arm that I want lasered and maybe give me an idea of how much it'll cost + rework ideas. Cheers.

[YOMONEY]

.......

[seasam]

have you considered looking into the pico laser stuff that's out now? it's supposed to work faster/fewer sessions. I want to start a new thread on that one but don't seem to be able to...

[nathanb1]

Ok guys I am back... I went to suffer city yesterday (falkners new place) had some girl laser the lion on my right arm (almost as big as a half sleeve) today it is swollen and the browns have gotten darker so I am a little worried. I will post pics ASAP sorry for the wait and if anyone can chime in to put me at ease please do. Also I work in a warehouse.. what can I do to avoid infection?

[SStu]

Colors will be darker initially. The real fading won't take place until your body starts to absorb the ink. Mine took 2-3 weeks before it started showing up and 6-8 weeks to be "finished" from that particular session.

Avoid infection? Don't mess with it, let the blisters pop on their own. Keep it covered and wash it a couple of times/day. I covered mine with non-stick gauze until the blisters dried up.