just got my whole arm zapped!

[MsCandyPants]

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?

My friend's went darker than it did when it had just been done before it faded.

[Mike Panic]

Every tattoo will appear darker, for 2-20 days post treatment, the initial fading won't be noticeable until 3-6 weeks. If you're tech or doctor isn't taking photos at every treatment, I strongly encourage you to. My clients are always, "yea it's looking good" then I do a quick photoshop comparison and their reply is WOW!

[CampB]

Hi Guys!

I'm getting a B&G shoulder to elbow half sleeve lasered off (as well as little ones on both my wrists and a 2"x2.5" Sailor Jerry Poison flash on the back of my neck) and last Saturday was my first session. It took 45 minutes and two days later, my arm is covered in blisters, red, bruised, and swollen at least three times its size - I can't fit into the sleeves of my clothes.

My doctor (Dr. Kaplan at Celebrity Laser Spa) said I should keep it covered for about three days but my blisters prolly won't pop on its own for at least a week or two. Do I continue to put Aquaphor on it and wrap it in gauze until the blisters have popped and healed even if it's for two weeks? Do you get less blisters the further you go into the treatment (I have 11 more sessions to go)?

Thanks for your info and just to let everyone know...

So far, after my initial treatment, getting the treatment doesn't actually hurt. Dealing with the side effects is the really effing annoying part.

P.S. I'm getting worked on with the Picosure. AMAZING! the shading on my sleeve literally disappeared before my very eyes.

[reaperz]

@CampB if you don't mind me asking.. where are you getting treated? I hard the pico sure laser isn't very easy to track down

[CampB]

@CampB if you don't mind me asking.. where are you getting treated? I hard the pico sure laser isn't very easy to track down

hey reaperz.

Los Angeles, CA

Celebrity Laser Spa

Dr. Kaplan

I believe it's $80/SI with a $300 minimum. Because I'm getting a half sleeve done along with a 2"x2.5" tattoo on the back of my neck, I was priced $1,000/45 minute session but with a special they had going on for the month, I pay $750/45 min session with 10 sessions scheduled six weeks apart.

[YOMONEY]

crazy, this topic is still kicking around. it was never my intention to abandoned it. I just felt like I didn't ever have much to report and even got to a point where I had to step the fuck off, couldn't even look at tattoos, lasered tattoos, etc. none of it. for mental health reasons, and hang around in the hot ass desert with blobs on my arm in long sleeves.

anyway, was never going to abandoned this topic without some type of closure..

this is post treatment 5. exactly a year after I begun this crazy shit. some of it is 2 months post 5, other areas are 2 weeks post 5, so there will still be some more fading at about weeks 3 and 4. so all in all ive gone out to dallas and gotten zapped 10 times.

ill try to get some better pictures later, was having a hard time capturing my whole arm and still capture the fade affects.

alan said back in October at the first round of treatment 5 that that was it. that I should wait for a few months to get the full fading then go get covered up. when I went back a couple weeks ago for the second half of treatment 5 he said I was good to go. looking at my arm, I really have doubts. im meeting with an artist in about 3 weeks to discuss getting a heavy Japanese sleeve going, but somehow feel like ill be sent back for another round, or maybe im just being negative..

- - - Updated - - -

these are the pre-treatments. comparing the two pics is insane to me, this is the first time looking at them, I had no idea id come this far. but still thinking really negative about this coverup happening anytime soon. anyone have any thoughts?? can all that black that's still there just be run the fuck over??

[SStu]

That's really gonna depend on your artist and what you want the end result to be.

You've definitely got a variety of fading going on there. Some of it's ready for anything and other parts are still fairly dark.

Don't forget that you'll likely get continued lightening even 4-5 months after your last session. My artists says that he's had new ink fade on him in places that had been lazered inside of that time frame.

[YOMONEY]

yeah, that's true stu. alan did say back in early October that I could wait up until 6 months. one of the artis there said shed gotten lasered once a year ago and shell probably only need one more. alan also told me about a professional tattoo he removed completely in 4 sessions over 4 years, one session every year.

the hat, baseball is coming up on 3 months. the hand and most of scroll was just treated and hasn't shown results yet, not until next week im guessing. I have doubts that hat guy/baseball side will show any significant fading, but I could be wrong. ive been pretty obsessive about it. I even integrated some mini trampoline action, supposed improve the immune system by 15-20 times. vibrating massager, lots of vitamins and supplements, tea and water. im pretty much a mad man..

[CampB]

i started to post my laser journey under the "picosure" thread. i requested my doc to up the laser setting for my second treatment so even after two weeks, it's made a HUGE difference. pics will be posted at the six week mark before i go in for the third treatment.

@YOMONEY i had no idea this laser shit was gonna be such a burden and a discomfort. i expected a certain degree but this down right sucks on every level. i get sick looking at my own tattoos. i feel ya. but keep up. cant wait to see pics of your cover up!

[YOMONEY]

thanks, man. and no doubt, youre right. way more trying than I initially thought. will be checking for your updates. merry xmas..

[kingofcosta]

Woah! Tattoo removal sounds like an expensive business in the US. Where I am (UK) we can get laser removal done for about £40 a session (obviously depending on tattoo size, but certainly not hundreds)!

[Gregor]

Woah! Tattoo removal sounds like an expensive business in the US. Where I am (UK) we can get laser removal done for about £40 a session (obviously depending on tattoo size, but certainly not hundreds)!

Who's doing Picosure removal in the UK for 40 quid a session ?

[kingofcosta]

Who's doing Picosure removal in the UK for 40 quid a session ?

Dunno what type of laser removal it is (I try and make my tattoos the sort that people want to keep forever, so I'm not that well versed in the removal technology), but our studio used to refer people to a guy that was lasering for that price, (might be a bit more now - he's based in a shop as he used to be mobile) or thereabouts. He's based in Sunderland.

[mnpedro75]

Best thing I ever did after going through about 6 laser sessions.....USE "SUPER NUMB"

Basically a litocaine cream you can get off Amazon for cheap. Apply 2 hours before your appointment and then make sure there is a thin layer smeared over the area to be lasered, cover with saran wrap and tape. work the excess cream back and forth about every 20 minutes under the saran wrap.

Technician will wipe the area off right before they zap it, you can hardly feel the laser.

Best advice I have ever gotten about reducing the pain of laser

[YOMONEY]

that's pretty crazy man, does it numb out your arm like you just iced it?

also, I talked to an artist a couple weeks ago. im good to go on a cover up next month. will keep posted.

[mnpedro75]

It just really numbs the area where applied. Keep in mind you have to apply 2 hours in advance. Best way to describe the numbing, if someone were to slap you really hard on the area where it was applied you would barely be able to feel they had even touched you. Make sure you get some cream with at least 2.5% lidocaine or whatever super numb has in it.

[lasereast]

For less swealing you should need to use ice pack immediately and just take some rest don't do or don't be so in rush.

[Victor]

I am highly skeptical about how safe lazer tattoo removal is.

If you plan on having your tattoo removed, you should be aware that some of the pigments used are phototoxic and may break down into toxic chemicals in the body when removed with UV light or laser, used in tattoo removal. The toxic end-products eventually wind up in the kidneys and liver, adding to your total bodies toxic burden.

In an ideal world, the 'trade secrets' clause that allows companies to put profit over public health would be disallowed for all products used topically, transdermally, or ingested into our bodies.

Although certain tattoo ink ingredients may be plant-based or otherwise considered safe and non-toxic, the truth is that no long-term studies have been performed confirming that they are safe to inject as a permanent cosmetic. Combining Lazer and other-wise stable Tattoo Pigment chemicals is potentially a dangerous mix.

Certain inks have been around for a for a while and have stood the test of time in the skin (being stable in the skin of course), I am skeptical of new start up ink manufactures claiming they have the best product of all time, and what effects would be produced by lazering these new formula Tattoo Pigment chemicals which again are potentially a dangerous mix.

I suggest using/eating Bentonite clay to help remove toxins from Lazer Tattoo removal process.

Bentonite clay is cheap as dirt, harmless and helps to clear toxins from your body, that otherwise might cause you health issues if left to float around in there.

[Mike Panic]

Best thing I ever did after going through about 6 laser sessions.....USE "SUPER NUMB"

Basically a litocaine cream you can get off Amazon for cheap. Apply 2 hours before your appointment and then make sure there is a thin layer smeared over the area to be lasered, cover with saran wrap and tape. work the excess cream back and forth about every 20 minutes under the saran wrap.

Technician will wipe the area off right before they zap it, you can hardly feel the laser.

Best advice I have ever gotten about reducing the pain of laser

I don't and generally speaking, strongly advice against using them. Topical creams create a barrier between the light (a laser is a condensed beam of light) that causes refraction, regardless of how well you think the skin has absorbed it. The result can be reducing the energy of the light and making the treatment less effective compared to using it without. Additionally, it can redirect light to area's of the skin that are not tattooed, increasing the chances for short-term swelling.

Use that as a reference for light refraction.

- - - Updated - - -

I am highly skeptical about how safe lazer tattoo removal is.

If you plan on having your tattoo removed, you should be aware that some of the pigments used are phototoxic and may break down into toxic chemicals in the body when removed with UV light or laser, used in tattoo removal. The toxic end-products eventually wind up in the kidneys and liver, adding to your total bodies toxic burden.

In an ideal world, the 'trade secrets' clause that allows companies to put profit over public health would be disallowed for all products used topically, transdermally, or ingested into our bodies.

Although certain tattoo ink ingredients may be plant-based or otherwise considered safe and non-toxic, the truth is that no long-term studies have been performed confirming that they are safe to inject as a permanent cosmetic. Combining Lazer and other-wise stable Tattoo Pigment chemicals is potentially a dangerous mix.

Certain inks have been around for a for a while and have stood the test of time in the skin (being stable in the skin of course), I am skeptical of new start up ink manufactures claiming they have the best product of all time, and what effects would be produced by lazering these new formula Tattoo Pigment chemicals which again are potentially a dangerous mix.

I suggest using/eating Bentonite clay to help remove toxins from Lazer Tattoo removal process.

Bentonite clay is cheap as dirt, harmless and helps to clear toxins from your body, that otherwise might cause you health issues if left to float around in there.

This is good as general information, but to the best of my knowledge there have been few if any reported instances of problems with laser tattoo removal. Regardless, the forms I have clients sign indicate there is a possibility of mercury, chromium or cobalt in pigment, and I know from speaking with people who have made pigments in the 90's that many reds contained rust.

In the USA, tattoo ink is not controlled by any governing body, some artists still make their own. Tattoo removal lasers are FDA regulated, when bought from an authorized sales agent. This does not include the desktop machines or "brief case" style portable machines imported from China.

While I may sound slightly defensive on this subject, I field more phone calls about the brand and type of laser I use, and will often ask the person in my reply if they know the brand of machine, power supply and pigments used when they got tattooed. Just some food for thought.

[The Dude]

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.

Sounds absolutely brutal. How long did the puss and junk stick around after the session?

[lasereast]

Really nice post.it contains really good information.people will be definitely get guidance form this.