laser tattoo removal progress

[Slartibartfast]

Images show slooooow progress after About 12 weeks post second session. 

I’ll post update after third. 

[Heatherr]

looking forward to update photos/progress

[Slartibartfast]

Updates about a week after 3rd session. More small blisters this session. Less recovery time and I think more results. Laser settings were increased in intensity this time. I also had a bit of pealing this time which I don’t remember having before.  Plenty itchy now but I’m encouraged as I look at the first pictures I posted compared to now. 

 

I could get in again as quick as four weeks from now but think t will save me sessions and money waiting longer as the process of ink removal continues, this increasing the contrast for the laser to zap in the next session. 

[tsuk]

Thanks a lot for sharing your exerience, it s a LOT harder to remove than I imagined 

[Slartibartfast]

Yep. Still not sure, 3 sessions in, if I am a candidate for complete removal but if I am, it should be close to 10 sessions total. 

[tsuk]

Can i ask how much is a session ?

[Slartibartfast]

7 hours ago, tsuk said:

Can i ask how much is a session ?

I am getting a discounted rate since this is with my primary care physician that I have seen for the past 14 years. I don’t feel right advertising that price but I can say that places seem to charge by the square inch and this is considered a med/large tattoo by laser removal standards.  I was quoted $800 per session if I bought five sessions up front from one place. My doctor quoted over five per session but I made a deal to pay in advance for five so he cut the price down for me.

 

In general, I would figure about the cost to double the cost of getting it, per session as that’s what it has worked out for me.

 

Should advancements like the RAP come out and actually work, I would pay considerably more if it could double or triple up results per session. 

[tsuk]

Thanks for answering, hopefully you ll get the desired results from this

[Slartibartfast]

4 hours ago, tsuk said:

Thanks for answering, hopefully you ll get the desired results from this

You are welcome.  I’m happy to answer any questions related to my experience. I’ve read so much online and there seems to be the set/standard bite sized pieces of information on each blog and site.  

I’m looking forward to my next session as I feel like very tiny parts of the tattoo, show significant, immediate improvement after each session, then those tiny spots tend to grow, doubling the results in that area before the next session.  So the progress in six weeks should be greater than what I initially see.  At some point I will photoshop these images together so I can see side by side.  Since the tattoo is continuing to make progress after the session, I believe the longer I wait between sessions the greater the impact, but that I don’t know for sure. 

[Slartibartfast]

All right, session four down.  This time I went in six weeks after the last session.  Settings were increased to 3.1, then reduced to 2.8. I actually bled a bit at the session and have quite a few small blisters already.  This one seemed to show a lot more progress. I will likely wait 12 or more weeks before the next session.

 

the first images are progress from the third session. 
 

the gory ones are four hours after my fourth session. 

Edited October 17, 2019 by Slartibartfast

[SStu]

Ugh. Brings back painful memories . . . 

[Slartibartfast]

On 10/17/2019 at 9:53 AM, SStu said:

Ugh. Brings back painful memories . . . 

I take it you have been there too?  For a cover up or complete removal?How many sessions did you take to be finished?

 

 

[SStu]

I found the old thread from 2014 and was going to link it here but for some reason the photobucket pictures are now blurred out (by photobucket?), so no real point, I guess. Anyway I had about 25-30% of my whole back done in 4-5 x 30-40 minute sessions. Just lightened it enough to give the cover-up artist freedom to not make it an obvious cover-up. 

[Slartibartfast]

Here is a compilation of SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW progress.  Starting at pre laser to post 3rd session.  Just had 4th last week.  Once things are healed I will post a side by side.

[Slartibartfast]

Should I get my tattoo removed?  Since posting this series, I occasionally get messages asking if tattoo removal is something I would recommend.  I am always happy to respond and help others with this decision by sharing my experience.  Rather than retype the same thing again and again, I figured I would post my latest response here in case anyone reading this thread finds themselves grappling with the same question.

I do feel that most of the time, the second guessing, remorse or panic after immediately getting a tattoo is normal for me at least and not a good judge of how much of a mistake it was/wasn't.  It often has more to do with OCD, Anxiety and cognitively distorted thinking like "catastrophizing".  

The tattoo I am getting lasered wasn’t that bad although I wasn’t happy with the placement which made me decide to go through this process. 

Even still I was shocked, and continue to battle with this decision, at how much it cost each session and how many sessions I will need to maybe remove it.  The pain, depending on your pain tolerance and the location, is as bad or worse as people let on.  You won't know if complete removal is possible until you are so many sessions in that it now looks like your drunk friends scribbled something on you while you were passed out...

 I'm not far enough in to this process to be very positive about it.  Four sessions in and I'm not quite half way there.  

Ultimately, I made the decision because I knew, after two years of having the tattoo, that I was trying to cover it up as often as possible, and I was never going to be happy with it.  I also was naive as to the effectiveness of laser removal.  I thought I'd be done in a couple sessions, and didn't realize the cost of each laser session would exceed the cost of getting the tattoo.  All said and done, if I only need 10 sessions, I will have paid over 10 x's as much to remove, as to get.  So the "math" to figure out on this one is, do you hate your tattoo 10 x's as much as it cost and two years worth of painful sessions and unpleasant recovery.  If so, Do it.  

 

I will be posting updated "healed" pictures from my latest session as soon as I get a chance. 

 

Slarti

[Theatralica]

Thanks for sharing your progress. I've seen some people 'casually' recommending laser removal before getting a cover-up on the Internet. But the pictures you've shown so far definetely proof that steps like these shouldn't be taken carelessly, even when you're unhappy with your tattoo. All the best to you and I hope you will reach the desired result soon.

[Slartibartfast]

On 11/12/2019 at 12:00 PM, Theatralica said:

Thanks for sharing your progress. I've seen some people 'casually' recommending laser removal before getting a cover-up on the Internet. But the pictures you've shown so far definetely proof that steps like these shouldn't be taken carelessly, even when you're unhappy with your tattoo. All the best to you and I hope you will reach the desired result soon.

Thank you for your well wishes. Yes this experience is definitely no joke. I grossly underestimated the process when I went in for my first consultation. At that time I was told it would likely take 10 sessions for a complete removal and I was shocked.

every person and every tattoo responds somewhat differently to the process of removal but in my case some factors working against me include that my tattoo was relatively new at only 2 1/2 years

[Slartibartfast]

Healed session 4 pictures. Feeling a little better about the progress after this fourth session.  Still much slower than I would prefer but I feel like there is noticeable progress Btwn the third and fourth. 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Slartibartfast

[SStu]

Keep in mind that the full dissolving/absorption of the ink can take up to 6 months. 

On the other hand, that line-work is IN THERE. 

[michaelandmeghammons]

Just for future reference could you give us a price range of what you are paying and is this just for the neck, not the chest, correct?

[Slartibartfast]

1 hour ago, michaelandmeghammons said:

Just for future reference could you give us a price range of what you are paying and is this just for the neck, not the chest, correct?

I was quoted between $500 and $800 per session but I paid in advance and got a deal for significantly less than that.  Ultimately I can say that it costs more than getting the tattoo per session. 
 

That is right I am just removing the tattoo on my neck. 
 

I am really looking forward to the new Rapid Audio Pulse removal system to be commercially available later in 2020. It looks like complete removal in three office visits. 
 

currently I’m probably looking at 10 or more. 

[Slartibartfast]

On 11/20/2019 at 8:13 AM, SStu said:

Keep in mind that the full dissolving/absorption of the ink can take up to 6 months. 

On the other hand, that line-work is IN THERE. 

Hey SStu,

thank you for mentioning this. I would like to start spacing sessions out closer to 6 months. I’m curious though how you figure that specific amount of time?  Most sites I find say you “can” go in from 6-12 weeks apart but I’ve yet to see the most optimal spacing. 
 

id think too it continues to be removed by the body, just slowly, fading for the rest of your life.

[SStu]

Yup. The final absorbsion takes many months. I think my spacing between sessions was about 4-6 weeks. 

[Slartibartfast]

9 hours ago, SStu said:

Yup. The final absorbsion takes many months. I think my spacing between sessions was about 4-6 weeks. 

Thanks Stu!!  I looked it up again and saw one post say as early as THREE WEEKS after the session!!!  That sounds WAY too soon to me. 
 

I have already paid upfront for my six sessions and have two more left. I’m not terribly optimistic about the final outcome when I compare my results after four, vs what I see online. 
 

I understand my tattoo was relatively new (3 or 4 years old) and professionally done, which both make it harder to remove. It is located at a high blood flow location, I don’t drink or smoke and I exercise regularly, all of which made me think this would be further by now. 🤷‍♂️ 

[SStu]

14 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

 

I understand my tattoo was relatively new (3 or 4 years old) and professionally done, which both make it harder to remove.

With a high saturation level. 

Are you looking to completely remove, or just lighten enough to cover?