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Thread: Tattoo Laser Removal

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    Veteran Member lovelydancer's Avatar
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    Default Tattoo Laser Removal

    Anyone gone through this process? Were your experiences/results good, bad or indifferent? Any possible questions that I should ask during the first consultation (besides some of the basic ones)?

    I've been doing some research for a decent amount of time now, and I think I found a company that would do the best job in removing my tattoos and still be a short drive away from where I live. I want to remove 4 tattoos to start (8 out of 11 removed is the end result I am striving for...my tattoos are fairly small, but I still have a lot and I want the visible ones removed first). It's not so much that there is anything wrong visually with the tattoos, and while they meant a lot when I got them...it's just not me anymore. I've grown up and out of them. Especially now that I am thisclose to having a big time job in my field of study. I don't want people to judge me from them or to stunt my professional growth.

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    Veteran Member Renton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    I'm going through the process right now, started last year but since I'm abroad now I'm taking a little break from it. I'm having it done by my body modification artist. I know many doctors and dermatologists offer it, but I feel safer in the hands of someone who has tattoos and has gone through the process himself.

    Anyone who offers to do it in a short amount of time: RUN. You have to wait at least 8 weeks between each session. My artist gets heaps of people who went to a dermatologist or some clinic that's supposed to specialise in tattoo removal and they all went too fast, resulting in a scar in the shape of the tattoo. You don't want that! There's no fixing that, unless you feel like getting scarification (which I'm assuming you don't) or want to fork out some more cash for plastic surgery (if this is possible, depending on the scar).

    Don't expect immediate results. There are many videos online that show the removal process is "instant". It's as if they just disappear. What you're seeing is actually the body reacting to the laser, it creates a strange film that makes it look as if the tattoo is gone already, but this fades completely after a couple of minutes. Actually, after lasering the tattoo seems darker, because of pigment coming out.

    You might get blisters. Don't pick at them! If they're too big, get them popped by a doctor. I've had 3 sessions so far and only had blisters once, because my artist tested lower frequencies first to avoid overdoing it (which would have resulted in scarring).

    It's going to itch terribly. It's like the itch you get from a new tattoo, multiplied by 10. For me at least :/ it even woke me up in the middle of the night.

    It will be swollen afterwards for a couple of days and it's going to be red and bruised around the edges. Not pretty, but this fades after a week or so.

    Apply some sort of gel or cream meant for cuts or burns. I keep mine in the fridge; best thing ever when you have this swollen, burning patch of skin.

    Lasered tattoos can continue to gradually fade for up to about 9 months (which is why this is the minimum amount of time you should wait before getting another tattoo in the same area; it won't take). I know you don't want to get any more tattoos, but I'm just saying this because you might not see great results after a couple of sessions even and then suddenly, after a couple of months you look at it and you're like HOLY SHIT IT'S GREY INSTEAD OF BLACK (my thoughts exactly when I looked into the mirror haha).

    How many sessions you'll need and just how light they can get it will depend on the colour, age and depth of your tattoo. It needs to be at least 5 years old and red is notoriously hard to remove. If the artist went too deep with the tattoo, it'll be harder to remove it as well. Mine's mostly black but it has some red AND I have scarring because they tattooed it way too deep. I'm so lucky -_-

    Just PLEASE go with someone who's very skilled with this and it would be a really good if you could find some people who were treated by them, just to see the results. You don't want to get plastic surgery to get rid of some stupid tattoo shaped scar!

    Oh yeah, don't listen (or get treated by) anyone who claims they can do it painlessly. That shit is just a huge fucking lie, let me tell you that. Most pain I've ever had and I've had quite the amount of piercings (including genital piercings and nipples) and some large tattoos. It's quite horrible :/

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    Veteran Member lovelydancer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    All of my tattoos are black with shading. They are over 5 years old with the exception of one, which is a little over a year old.

    I was wondering if the blisters happened with every treatment or not. I saw people online with small blisters, and some with giant ones that totally freaked me out (found on a general google image search). I don't expect the treatments to go quickly, as long as the company is willing to work on multiple times at the same time then ill be okay. Lol.

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    Veteran Member lovelydancer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    *tattoos, not time. Lol

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    Veteran Member Renton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    it depends on how your skin reacts and how high they set the laser, it's impossible to say whether you'll have blisters or not beforehand, unfortunately. All you can do is prepare for them and hope for the best

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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    Removing tattoos- what a bummer:/ I have a large black tribal tattoo that took about 3 hours to do(and hurt terribly) and its been about 12 years that I've had it(since I was 14) and its faded significantly, not too mention it isn't really the look I am going for anymore lol.

    It's on my lower back and I hide it pretty well, I'm long waisted and I always have my midsection covered. When I go and dance though, I feel like I'm missing out on $$ bc the type of client who usually goes for my look and style wouldn't find this large tattoo very attractive.

    I thought about having it removed, I have gone through childbirth 3 times naturally, but I just don't like pain!! A girlfriend of my suggested that I should get it done over again to make it darker and nice again or have it covered with a different, larger tat, but I don't want one there anymore! Lol

    I know the success of tattoo removal relies on a lot of factors, but I'd like to know if fair skinned people with black tattoos (tats that are more than 5 years old) would have a lot of scarring. I'd hate to go through all the painful procedures just to have a big nasty scar anyways.

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    Veteran Member DreamsInDigital's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    I'm going through it right now. I actually got the R20 treatment, so they were able to do 4 passes in one day instead of just one. That was a month ago. So far, it looks.....a little different. Some parts have faded, a couple are completely gone. The way it was explained to me, the laser breaks up the ink, and then your body absorbs it over the course of a few months, so I still have a couple months before I will be seeing full results. Even then, I'll need a couple more treatments. Also, I didn't find that it hurt at all. (Although, I used numbing cream, and my tattoo is small.)

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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    Why does the tattoo have to be 5 years old to remove? Mine is justtttt 5 years old...
    Quote Originally Posted by qurl View Post
    You are sassy AND smart Miss Pickles.

    "Well behaved women seldom make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

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    Veteran Member Renton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    I'm guessing because the ink isn't as strong anymore after a couple of years. Tattoos slightly fade with age too, especially when exposed to sun frequently.

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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    Quote Originally Posted by Misskatia View Post
    Removing tattoos- what a bummer:/ I have a large black tribal tattoo that took about 3 hours to do(and hurt terribly) and its been about 12 years that I've had it(since I was 14) and its faded significantly, not too mention it isn't really the look I am going for anymore lol.

    It's on my lower back and I hide it pretty well, I'm long waisted and I always have my midsection covered. When I go and dance though, I feel like I'm missing out on $$ bc the type of client who usually goes for my look and style wouldn't find this large tattoo very attractive.

    I thought about having it removed, I have gone through childbirth 3 times naturally, but I just don't like pain!! A girlfriend of my suggested that I should get it done over again to make it darker and nice again or have it covered with a different, larger tat, but I don't want one there anymore! Lol

    I know the success of tattoo removal relies on a lot of factors, but I'd like to know if fair skinned people with black tattoos (tats that are more than 5 years old) would have a lot of scarring. I'd hate to go through all the painful procedures just to have a big nasty scar anyways.
    I wanna know too! Especially since my skin is super fair (and somewhat sensitive) and all my tattoos are black.

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    Veteran Member Renton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    I'm very fair skinned plus I have sensitive skin too and the tattoo I'm getting lasered is mostly black (yeah tribal seemed like such a good idea when I was 15/16... also on my lower back, of course ugh). So far I have no scarring, according to my artist you only get scarring if they go too fast, which is why it's so important to wait at least 8 weeks. I typically wait between 8 and 10 weeks, just to be safe.

    I am however not going for total removal; I want a backpiece that's going to cover my entire back + butt, so it just needs to be light enough to cover it. It's too big to successfully get a cover-up, so lasering was the only way.

    A skilled artist should be able to give you more information though since it really depends on the tattoo.

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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    Hope nobody minds the thread resurrection, but can I put makeup on top of recently lasered tattoos? If not, how long would I have to wait after a session to safely use it again?

    I've been covering them for work for years now, and it would be such a cruel irony to have to start working with them visible the moment I truly admit to myself that I hate them! It was hard enough to work with them showing when I still loved them, but hearing the criticisms would be brutal now, not to mention that I may have to change clubs to work in the first place.

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    God/dess lynn2009's Avatar
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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    Maybe go back and ask the person who did your treatment? sounds like it can vary.

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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    I haven't done it yet. If I can't wear makeup over lasered tattoos I might just wait until I retire to get them done since I hate the constant tattoo questions from customers.

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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    I don't know where in the south you live but if you are in FL see if there's an "ideal images" near you. I bought my little sister a package for 1400 to remove a small light (jail-house style/ghetto) tattoo on her hand a large one of five stars on her thigh. She ended up doing a total of three sessions before I had to send her back to the West Coast of FL for being an utter mess. The one on her hand was gone completely without scar. The one on her leg had faded a lot although she hasn't finished the package as far as I know. She stated it felt like a rubber band snapping on the skin, much similar to laser hair removal (I bought her a package for that too so the comparison is pretty relevant). My Dad also lasered off a tattoo and you can see an outline but I think his tattoo had heavy scarring as it was old and likely the tattoo itself had a lot of scar tissue. BTW Ideal Image finances with low credit scores. I ended up paying it off the fourth month but I recall the payments would have been about 130.00 a month...
    XoXo Gia
    Danielle Fishell (the Dish): "If the Super-Star thing doesn't work out, Gia makes a great stripper name"

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    Default Re: Tattoo Laser Removal

    Now, I'm resurrecting this thread because of the helpful post from Renton.

    Anyone have more info?
    Tiny tweaks----->BIG CHANGES

    Quote Originally Posted by Kirakonstantin View Post
    More fear-mongering? Really? Yes, this is not the 1990's anymore. Yes, things are changing. Either dance or don't. Freaking out and sowing fear isn't going to help anyone.




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