The Residents

I've been trying to promote the blog a bit more lately. Originally I was just writing it and if people found it, great. However I had expected that more people would have found it by now. While posting on Google+ (Yes, it still exists!), someone asked "Is that meant to be The Residents?",  "No",  I replied, "and you're not the first person to ask me that, another reason for the removal". When I got the tattoo, I was probably aware of The Residents. I'm not a fan and in no way would I intentionally get band artwork tattooed on my forearm, but I know that others would. I was tempted to get a Neubauten logo, but when I wore my Neubauten t-shirt, people thought it was to match this tatttoo.

If you don't know the Residents, here's a link, I don't want to post the image in case of copy-write etc. I understand why I get asked that question a lot. I'm not against getting band art work tattooed, some bands have very cool art work, just not for me. It always frustrates me a little, that people have thought I'm a massive fan of a band I actually don't really like. Again, consider your tattoos carefully before they're permanent.

Ghostbusters

Ah Hallowe'en, how I used to enjoy you. I've spent the last week tired, sick, minding a sick baby, tired and currently working. By Hallowe'en I'll be too tired to even want to have fun. The joys of adulthood. This whole working weekends thing isn't great. On the upside, it's not busy yet and I'm still getting paid. The downside is, I feel I can't leave this spot in case I miss something.

I think this week I've seen quite a bit of progress in the fading. It's only been two weeks since my last session but I think progress is being made. I'm again feeling relatively positive about the whole process, though it's still slow, painful, costly and annoying in general. Choose your tattoos carefully kids.

29 Oct 2016

I think that's the closest to accurate colour I've taken in the last few months. I used daylight instead of a lamp. I don't think my iPhone can quite white balance the lamp I've been using. However it's not yet quite worth setting up a full studio rig for pictures. I'd probably at least want some sponsorship of the blog first.

The tattoo is still quite noticeable, to say otherwise would be... disingenuous. But it is fading and the darker ink is thinning. The waste and legs area is starting to thin more. I'm really noticing it on the left leg. There is still the very dark patch on the torso which makes the whole thing look darker but that's a little less obvious in real life. Parts of it are getting very see through and I've seen a few, very small, patches of what I believe to be skin colour coming through.

Tattoo removal is slow. This process takes patience. I'm actually quite happy with how faded it is, anyone considering removal is probably thinking that it's not working. It really is, old photos are the key. It was so much darker than this when I started (almost 10 months ago) that I'm happy with how it's progressing. However as I've  already typed, I thought it would take a couple of months until it was gone.

I still have about 3 months until my next session. Last time I took a break of that long was where I really noticed it changing. Hopefully by January I'll be able to get a decent photo where we can really see some progress.

Eye

On Thursday morning, my son hit me square in the eye with one finger. It was (and still is) very painful. I wonder if that's how my tattoo feels when it gets lasered. Healing is going well, no more pain. I've started putting on bio oil instead of aloe vera. No idea if it works. It doesn't seem to hurt anyway so I'll keep going.

23 Oct 2016

I'm beginning to think I should stop taking pictures, I think it looks more faded than that in real life. One of the things that I've really noticed is how parts of the eye are invisible, then I post this photo where it is quite visible. I have been rubbing oil on it which may be making it look darker. I also noticed I have a spot on the cornea of the eye, I can't see that in real life. I know it's there, now, but didn't before I took the photo. I'll have to go back to the drawing board on how to take photos of this. I thought  I had a good, consistent spot, but it's make it look darker than it really is.

Heal the world

Healing Time With Picosure Tattoo Removal

My arm has totally healed now.  I have what I can't tell if is a blister or pimple on the tattoos face, it is a teenager after all.  I kept applying aloe vera for a week, just in case it needed longer healing. It felt hot for almost a week. It wasn't at all painful, just felt a bit warm. It's cold here now so it could have been my body heat, I thought it better safe than sorry.

I've started applying bio-oil now. I honestly don't know if it's worth doing or not. The technician was quite insistent that I should, I'm just not sure if it's really the wonder product he makes out. Some people online say it works wonders for scars and skin conditions, some say it doesn't do anything. I'll post my review of it here when the tattoo is gone.

 I do think I'm seeing some fading now, however I'm likely seeing fading related to the previous 5 sessions, not the latest one. Tattoos always fade, it's the immune system trying to remove them. The laser breaks down the ink so the immune system can deal with it faster. In my mind, the fading from the previous session stops right at the next. Of course that isn't how it works. From what I was told, even one session will make a big difference, it will just take longer. I still don't think I've had a break through fade moment. It still isn't obvious that it's being removed, unless you look closely.

Disco Inferno

It's still a little red, only slightly. No bruising at all. I like Picosure. I've been putting a lot of aloe vera on. The after care instructions say to apply every 4 hours for 48 hours, I've been doing a lot more. I figure:

• I can't apply it when I'm sleeping
• More is presumably good

I could still feel some heat from the tattoo yesterday so thought I'd keep going with the aloe. The fact it's a little red makes me think I should wait before moving to bio oil. The technician really implied I should keep going with the bio oil, I'm thinking I should continually apply it, not just for a couple of weeks. Apparently it does wonders to help with scarring. He said I should use it over any other product. He gave me a free bottle last time, I don't see why he'd promote unless he believes it.

I already think I'm seeing some fading. It's hard to know if I'm imagining that. It hasn't healed quite as quickly as I'd hoped but with q-switched, I had bruising for a few days. This is just a little red with some very slight swelling. I honestly wouldn't notice it.

17 Oct 2016

That was taken around 7.30am this morning. Not bad considering it was shot with a high intensity laser 4 days earlier.

12 hours after number 2 (I said number 2)

Picosure Healing Time

Still a little swollen and red, the tattoo that is. The swelling has gone way down but is still noticeable. Still better than the day after any q-switched session. My arm is a little sensitive and I'm trying to be cautious of it but it's not bad. If this is as bad as my Picosure experience will get, I'd gladly go the same intensity again, if it will remove the tattoo faster.

14 Oct 2016

You can see some of the redness in the photo, I didn't have any of that last time. Most of the spot bleeding has gone. No blistering yet. I didn't do anything to cool it this time, perhaps that was a mistake. Still adding aloe vera. I came into work today sans-aloe, hopefully I don't regret that. The Photo is taken around 12 hours after the session, I think a little less. I'm hopeful / confident the swelling will be gone by Monday at latest.

Session 6, Picosure 2: Q-switched's revenge

Second Picosure Laser Session

Sixth Tattoo Removal Session

Four Q-switched Sessions

Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow oooowwwwwwww ooooOOOOOOUUUUUUCHHHHHHHH. Just back from the session. This one hurt. He asked how the healing was last time, I said good. He asked about the pain, I said little. He then said he was going to up the laser intensity today, he must have read last night's post! The first shot really hurt and it continued to do so. I'm ok with that, I really don't mind. It was just such a shock compared to the last session. It really reminded me of my previous experience with q-switched.

He said to come back in January, that's close to 3 months. It's longer than I'd like but the time will ensure it heals and hopefully fade more. He said that the higher intensity of this session should make a big difference but I'd need the extra time to heal. I am happy about this but with 4 sessions left, at this rate it'll be a year before the tattoo is gone. That will be about 2 years of sessions.

13 Oct 2016

The photo looks out of focus, it isn't, that's the swelling. I think it's more swollen that it was after the last session. Though the last one was swollen, it just healed very quickly. There's some spot bleeding this time. I can't remember if I got that with q-switched at all. It's not bad but I can see blood at the hat and a little at the foot.  I've been applying a lot of aloe vera.

Looking at it now, my arm not the photo, I actually think the swelling is receding. I'll upload a photo tomorrow. Emotional state is good right now. I'm feeling positive that this will be the session that changes it all and makes a difference. Likely I'm setting myself up for a fall, again. Still have to stay positive. 3 months of waiting will be tough, if I can see some notable progress it will really help. The problem is I'll then be keen for the next session.

What Happens Tomorrow

Second Picosure session tomorrow. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I still have the same desire for the tattoo to be gone but I'm so bored of the whole process. It is so much slower than I had expected. I'm going to a conference in November. I had hoped that it would be a few faint marks at that stage. It's possible but I think it very, very unlikely.

12 Oct 2016

That was taken about 20 minutes ago. My last session and first Picosure was on August 18th. I'm relatively happy with how it has faded in that time but so disappointed. I think that I hoped / expected Picosure to be some miracle removal and the tattoo would be nearly gone by now. I should have learned with my previous experience that this was never going to be the case. I still want it gone and won't stop the treatment but it's becoming boring.

It has definitely faded over the last 2 months, I have no doubt of that. I'm fairly certain that Picosure is still the way to go. I think there was more fading in the last 2 months than I would have seen with q-switched. The crosses, particularly the one you can't see, have faded a lot, some parts are nearly gone. Overall I think it has gone down a shade, again. I can see more freckles underneath now, slightly more skin colour, but not nearly what I'd have hoped for.

Picosure hurts less than q-switched, it heals faster and I think it is more effective. For the lower pain and quicker healing it's worth it. I can't help but wonder if turning up the laser would be more effective and faster. I'm sure it would hurt more but the sensation was unnoticeable compared to q-switched. I'm sure there's a reason he's not doing that, likely it would lead to scarring. I'm sure the technician knows what he's doing. I have 5 more sessions with him, I should probably let him do his job. So far he hasn't attempted to tell me how to do mine. I like our relationship.

As always, I'm hoping tomorrow's session, my sixth overall, is the one that really makes a difference. I have no doubt that it's fading, it's just slow. I will take a photo tomorrow evening and upload with the detail. I'm not sure if I'll get two more sessions in before year end. I'm keen to finish the course but as I learned over the summer, healing time is really important in the fading process. From what I've read and what I've experienced, this seems to be really common. I think everyone goes through the same emotions with this. I think when I started the blog, I expected my experience to somehow be different.