Sweet 16

Happy Birthday Tattoo

16th year of existence

Well, I'm a day late posting but it doesn't change the fact. Despite almost 3 years of being shot in the face (arm) with a laser, my tattoo still exists. Last year I said "I'm worried it's going to have a 16th birthday next year" and it has. However looking at last year's image, there's a big change. Here's a photo from today. Not a huge change from my most recent post.

20 Sept 2018

It's making progress though. There's a huge change over last year.

19 Sept 2017 / 2018

The Tattoo is now 16. I don't know what my next landmark is. I was hoping it wouldn't make it this far. I think January is my next check-in, that will be 3 years of removal. I am expecting I'll still have a tattoo then, but I'm not planning on getting another session before then. We'll see how it goes.

Session 12, Picosure 8: The Fate of The Furios [Ink]

  Eighth Picosure Session

Twelfth removal session

Right so, I have run out of movie puns. I hadn't expected this to go so high when I started. I'm now 17 days since my last session. In some overwhelmingly sad news, the tattoo turns 16 tomorrow. At this stage, it should be planning for college and trying to figure out its life, not getting shot with a laser every few months.

So, funny story. On Friday 6th July, I was cycling home from work when a car and I had a disagreement about which direction we should go. He decided to turn left, I however, was quite committed to going straight. Unfortunately [for me], his car was bigger and heavier than both me and my bike. Fret not dear readers, I was relatively unharmed. A few scratches, bruises and a fairly badly sprained wrist. I was quite lucky, I did a fairly good job of damage avoidance, though not enough. Anyway, in late August I had a physio session so asked he to look at my arm, she suggested a heat pack. That evening, I asked my wife if we had a hot / cold pack. She went and got the one we've owned for several years. "What's so funny about this?", you ask dear readers. Cast your minds back to my earlier posts and you'll remember my wine bottle cooler thing trick, well I had a cold pack all this time!%^&!%^&&*!&*^!

Anyway, I used the cool pack this time. The laser session wasn't too bad, it was painful but not the worst. She did a double pass again. 17 days isn't much time, there is some fading but it's not normally for a few weeks before you start to see it. I had said that I hope it won't make it to 16, it has.

Anyway, tomorrow is sweet 16, I hope to post a latest picture for your enjoyment. We all know this is what you're really here for, without further ado, my photo diary.

01 Sept 2018

Above was taken around 2 hours before the session. I have shaved my arm at this point. Looking at it now, it's interesting to see how faded it looks. I think right now, it looks less faded, because of healing time.

01 Sept 2018

This was almost immediately after I got home. I had taken a little time so it was maybe one hour after the session. My skin is pretty swollen here. I had just taken the dressing off so it was the first time it saw air. This was before I used my new found cold pack.

02 Sept 2018

The morning after, around 24 hours after the session. I don't think it would have been the worst, but I'm quietly confident that the cool pack helped.

03 Sept 2018

Around 48 hours later. There's still some reddening but it's not so bad. I can't remember how long it took to totally heal.

08 Sept 2018

One week later. The swelling has totally subsided but there's still a little pinking of the skin on the tattoo.

Shadowplay

The Beginning of the End

My (hopefully) last Picosure session

I have just on a whim booked my eighth Picosure session. I firmly believe that this will be my last session. I'm actually not even sure if I need it but I think it will be the one that blasts what's left of the ink. I am excited and weirdly nervous about this. The session is scheduled for 2 Sept at 9.45 (GMT+1). Removing the tattoo has been the goal for almost 3 years now. It's kind of weird knowing that soon it will actually be gone.

 The tattoo turns 16 on 19 September. I had hope this would not happen, I now think it will but I expect it'll be a shadow of itself, if even visible. Typically you don't see fading until about a month after the session. It will be interesting to see what this does / doesn't look on 19 September.

30 Aug 2018

Looking at the above image, I actually wonder if I need the session. To me it's still quite visible but I'm not sure if others will notice it. I spoke at a work conference 2 years ago, my hope was the tattoo would look like that for the conference. I'm speaking at the same conference in November, maybe this year it will actually be gone.

I'm going to take a photo of my shaven arm, as is tradition, on Saturday morning. I'll probably not post on the day but will keep track of healing and recovery. My plan is to get a photo updated on 19 September to see what 16 looks like.

Babe I'm on Fire

 3 Years of Tattoo Removal Later

So it's almost 2 months since my last session. They said that the last one might be my final but I really don't think it will be. There is good progress, there is a lot of fading. Sadly, I still have a tattoo. I had hoped it wouldn't live to see it's 16th birthday but it will. Many times now I have thought that it will be less than one year before it's gone and each time I have been wrong.

I have no idea the impact here, it's possible that if I just wait it will eventually disappear. However I know that another session will speed this up greatly. I'm going to take my time, I think he said decide in August or September if I want another one, that's still more than a month away. It's possible that by the time my awesome tan fades I won't need another session.

5 July 2018

Looking at the photo you really can see how much it has faded. That's my arm with a tan by the way, in case how tanned I am isn't apparent. Factor 50 and avoiding the sun has once again given me a splendid tan. Among the best I have ever had.

The tattoo turns 16 on 19 September. I am still hopeful it won't, but not confident. My next decision will be when is my next session. If this summer weather continues, I'll likely wait until October for the next session. That's still 3 months so there may be some significant progress by then.

Session 11, Picosure 7: The Force Awakens

Seventh Picosure Session

Just back from my seventh Picosure session.  I had asked for the woman who did the last session and was told it would be with her. However when I got there, I was treated by the man who had done all the others. Nothing against him, he's a really nice guy. I just felt my last session was the single biggest impact session on the whole removal journey, I genuinely felt one more with her may have cleared it. When I went in, he thought it was fading really well. He thinks at this stage that maybe this session will be my last and wondered if I even needed it, he said maybe one more at the end of the summer and then it will just be a matter of patience.

As I feel he goes lighter than he needs to, definitely for me, I suggest he go in as heavy as possible for maximum impact. He said he was going to do a double pass. I was ok with this as the last double pass was the second highest impact session. I should always question though, while she caused me a lot of pain last time, the fading is cumulative, maybe that was unnecessary, I will never know. Anyway, it's currently pretty sore. I did my wine bottle cooler thing with this one. I had expected another really harsh session so left a tea towel in the freezer overnight.  It's just over 90 minutes since the session completed, the below photo was taken after about 60 minutes of cooling. I'm going to wait until this heals before publishing (Apr 21, 15:44 UTC+1).

21 Apr 2018

It's now 14 May 2018, apologies to all who follow my blog (all 0 of you) for not updating sooner. I was away for work and too busy. Things are looking good on the tattoo front, it is definitely showing signs of fading. I really think one more, if that, is all I'll need. Going to ride this one out until September and see how I feel. If it's still pretty visible then, I'll go for what I expect to be my last session.

28 Apr 2018

The above was take one week later. It's still a little swollen and my skin is a bit red. It's not easy to see in the photo but I'm going by memory. If you look at some of the (much) lighter ink you can see it's more raised than it should be. I think the total healing time was close to two weeks. I was in California for work, while it wasn't hot, it was sunny, sunny enough for my Irish skin to burn. I was applying lots of sun cream, despite being cold.

14 May 2018

I took the above today, it's getting really faint now. In some light, you can't even see some it it, though it looks visible in the photo. Like I said above, I'll wait until September before deciding if I need another session. At that stage, I'll be approaching 3 years of laser removal, far more than I anticipated I'd need. He only charged me €50 for the session on 21 Apr, it was normally €75. That's a total of €500 I've spent on Picosure, I think there was a €30 consultation fee and I spent €240 on q-switched. So far that's a total of €770 on removal. Still cheaper than the first place I went to. So that's an €80 tattoo that has cost me nearly 10 times that to remove. There's the professional awkwardness and the hassle of removal. If you want a tattoo, get one, but think about it for at least 24 hours. If you regret it, it will take a long time and a lot of money to remove.

Waiting For The Miracle

Not much to update. My arm has totally healed, it took time, at least 3 weeks. The fading progress has been good. This was, I think, the session which had the single biggest impact on the tattoo. I'm disappointed that I told my niece last year that I expected about another year before it is gone. Not disappointed because I lied (well, technically was incorrect), disappointed that it's taking so long. It is progressing though.

I thought today was a good time to post. It's roughly half way between sessions. It will continue to fade between now and next month. I'd like to believe that if I get 2 or 3 more sessions like the last one, it really will be gone by the end of it. It's beginning to seem impossible to me that it will ever be gone. Despite the increasing body of evidence to the contrary.

25 March 2018

This was taken just now, not quite my usual spot but same side of my house / similar lighting. Some parts have gotten so much lighter, even since before my last session. Still some dark areas but again, they're considerably lighter than they were. I have given up believing that I'll see a big break in the darker areas. They will always be the darker areas. I'm now just hopeful that in 3 - 6 months, they'll be the only visible areas. My worry is that we're now coming into what we in Ireland call summer. There is always a chance of sunny days / things that could lead to scaring or add delays to session time. The waiting time between the sessions is good, it adds to fading, but my increasing lack of patience means I just want more lasers. As the saying goes mo' laser, less tat'.

My newest dilemma, probably the biggest in my life (I wish that were close to true) is my blog layout. I initially thought I'd need a total of 6 sessions and could chart my progress in the pretty blue bar along the top. However That bar is getting tight. I may have to start consolidating my existing sessions, like so many noughties ads recommended we do with existing debt. I hope I don't cause a financial crash.*

*I'm not an economist

Session 10, Picosure 6: The Sixth Sense

As I climb higher with sessions, it makes movie puns even more difficult / tedious. More annoying is how I got the last one wrong. I can't believe I betrayed Police Academy like that. I had actually planned to have this posted a lot sooner after the session. This one was a slow recovery.

My session was on Feb 10th. I met a new technician in the same clinic. I had not seen her before. They seem to have taken over more of the rooms they're in and now have two separate removal studios. I haven't posted until today as I wanted to show the healing. She went at it pretty hard. It didn't hurt much, I think the last one was more painful but this one seemed more detailed. I always thought the other technician was a bit fast / light. Her style reminded me more of the q-switched sessions I'd had. Not as slow / detailed but she seemed to make absolutely sure she got every single part of it. He would more glaze over it quickly. I do think he got every part of it too, but she made sure she did.

This is the worst recovery from Picosure yet. The blisters are pretty bad and there is some bruising. I have not had bruising with Picosure before. I find some of the photos quite funny. I like how on 12 Feb it looks like it has a beard. The swelling and reddening kind of make it look like a yeti. I wish I had done my wine bottle cooler thing but didn't think I'd need to. I haven't had to on any other Picosure sessions, I think I will on the next. The blisters have been bad, I haven't burst any but I have been worried about it. The pain still isn't too bad but it just looks awful.

9 Feb 2018

This one was taken the day before the session. I guess this shows the maximum fading of all my previous session.

10 Feb 2018

This was before the session. I had shaved my arm here and thought it shows everything a bit clearer. The lighting here is better than the photo from 9 Feb. 

10 Feb 2018

This was less than an hour after the session. Look at how red my skin was. The tattoo is quite raised from my skin and it was sore. Any sensible person would have put something cold on it. I stuck with aloe as Picosure has a very fast healing time and doesn't blister.

11 Feb 2018

 The morning after the night before. Some good blistering here. The hat, the face an mainly the torso. Not only was I in quite a lot of pain, I now had to worry I'd burst the blisters too. I think at this point I regretted not putting it on ice / doing my wine bottle cooler thing.

12 Feb

Still pretty nasty here. Very red and swollen. The blisters are still bad and you can see the bruising forming around the edges.

13 Feb 2018

Yep, still blisters and swollen. A lot of redness, it still has a beard, or at least a fat lip. It lost the fight with the laser. Sadly that means I did too.

14 Feb 2018

Aw, Valentine's day and my arm looks like the Elephant man. The hat and torso still look blistered and swollen. You can see bruising around the arm.

15 Feb 2018

Beginning to show signs of recovery. I think the swelling was almost gone, though not the bruising. Still pretty scabbed and blistered. Lot's of spot bleeding still visible.

17 Feb 2018

This was one week later! We're getting back to normal now. Bruising has mostly subsided, still a lot of scabs. Hard to see but my skin underneath was still quite red. The tattoo still has a bit of a swollen lip.

18 Feb 2018

Beginning to look normal now. You can see my skin still looks wrong. I think I had started to put e45 on it at this stage. That wasn't a recommended ointment (by this clinic) but I knew it would soften the skin. It still looks wrong though, you can see the redness in the clearer parts of the tattoo.

20 Feb 2018

At this stage we're starting to look normal. I stopped taking daily photos because no one, neither you nor me, cares anymore. I was close to accepting that I'd be doing this for the rest of my life otherwise.

22 Feb 2018

Why Paul, what beautiful dried-out skin you I have. I see most of your blisters are gone but it still looks awful. Your tattoo looks bad and you should feel bad.

24 Feb 2018

Two weeks later, still not fully healed. No longer any pain, swelling, blisters or redness but you can see my skin doesn't look right. 

I'm typing this on 25 Feb, 2018 and it's still not 100%. I don't think this will scar, it's just a slow healer. I would say that by 3rd March it will be back to normal. Then the waiting game commences.

That's the longest healing time from Picosure yet. But I'm hopeful it will also make it a significant session. The fact she paid so much attention to every spot gives me a little hope. That was my final session of my paid in advance ones. She estimated I'd need 2, maybe 3 more. She thought it was fading well. I thought it would be gone by now but is not. Next session is April, if it needs 3 more It'll be October.  I said I don't want it to have a 16th birthday but it now seems plausible.

First and Last and Always

I haven't really been updating much lately. Basically I've been too busy with real life and the appeal has somewhat vanished. When I started the blog I was confident we'd see a steady progression until there was no tattoo left. I still believe that to be the case, it's just I don't have an end date in sight yet. As Ive mentioned, I always assumed it would take 6 months, 12 max, for the tattoo to be completely removed. I'm now in the 24th month and it's still highly visible. It's challenging [for me] to keep a regular blog about if when I have little else to say.

I joined a gym this month, yes the January cliche. In my defense, I had been planning to join since August but could not afford it. This whole getting old malarky has made me think I need more exercise so gym it is. So far I've been pretty good about going, but it has only been 3 weeks. Of course I'm currently sick so can't go. This has impacted my gym momentum, or gymentum as they say (they don't say that). Healthy immune system and fitness is important in tattoo removal. I'm hoping that the additional exercise will help the removal. I don't think it will help in any quantifiable manner but when the ink is all gone, I'm going to say that some is down to me joining a gym.

So, most importantly, a picture. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If you're only here to see how my tattoo looks then it's definitely worth more than a thousand of whatever nonsense I spout words.

25 Jan 2018

That's definitely fading. I weirdly feel a bit sorry for it. I don't think it's sentient, yet. But it reminds me of the cartoon acid in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Not as severe but being erased from time. I have booked my sixth Picosure session. It's on 10 Feb. I think today is 3 months since my last session so a little over 3. I do think I've noticed some fading since my anniversary post. But not enough that I want to wait another 3 months. I'm curious to see what they'll recommend. They initially thought 6 Picosure would do it. I no longer think it will. I have no idea what they'll suggest next. Still I'll continue with the process, blogging as I go...

4 Q-Switched, 5 Picosure and 2 years

 Tattoo Fading Over 2 Years

 How Time and Lasers Affect a Black Ink Tattoo

It's now 2 years since I began my tattoo removal journey, 2 years! When I began this, I presumed it would take around 6 months for the tattoo to totally vanish.

Recap

I first went to a plastic surgeon to inquire about removal in September 2015. They quoted me eight sessions (q-switched) at €120 per session which must be paid up front. I decided not to progress on that one. I knew a tattoo studio near where I used to live did removal and knew it was far cheaper. It was not until 4th January 2016 that I went to start the removal. My hope was that the tattoo would be completely gone by July 2016 for my family holiday.

While reading about tattoo removal, trying to get an approximation of how long it would take the tattoo to completely vanish, I discovered another type of laser called Picosure. Picosure claimed a better overall experience with less pain, faster recovery and most importantly; faster removal. I liked the technician in the tattoo studio so stuck with him for a while but read more on the side. After my holiday, I looked into Picosure in Dublin and found a place near where I lived that did it. As far as I'm aware, this is the only place in Ireland that has Picosure.

I began Picosure in August 2016. The healing time is definitely faster, the laser is definitely less painful and the removal is definitely faster. However It's now 4th January 2018 and I still have a tattoo. When I started Picossure the technician estimated 6 sessions for removal. I have had five and I definitely still have a tattoo.

Current

As written above, when I began the removal process I started reading about removal hoping to find how long it would take to remove a black ink tattoo. I think I expected to read 6 months to 1 year. I could not find anywhere that would give a clear and concise answer so I thought "I know, I'll start my own blog". 2 years in and I am no closer to knowing how long it will take to remove a black ink tattoo.

One of my earlier thoughts, written over and over in this blog, is that I wished I had started in September 2015 and not waited until January. Obviously I don't wish I had started in the place that wanted me to give them €960, I just wish I'd gone to the tattoo studio that day / the next day and began immediately. What I have since come to realise is that starting 3 months earlier likely would not have made much difference. Sure, I might be one session further or the tattoo might be even more faded but I don't think the difference would have been significant. definitely not enough that I should have regrets.

I haven't posted here in a while mostly because I've been busy and I don't have much to share. There is still definite progress in the fading but nothing hugely substantial. I am pleased with the progress but as you probably deduced from above, I would like if it were more gone than it is. I didn't take a photo before I started removal, this is the big regret of my removal journey. I think the first one I took was in March after 3 sessions. This was taken earlier today.

4 January 2018

I made this is the collage last year. The photos are from 22 March 2016, 26 June 2016 & January 2017.

Year 1 Collage

 I thought it would be good to do the same this year. This time the photos are 22 March 2016, 4 January 2017 and 4 January 2018.

Year 2 Collage

You can really see the difference in the colour. There are some parts that are disappearing and it is definitely getting lighter. There are also parts which you can't really see in the photo that are close to gone. Tattoo removal is slow. It is expensive. It is questionable if it's worth it. That said, I am still pleased I am getting this removed. I just wish it wasn't taking so long.

Future

I have one more Picosure session booked. Around March last year, I really thought that it would be gone by March this year, mostly because I was happy with how it was progressing. I honestly can't say how many more sessions I'll need. I don't have a date for my next one yet but I think I'm going to try to make it early February. I'd like to get these 6 Picosure completed and see what is recommended and where to go next. I will continue with the removal process, I will keep spending money on it. I will hopefully not update this blog next year saying how confident I am there there will only be one more year of laser sessions.

2 Become 1

One Week After Picosure

It's now a week after my fifth Picosure and ninth overall laser tattoo removal session. My last session was a double pass, basically two passes of the laser. The healing time has gone quickly but slower than I thought / hoped. I think the pain had gone by Sunday but I had hoped the swelling would be completely gone by Monday, it was not.

30 Oct 2017

The above shows that there is still some swelling and some reddening. It's slight but it's there. If you look around the edges, particularly the top of the hat, you can see some bruising. It was mild but it exists. This is the first time I have gotten bruising from Picosure. I got it every time with q-switched. To me that's still +1 Picosure. I took another picture tonight as it's now 168 hours since the session. Since then I have slept (not enough) many times, consumed booze quite a few, cycled a decent bit and eaten several meals. The healing is coming on nicely but it still has a ways to go.

2 Nov 2017

I really need to stop taking comparable photos in different light. I blame Ireland and it's perilously dark evenings at this time of year. The healing is coming along nicely buy it's still not fully healed. It still looks darker than it did before the last session. There is still some redness, again around the hat. It still feels a little raised above my skin. This time next week I expect it to look and feel normal again. Curious how long it will be before I start to see fading. Memory is there's normally quite a bit by the sixth week and then it slows. It will continue to fade after that but I think sixth week is the main point. Obviously with this one, the double pass, I'm hoping it will be significant.

Session 9, Picosure 5: Mission to Make Go

The Benefits of Picosure

I had my fifth Picosure session around 15 hours ago. I thought I'd treat you all (at this time, I have no loyal fan base of which I am aware) to a different post format. As you all (who don't exist) are now aware, I typically do one post before the session, one just after and a few over the following days, thereby showing you all (you aren't) the progress. Well what with Halloween being upon us, I thought I'd spice things up and do a megapost! I hope you non-existent people are as excited to (not) read this as I am to write it.

For clarity, the session was on Oct 26, 2017 at 7pm. I shaved my arm in the morning. I don't think you have to do this but I don't like the smell of burning hair. The photos always look different with shaven arm. I took the one below while I was in the waiting area.

26 Oct 2017

The session went well. He did what he called a double pass. As the name suggests, this is indeed two passes of the laser. Did it hurt? Yes, yes it did. The first pass was with a wider spot. This targets the darker (I think deeper) ink and should help smash that up into smaller pieces. After this he used a narrow spot. This should get the lighter ink. I think a part of this is that the darker ink has been smashed in the first pass and its pieces the get hit with the second pass. This should have a big effect. I do remember last time he used a wider spot I was skeptical but it in fact the wider spot made a significant difference.

He told me that the first session, wider spot would be the less painful of the two passes. I disagreed, it was painful. He then told me that the next one would hurt more but my skin was now more adapted to the laser so I wouldn't feel the pain so much. I'm not 100% sure I agree with this logic. It still hurt, a pain that's hard to describe, a bit like being shot in the arm with a f*$&@%g laser! I took this next photo just after I left the clinic. I would say this was around 2 minutes after the session.

26 Oct 2017

This picture shows the swelling starting. The tattoo is getting a bit red but it's fine. It's quite elevated from the skin. I wouldn't say it was painful but it was definitely uncomfortable. The weird shine is aloe-vera gel. The lighting isn't that good but I was in a busy shopping centre at the time. I chose not to wear my jacket home. I had cycled to work, to the clinic and was cycling home. I had gotten stuck in work so cycled fast to make the appointment, I was pouring sweat, like some sort of over-watered, disgusting smelling cactus. I thought it would be good to let some cool, Irish, October air at my skin.

26 Oct 2017

Above is taken about 30 minutes after the session whenI got home. The gel has settled in but you can see some spot bleeding beginning to appear. I had put a frozen tea towel over it to try to keep the swelling down. I didn't do this for long, I had to eat etc. so need my arm. He told me that spot bleeding is good, it shows the laser is getting down deep. If it's rupturing blood vessels, it's getting to the deeper ink. Again, no idea if this is true but he removes tattoos for a living so I believe him. Before going bed I thought I'd put more aloe on it. I washed off what was there and thought time for one last picture.

26 Oct 2017

This is about 3 hours after the session. I thought it was funny, it's so red. There's quite a bit of spot bleeding, I think the most I've had yet. It wasn't that sore but I was clearly aware of it. I took the photo, put some aloe on and went to bed.

27 Oct 2017

I took that this morning, it was around 12 hours after the session. It actually looks worse than it feels. It's still quite tender and obviously red. We all know that I don't like my tattoo much, hence the blog, the removal and the pain; I definitely wouldn't show it off in its current state but it's ok. It's still tender but fine. I'm not in work today so am yet to shower. I have applied aloe only once to cool it. I actually keep forgetting that it was shot at by laser last night. This lack of pain is why I prefer Picosure. I honestly can't say if it's better or faster than q-switched. I can tell you that q-switched hurt a lot more and took a lot longer to heal. From memory, around two weeks. Last night's Picosure was a double pass, basically two sessions in one, and the swelling is almost gone. I'd say this will be completely healed on Monday. If you are getting removal, try to find somewhere with Picosure. Even if it costs a little more, the reduced healing time alone is worth it.

I'm curious to see what impact the double pass will have. He told me that you don't want to do this early on, you're better off waiting until later in the process. My thinking is that this is because the skin becomes more adapted to the laser over time. The double pass is different and hopefully more effective. I'm not sure when I'm going to get my next session. My first was on 4 January 2015 I had hoped this would take 6 months, a year, 2 years to be gone. It seems impossible that I'll make the 2 year mark now. If I have my next session in mid January, hopefully I'll know by mid-March if I need any more sessions or not. My feeling is that I will, but we'll see how this impacts.

Living Dead Girl

Coming up to Hallowe'en, I always get excited by it, even though I'm passed my trick or treating prime. I think I'm actually passed the point I care. I like the idea of Hallowe'en but I just see it as winter coming, weather colding, evenings darking, etc. I'm really getting miserable in my old age. I was trying to come up with a Hallowe'en related title for this and I'm sad to admit, the first thing I thought of was Sneaky Bat Machine. Ah, I miss the bad music I liked when I was younger. All I do now is work.

I had meant to take a photo today showing the fading over the last 3 months, I was supposed to have a session 3 months ago. I was so busy in work this week (I've worked 10 days straight) that I haven't had an opportunity. I took a photo this evening but it was dark out and it's under CFL opposed to sunlight.

11 Oct 2017

I can't tell how much it has faded over the last 3 months, it is fading. Because of the different light in the most recent photo it's hard to tell. I think there is more skin colour visible in the most recent but that could be the light. Here's my thinking! My body has had more time to remove the ink than I would normally give it. I'm hoping the next session will break down more ink as the smaller particles have been removed. However I have realised that I basically have no idea what influences tattoo removal.

11 Aug / Sept / Oct 2017

My next session is in 2 weeks. I'm going to ask him when I should get the next. I've waited 5 months between sessions now. I believe longer is better. I'm curious if the extra months will have helped. Last March I told my niece I expected it to be gone by this coming March. Now I'm not so sure. I have two more paid sessions. Hopefully after them it will just be a matter of waiting. Time will tell...

Happy Birthday Tattoo

Tomorrow my tattoo turns 15, what a time to be alive. I need to be careful of it. If I am the pillar of society I think I am, I can expect my tattoo to start drinking and smoking now. It'll be bringing home girls next. Oh the stress of being a parent.

18 Sept 2017

It turns 15 tomorrow but I don't expect it will have changed much in a day. The picture above shows a (nearly) 15 year old black ink tattoo after 4 q-switched and 4 Picosure laser removal sessions. This removal lark really is a slow process. I've talked before how removal is a roller coaster of emotion. At one stage you're optimistic that it's nearly gone, at another you're pessimistic thinking it will never be gone. I'm currently happy with how it's fading but I'm worried it's going to have a 16th birthday next year. I have two more sessions prepaid. I have seen really good fading lately so must try to stay positive.

Little 15

It's now one month after I was supposed to have a session and decided not to! More importantly my tattoo turns 15 next week. 15! I remember being 15, I thought I was a grown up. Christ I'd love to be that young again. 15 was fun, 15 was optimistic, though I'm sure as a teenager I hadn't realised it. 15 was carefree. 15 meant being home by 10. In a lot of ways mid to late 30's are better.

The tattoo is definitely going to see it's 15th birthday. I'd hoped it wouldn't make 14, I was naive. I had hoped it wouldn't make 15 but it will. There's a chance it won't make 16 but I'm nearly afraid to think that. Last March I told my 8 year old niece that I expect the tattoo to be gone in a year. I hope I didn't lie to her. I'd say a year is to her what 10 is to to me.

11 Sept 2017

I think it was around 2 years ago that I first inquired about removal. I still wish I had started then but am glad I did not start in that place. Over the last 2 years, I have still spent less on removal that they tried to charge me in the first place. €960 for 8 q-switched sessions! I have now had 4 Picosure and 4 Q-switched. I doubt paying €120 per session for Q-switched would have made that big a difference. I just wish I had gone straight to the studio I started in that day, instead of waiting until January. The extra 3 months might have made a big difference. I just thought of a fun game. I need to do my best to make sure removal costs less than €960. Even if it costs more, it didn't cost that up front.

Fading is still going well. I am beginning to want to have another session but know waiting is best. I really think that not getting lasered last month was a good idea. There is a lot of fading and more parts starting to lighten. I'm beginning to think that some of my skin is starting to dry or scar. I am putting some bio oil on but not very often.

Well, it turns 15 next week. I'll likely add another photo, if I remember. I don't think there'll be much of a difference between this week and next, I am curious how it will look on the 11 October. Next session is 26th October. Hopefully this patience is worth it.

Oops!... I Did It Again

Tanning, Fading and Rest

I'm just back from holidays, I spent 8 days in Portugal and again got tanned. My usual approach of factor 50 sun cream and avoiding the sun seems to have again resulted in a suntan. I still don't know if a tan impacts the fading. I had to postpone my first Picosure session due to getting unexpectedly tanned in Italy. The tattoo is now beginning to look really faded. I was supposed to have a session in early August but decided I would be better postponing that until October. I think waiting was worthwhile. I've noticed a lot of fading in the last couple of weeks, I don't think it would be so apparent had I had a session three weeks ago.

One of the things I've realised is that there's no magic point in tattoo removal where suddenly it's nearly gone, it's just a gradual fade. Everything I read said this but I still expected something different. You may have moments where you notice a significant fade but it will be a fade, not a vanish. However at this time I'm pretty happy with the progress,  I'm starting to see some of the darker patches become more see through and some of the lighter show up even more skin colour. I'm pleased. I'm still trying to work out if six Picosure sessions will be enough for removal. I'm thinking now that it might.

1 Sept 2017

The picture was taken today. Yes, my arm is tanned in that photo! That's what my pasty Irish skin looks like with a tan. The darker bits of ink are still there and still darker but it's really beginning to clear now. The hat looks so thin now as does the leg with the knee on the right hand side of the picture. That leg was one of the darker parts of ink and it's looking very faded now. If I stretch the skin on it it goes very white with some spots of black. I think the next session could clear that completely. There are still some obviously darker patches, but when I stretch the skin, some white appears beneath. Sadly I don't have a macro lens, I'd love to get some macro shots of it to see how it looks at macro level.

The tattoo will be 15 years old on September 19. Curious to see how it will look on it's 15th birthday.

Where are We Now

Patience

Waiting between sessions

I was supposed to have a Picosure session today but I rescheduled. My last session was on 13 May, slightly under 3 months ago, I felt I was better waiting to see how it clears. It dawned on me that today was a good day to take a photo. I'll do the same on the day of my session in October and see the progress. I'll then have a good idea if waiting longer really is better. My own feeling is that it is, I think I've noticed quite a bit of fading in the last week!

Someone in work remarked that my tattoo was beginning to look a little faded, he then asked how old it was and assumed it was just ageing. While I wish it was more gone, I was happy the fading is being noticed. I think anyone that remembers how black it was will really think it has faded, anyone who doesn't know me well will not. Still though, little wins...

11 Aug 2017

The photo isn't taken in my usual spot. It wasn't taken in direct sunlight and the weather was dull today. I think it's looking pretty faded. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm actually excited to compare this with how it looks on 26 Oct.  I might even do a montage of monthly photos!

Happy Birthday Blog

One Year Anniversary of This Blog

I stared this blog a year ago. On Tuesday night I spent a little time going over the first posts. It was funny, the optimism, the pessimism, the questions, the lack of comments. I'm really happy I started this blog. I don't think I have any followers, no one has ever commented and it has less than 1,200 (and counting) views. I would not call this successful. However for me it's been like a diary. It's been really interesting to read back and see what I've learned.

I have also started another blog. Shaving FFS! Is this mid 30s? You undo anything that made you cool and spend your time typing about how you shave? I think even 35 year old me hates 36 year old me. I think 34 year old me hated the concept of blogging. 35 year old me thought maybe, just maybe I'd have a really popular blog on tattoo removal. 36 year old me wants to blog about whatever thing I can think of next. So, random, since the blog is a year old I thought I'd put some random notes that are there for me. Andy was here a few weeks ago. My current favourite song is "Just" by 'Bicep'. Brandon & Tash just moved to Ireland.

I am surprisingly tanned. I wrote earlier how I don't tan, then found out in July 2016 that I do if I wear factor 50 and avoid the sun. I have been doing that all summer and am somewhat tanned. As such I have pushed my next laser removal session out to end of October. This will allow the tan time to fade and prevent pigment damage. Along with the tan fading, the tattoo should also fade! I'm curious to see what that long a wait will have done to it. It will be nearly 6 months between sessions at that stage. Hopefully there's a significant fade between now and then.

Here's a photo I took today, to celebrate this blog turning 1.

04 Aug 2017

Amazingly, yet classically me, I didn't take a photo from when I started the blog. The comparison here is today's photo and one from 17 Aug 2016, which was on this post. It's less than a year, by 13 days. The left hand side is after 4 q-switched. The Right hand side is an additional 4 Picosure. I know the lighting isn't comparable, the angles are different etc. But I'd call that progress.

Aug 2016 & 2017

My Neck Got Bloody

2 Months Since My Forth Picosure

4 q-switched and 4 Picosure later

I have recently become disillusioned with the price of razor blades. I tried a cheap disposable from one of the German discounter retails, while I have gotten used to it, it just wasn't as good as my premium brand razor. I have decided to give safety razors a go. So far I am not impressed, though this is my technique, not the fault of the razor. I bought a cheap safety razor that came with 5 blades. This is meant to be temporary, if I decide I like this, I'll buy a good razor... then probably different blades, then creams / soaps / aftershaves / balms etc. Knowing me this will end up costly

I have used it twice so far. The fist was on Saturday (15 July) where I went out for dinner with my wife. I think I lost about 2 litres of blood shaving, not a good look when going out for dinner. I have just used it the second time. This time was better, but my neck looks like something from a Tom & Jerry / Itchy & Scratchy scene. I'd say there are about 10 blood spots. I'm worried that if I drink something, it will all spew out of my neck.  I estimate I've been shaving for between 21 and 25 years, this is me relearning how to shave, more challenging than one would think.

My Neck Got Bloody

I guess I had a lot of practice with the disposable cartridges, I'm going to try this for a while and hope I get better at it. I remember learning to shave and always cutting myself. This will likely take time but I'll improve. Whether it's really worth my while or not is another matter entirely. I do know that I don't like spending ~ €2.50 per razor cartridge though.

Anyway, this blog is "My arm got hot" not "My neck got bloody" (perhaps my next blog?)*. I'm just over two months since the last Picosure session. Progress is still there but is still slow. I'm slowly starting to see some of the dark ink recede and become more 'speckley', a bit like my neck, only desirable. I have two more sessions left and I think it very unlikely that the tattoo will be completely gone at that stage.

16 July 2017

That isn't taken from my usual place so the light is different, it is taken in sun light. Also taken in a supermarket car park which gives it a certain seedy quality that my other photos lack. I think the bright light makes it look a bit more faded than it actually is. Still, progress. I had assumed it would be totally gone by July 2016 (6 months of lasers), optimistic it would be gone by July 2017, hopeful it will be gone by July 2018. I'm due to have my next session on 11 August, I think that's too soon as this stage. I am going to push back to late September / early October. Time will allow my body to remove more of the ink allowing the laser to be more effective. While I don't think I can remove the tattoo in 2 more sessions, I think spacing the sessions out further is the only way I'm likely to have it removed in 2 sessions. I'll be interesting to see where we are in July 2018. Hopefully I'll at least be able to shave by then.

*Update 1 Aug: Since writing this post, I have decided that would be my My Neck Got Bloody next blog.

Summer Time

Six Weeks After Forth Picosure 

Wow, July already, Happy Independence day to any American readers, I hope that movie was wrong about alien invasions. July 2017, wow! Why am I so excited you ask? Well anyone who has been following me since I started this blog (note: there are none) will know that when I started the removal process in January 2016, I was pretty confident that the tattoo would be nearly, if not completely, gone by July 2016 for my family holiday. Yes, 6 months and 4 to 6 laser sessions was all I expected it to take. It turns out it takes longer than that, quite a bit longer than that in fact.

I'm still pretty happy with the progress, I still have two prepaid sessions. In all honesty, I think it will take longer than two more sessions. The good / bad news is life is working against me getting shot in the near future. I'm due to go in August (3 month later) but I don't think I'll be able to. Then with various things going on, I think I'll be lucky if I can get there for October. I'm actually quite excited to see what difference that time will make to the fading.

01 July 2017

That was taken two days ago, unfortunately in bad light. The weird looking lines are because I had just pulled up my sleeve for the photo. Yes, we need sleeves in Ireland in July. I am quite happy with how the fading is going. The darker bits of ink are starting to break up, there is a LOT more skin colour coming through and I can see more of my freckles underneath. I'm also about as tanned as my pasty Irish skin gets, I genuinely think tanning speeds up the fading process, though that's pure speculation. I thought I saw more progress last summer and I think I'm seeing similar again. Though I might be talking pure nonsense. If anyone has any science around this, please science me. Me like science good.


I'm weirdly excited at the prospect of having to wait a while for my next session. I've read that at this stage, 3 months should be the minimum wait period between sessions. This is because it is such a large trauma to the skin. The body has to heal then it begins removing the ink. Healing will take less time than that but more healing = better removal.  I think 4 months is the longest I've gone (if even) but I think it could end up being 5 before the next. I might even drag that out if I see good progress. You definitely start to see progress in the weeks after each session but more weeks means more progress. I'm actually curious now if I stopped altogether would it vanish, just over a longer period.

I recently met a friend who is also having a tattoo removed, hers was also black ink and between her shoulder blades on her back. I won't lie, I had total fade envy.  I think she has had 2 q-switched and 6 Picosure, that's the same total number as me but more Picosure. I could really see the difference. One big advantage for her is the location; the closer to the heart, the faster it fades. Also I'm sure that more Picosure has helped too. I think she said it was 2 months since her last session but she wants to get another soon. I tried to persuade her to wait but her mind was made up. Everything I have read says it's all about patience. If you're considering removal, you will have to be patient, it's definitely going to take more than 6 months and 4 to 6 laser sessions.