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.