I’ve seen the next cycle of applicants start to post (I can’t seem to escape this subreddit) so I thought i’d try and offer my experience. I hope I can be helpful for somebody!😅 Might do this again later on but i’m looking for a productive way to kill time right now haha.
I would greatly appreciate some advice from anyone that can answer some pretty specific questions!
I started the tattoo removal process in early December 2024 for 3 very dark, professionally done, black ink tattoos. they were all dense as hell, one on my collarbone, one on my sternum, and one on my left upper arm.
I have seen some drastic improvement in all 3, however it has been with some.. learning curves.
First thing to note is that I have had 11 appointments in approximately 69 weeks (17 months), December 2024-April 2026. this averages out to about 6.5 weeks in between each session, however there were many varying times between sessions for me, some being 7-8 weeks between and others being as little as 5… however the last few appointments have been about 10 weeks apart if not more.
I have olive undertones in my skin but it’s still pretty fair, although I tan more in the summer (although I am careful to not have much of tan before appointments, if at all). I don’t care about hypopigmentation, ghosting or white scars, really. I just want them to lose all their black ink, and from there i’ll be able to begin my second, new-and-improved tattoo journey🤪
Like everyone else, I want to maximize my results and minimize the overall time this takes to finish. At this point, I have two great fears, and am also seeking advice on the best way forward:
My second greatest fear is that i’ve wasted money on too many appointments. This wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, but i’m trying to gage just how many less appointments I could have had by this point in the process and reaped identical, if not better results (hopefully better results wouldn’t have been possible… right?😭). I saw a post on here where a woman removed a really dark tattoo in 2 years with a fraction of the sessions i’ve had…
My greatest fear as i’ve alluded to is that i’ve actually hindered and mitigated my progress by damaging the skin and not allowing enough time for the ink to flush. Even though I don’t care about scarring, I have read that scars can actually get in the laser’s way.. I can’t even tell how much that has been a factor for me - there is some whiteness, maybe some small point of raised skin, hopefully it can be gaged by a professional from the photos. I’m worried that enough damage has been done that the ink will be trapped indefinitely. I think more than anything, i’m scared that if i’d been wise to having patience between appointments from the very beginning rather than halfway through, that my tattoos would actually be farther along by now😭
I would greatly appreciate it if some experts on here could take a look at my before and after photos thus far, and tell me if i’m a chump that’s wasted a big chunk of money, and/or if i’m a super mega chump that has actually made the process longer.
My last appointment was in April, and i’ve deferred my next one until November which will be the most substantial break i’ve taken. I’m also going to try and be more on top of massaging the areas daily/weekly. if anyone has any more pointers on ways to move forward I would greatly appreciate that as well. Also, if any of you wouldn’t mind speculating on how long I likely have left on these bad boys, I am all ears. Thank you in advance!
TLDR: Overall, I’m wondering,
Have I overdone it with the appointments (11 in 17 months) and if so by how many?
Have I prolonged my tattoo removal process by doing too many appointments/causing skin damage?
I reschedule my next appointment for 6 months from now, and i’m starting to massage the areas more, is there anything else I can do to maximize efficiency?
How much longer is this process going to take!!!😩