Jen's Tattoo Removal Second Laser Treatment ...

I’ve been using the Tat-Med and Wrecking Balm for about six weeks, and, as you can see, there hasn’t been any significant fading. It looks like everyone on Yahoo Answers was right — these creams don’t really work, or at least, not very quickly. According to my laser tattoo removal doctor (yes, he’s an actual DOCTOR), the creams will work… eventually. But who wants to wait for a year for a tattoo to even start to fade? Not me. That’s why, then the delightful staffer at Erase the Ink M.D. called the schedule my second treatment, I was ready to go.
Here’s what my tattoo looked like just before my second treatment. As you can see, the part in the middle has faded quite a bit after the first laser treatment.

For the second treatment, I decided to do the entire tattoo, since I’ve set aside the creams and don’t want to be stuck with a half a tattoo. For the middle part, the part that the laser doctors had already treated, he upped the intensity, to break up more of the ink that’s under my skin. For the parts at the ends, which hadn’t been treated with the laser at all yet, he used the same intensity as the original laser treatment.

Just like before the first treatment, the staff used a device called The Chiller to numb the area of my arm about to be treated. The Chiller blows a steady stream of 32 degree air, literally chilling my arm, hence the name. I was relieved that I wouldn’t be facing the laser without some sort of pain management, and even happier that I wasn’t given any drugs, just The Chiller. (By the way, I love saying “The Chiller.”)

If the first laser treatment was slightly uncomfortable, like the sensation of a rubber band snapping on my skin, this was a little worse, but not by much. I’ve had dates that were more painful than this… a LOT of dates that were a LOT more painful than this.

But the laser treatment actually only took about a minute, about a third of the time the doctor spent numbing my arm with The Chiller. So before I even had a chance to whine about the pain, it was over, and the assistant was gooping up my arm with Aquaphor. Which reminds me, the reason my arm blistered after the first treatment was because I didn’t care for the area properly; I needed to use a lot more Aquaphor, so this time, I’m prepared with a huge vat of the stuff. At any rate, she bandaged the area and said she’d call to schedule my third laser treatment in about 6 to 8 weeks.

In case you’re wondering why it’s so long between appointments, it’s because that’s how long it takes for your body’s immune system to fully dispose of the bits of ink that the laser has blasted apart, so you can start again for the best results.
Today, my arm feels a little tender, and a little stiff, and as you can see, it’s a little red and swollen, but I’m keeping it very moist with Aquaphor so it’s actually not as bad as the day after the first treatment. The fading is VERY noticeable and I’m thrilled. I can’t wait to see how great it looks in a few weeks! I’ll keep you posted…