So far, I’ve had ten laser tattoo removal treatments, and the results are, in a word, astounding. But I’m sure some of you are wondering what’s taking so long. Well, my tattoo was actually TWO tattoos, one on top of the other. And it was DARK. Black. And obnoxious, though the “obnoxious” probably doesn’t have anything to do with why it’s harder to erase.

Usually, between treatments, I’ll wait 6 weeks. That’s how long it takes, usually, for my body to rid itself of the ink particles broken apart by the laser. But now that I’m nearing the end of my treatments, I’ll wait longer, eight weeks instead of six. That gives my body a little longer to work out the ink particles, which, by the way, no-one’s sure are broken apart by the vibration or heat (or both?) of the laser. In fact, no-one’s really sure why tattoos are permanent either, so it’s fitting really that no-one’s completely sure why laser tattoo removal is so effective.

I’m living proof. Eight weeks from now, my bad ink may even be gone.

Sometimes I forget just how faded my tattoo is, how it’s a mere ghost of its former self. Then I see an old photo of me, one of the rare ones I allowed to be taken from me “bad” (tattoo) side, and I realize, oh yeah, it’s a whisper compared to the angry shout it used to be.

Here’s what it used to look like, before even a single treatment. This was taken on Easter Sunday, 2005. It’s almost solid black, not suited to the girl who wears it (me).

Here’s what it looked like yesterday, before treatment 10.

Amazing, isn’t it? I think so.

Okay, so it’s been a while since I had treatment #8. Normally, I wait EXACTLY 6 weeks between treatments, but this time some things came up and I waited 9 weeks between treatment 8 and treatment 9. So I was definitely ready to get my laser on!

Also, I didn’t know this before, but even if you wear SPF 20 sunblock, you’re still going to tan. I know this because Dr. Margolis told me, when he noticed my arm to be lasered was, well, tan. “But Dr. Margolis,” I protested, “I wore sunblock all summer!” He said that while wearing sunblock is a good idea, for obvious reasons, it won’t block ALL of the sun’s rays, and you will still tan. Which, of course, makes it a little harder for the laser to do its job, since it can’t distinguish between ink pigments and tanned skin pigments (especially when the ink is as faded as it is right now). That’s good to know!

Truly, though, the laser appears to be doing its work JUST FINE. Here’s what my VERY FADED tattoo looked like before treatment 9:

You can see that in some places, it’s just plain GONE.

When someone I haven’t met before, or seen in a while, notices my tattoo (faded!), and I tell them I’m having it removed, they have two questions: how much does it cost, and does it hurt. As a writer, I pride myself on my extensive vocabulary, but oddly enough, having laser tattoo removal treatments has taught me a whole new set of words to describe the sensation.

Does laser tattoo removal hurt? Well, no, actually, it doesn’t “hurt.” It’s uncomfortable. It stings. Those two are distinctly different from “painful” or “hurting,” though. I’ve also noticed that while The Chiller makes the discomfort less uncomfortable, conversation (distraction) is even better. Perhaps that’s the case with any unpleasant sensation, though I don’t know how well it would work with laboring women, since that discomfort lasts hours, not the simple minutes of a laser tattoo removal treatment.

So, no. Laser tattoo removal doesn’t HURT. But it’s uncomfortable, and just when that discomfort starts to register, it’s over, and you’re being slathered with Aquaphor. And by the way, those lighter spots in your tattoo aren’t scars, they’re bits of hyper-pigmentation that will fade on their own.

I feel like a broken record, but LOOK HOW FADED MY TATTOO IS! I’m amazed, every time I see a photo of it, how faded it looks. People ask me if it’s a temporary tattoo, if it’s a henna tattoo, if I’m having it remove with a laser. Here it is, just before laser tattoo removal treatment #8.

I’m tickled. I can’t wait til it’s gone. Right now, I am in love with laser tattoo removal, my hot new summer romance.

It’s hard to see just how much progress/fading has been happening with these marvelous laser tattoo removal treatments, that is, until you look at the photos side by side:

Click on the image to see it larger, and in more detail. Sure, the fading slowing down a bit — my skin has more pigment, less ink, so the laser can’t find as much of it to erase — one look at the first photo, compared to the last, and I’m delighted.

Amazing, isn’t it? I have the most faded tattoo in all of Metro Detroit!

I swear I’ve been trying to be careful about my sun exposure, especially on the arm with the tattoo, but with yard work and summer parties and the like, it’s been difficult. Sunblock doesn’t block all of the sun’s rays, so I’ve got a slight tan. I’m afraid that might interfere with the laser tattoo removal, but we’ll see. Here’s a photo of my tattoo before the 7^th treatment:

Let’s see what it looks like after six weeks, and we’ll see how much my slight tan has impacted the laser’s effectiveness. In the meantime, I’ll start wearing an Ace bandage over my tattoo every time I go outside. Or maybe I ought to hire someone to mow the lawn and pull weeds? I like that idea, too…

So after my fifth treatment, I mentioned that I was going to try an experiment during my next treatment. The experiment would test the effectiveness of The Chiller at numbing my arm for the laser tattoo removal as a form of pain management, compared to a topical analgesic. The analgesic was Lidocaine, and let me tell you: it didn’t work. Not even a little.

Following doctor’s orders, I liberally applied the Lidocaine to half of my tattoo an hour before the laser treatment, then covered it with plastic wrap. Just before the treatment, the other half of my tattoo was treated with The Chiller. Then, my tattoo was carefully zapped with the laser.

OUCH.

Yeah. The half that had been Chilled was fine. The pain was still there, but far less intense than the half that had been treated with Lidocaine. Seriously. The pain was stinging, harsh, intense… and it didn’t get better, either. As I was drifting off to sleep that night, I realized I was really, really sore in the half of the tattoo that had been treated with the topical. The Chiller half wasn’t sore at all.

So if you’re wondering if The Chiller works better than topical creams at numbing the pain, the answer is a definitive YES. YES-YES-YES-YES-YES. Yes.

This is what my armband tattoo looks like just before laser treatment number six. It’s so faded, people all over metro Detroit are stopping and asking me if I’m in the middle of laser tattoo removal. To which I reply, “Why, yes. Yes I am.”

Anyway. Really faded. Only five treatments, and it’s this remarkably faded. I can’t wait to see it after the sixth treatment!