Beginning the process

I should have known better than to get a tattoo on a whim and not do my research. I had this idea for a ribbon tattoo and rushed to the nearest available "artist" to have it done. Big mistake. Without going into too many details, I arrived at his studio and he had photos plastered all over the walls of beautiful ink so I felt pretty confident it would turn out ok. Well it didn't. Blown lines, overworked areas and scaring.

This was a little over a year ago and within a month of the tattoo healing I began looking into either removal/lightening process and or a cover up. I wasn't thrilled about either option 1)because the laser process is a lot more painful than tattooing from what I've been told and 2) to cover it would require a larger and possibly darker tattoo so I've been putting it off.

Recently a friend told me about a new process called tatt2away. I looked into it but couldn't find much info on it so I decided to chronicle my journey to get this ugly thing off of my body.

This is a before photo of the ugly beast..

This was right after it was done. I wasn't thrilled with the actual detail and whatnot but I could deal

This was about 6 months in.

This is the day I began the process, about a year and a half after the tattoo was done.

When I started looking into this new process I couldn't find any reviews from people who actually had this done. The only thing I could find was one forum post with a HORRIBLE photo of someones arm a week or so after they had the first treatment. Kinds freaked me out but I pressed on and decided to bite the bullet even though no one knows exactly what is in the solution they use.

So here is how the process works. They use something that looks very similar to a tattoo gun that is hooked up to a machine that contains this solution. Then they draw circles in a grid like pattern over the tattoo. Then the process begins. The trace the circles which is abrading the skin and placing the fluid into the layers where the ink is. I have to say there were only a few times this actually hurt. What I had read was that it hurts like being tattooed and for me it didn't, only when she did a few of the circles then it went "numb" and just felt like vibrations. 

I am quite excited to see how this works for me. It is a longer process than the laser process because the healing time is about 8 weeks between sessions.

well here is after my first treatment!! The only time it hurt was an hour later when I took the bandage off and the air hit it! It looks WAY worse than it feels.

Here is a link to their site for more info...

http://www.tatt2away.com/

1. 
   

One week post treatment.

Wow this thing has gone through a few changes, the most dramatic being over the last 24 hours! In the first few days it just felt something like when you skin your knee, not too bad really. Then on the third day it began to become red around some of the edges, just like the edges of a scab would do (because really that's what the circles are, scabs) over the weekend the redness really didn't change much until I got up this morning. The edges are very red and there is a small spot that is very raise and I'm worried that may develope into a scar.

Here are the photos...




This one was taken on day three. Looks horrible but it still really didn't hurt much at all. It also seems

 like, especially in the one week photo that the tattoo area that wasn't treated has faded significantly.

 

This was taken today at one week. I don't think it's infected even though all the edges are red because it isn't hot. It is however beginning to be itchy and is more tender and the skin is tight so bending is uncomfortable. The circles totally look like craters now and  I also noticed tonight that the center circle with the green is beginning to lift! I am quite anxious to see how it all looks once the scabs start to fall off! Just knowing my skin I'm predicting the skin will be quite pink for a while.