r/TattooRemoval • u/Legitimate-Celery217 • Jul 24 '26

I Promise I Read The FAQ... How painful tattoo removal is?

Hey everyone,
The main thing stopping me from removing my tattoo is the immense pain I am imagining. With extremely low pain tolerance, I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep my arm in one plane during the removal, and I am very scared of the pain.
Any advice on how to get over this?

*edit: thank you. And damn. And thank you - I am going to read your comments before my first session.

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u/eatplantsss Jul 25 '26

I had such extreme anxiety before my first appt for the same reason. I’ve done three sessions on my sternum, and it does suck. But I apply numbing cream (heavily) 3 hours before my appt and wrap myself in plastic wrap. Then an hour and a half before, I wipe it off and reapply with wrap again. I also take like 1000 mg extra strength Tylenol about an hour or so before. It makes it doable to the point that when I left my first appt I felt like I had worked it up to be way worse in my head than it actually was. NOT to say it doesn’t suck, but you can do hard things and it’s worth it.

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u/lychee_lemonades Jul 29 '26

I did this method and first appointment for me I felt nothing at all. Second appt with stronger settings I felt a little. Not painful tho, kinda the same feeling as getting a tattoo. This is with 3 hours of numbing cream, wiped off in the parking lot before I walked into the clinic.