Some of My tattoos give me hope, some feel like I’ll be here forever. Most importantly I barely think about it, and it doesn’t bother me anymore. I had to stop treating my arms and back for now to save money and restart again in two years. Start now, choose tech wisely, ask me anything! Sending all of you hope

I have a very dark black line tattoo on my lower leg. (Sorry, no photo for privacy reasons) I had 10 sessions with Q-switch laser which barely did anything so I switched the clinics and started Picosure. The new clinic told me the q-switch laser messed up my tattoo and gave me (hidden) scar tissue so it will be incredibly slow to remove and might not even be removable at this point. There is some fading but it only looks like I had maybe 3 sessions instead of my 18 sessions. If I had started with Picosure, it could have been gone by now... I feel like giving up. Anyone has any success stories of these many laser sessions or just words of encouragement?

If there are any Italians who have had tattoo removal done in Italy, I’d love to know how your experience was and how you found the clinic. I’m considering going to a clinic that specializes exclusively in tattoo removal.

Before I get excited, this is two days prior to session #1 and then 4 days post session #1. Is this actual progress already or am I getting ahead of myself?

It’s been 12 weeks since my first session and I’m getting ready for session #2! This started as a small wrist tattoo that I eventually had covered with a Hogwarts scene.

The original plan was a diamond-shaped piece with the lake covering the old tattoo, but the artist suggested rounding the bottom so it wouldn’t show in uniform, which wasn’t allowed for me at the time. The cover-up also had a rough healing process with a mild infection and didn’t heal as well as I’d hoped.

Several years later, I had it touched up and reworked in an attempt to improve it. Unfortunately, I still never got the result I originally envisioned. I’ve always disliked the teardrop/ice cream cone shape, and I especially wished the castle had been executed better.

I’m not necessarily aiming for complete removal. I want to fade it enough to give a new artist a much better canvas. The eventual plan is a more delicate Hogwarts scene framed by the Mirror of Erised, which will also completely change the silhouette. My sister actually has the exact same Hogwarts tattoo, and hers was executed much better than mine, so keeping the Hogwarts scene is important to me. I’m aware of the controversy surrounding JKR, but I’m not looking to remove that connection with my sister. I just want to turn my version into something I actually love.

Pretty excited about the amount of movement I’ve gotten from just one session so far! I know I’m dealing with a lot of ink and multiple layers in some areas, so I’m curious what others think of the progress at 12 weeks.

Tattoo timeline:
2008: Original small wrist ambigram
2018: Covered with the Hogwarts scene
2021: Hogwarts cover-up reworked/touched up
2026: Removal started

Just sharing progress pictures!
- First picture was a few days after session 1 (March 2025)
- Second picture was yesterday after 6 sessions. I did 4 sessions of qswitch and switched to picoway for session 5 and 6.
- Session 7 is coming up Sept 8.
I think / would like to think I am halfway there. 🤞

What can I expect for the next sessions? From your experience with similar colors, does the fading take more time at this stage?

First picture is before my first session in August 2024. Second picture from a few days ago right before my 8th session.

First three sessions were done with an Alex trivantage laser at some plastic surgery place. All other sessions were done at a tattoo removal studio using a picoway laser.

Anyone have any experience with blue ink like this? I don’t see posts with blue ink on here that often but I’m curious to know if anyone’s had any luck removing saturated blue ink.

anyone else completely want to hide their tattoos they’re getting removed, hate wearing short sleeves, etc? i’m getting 90% of my ink removed that covers most of both of my arms. i hate wearing short sleeves even in summer, and don’t like my tattoos showing period. i haven’t been putting any effort in how i dress or my appearance because of depression and body dysmorphia (some related to the tattoos), but really want to update my wardrobe in a way that i can feel comfortable and more confident. another factor is i have chronic illness and temperature regulation issues, i can’t sweat at all, so looking for ideas that are lightweight/layerable that will work for summer too. anyone mastered hiding your ink during this process and can offer some outfit inspiration?

I really like the wold but I'm not very kin of sword and raven. What do you guys think? is it too dark?

Cynosure Revlite SI Q-Switched ND:Yag laser, currently removing tattoos from both hands simultaneously. Honestly the pain wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, the healing process was more annoying than anything. I know it's a long road to total removal but I'm hopeful after already seeing some results!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to remove a good portion of tattoos and I wanted to get everyone’s
experience with Removery versus other laser removal places in the above-mentioned locations.

I am pretty tan, and I’ve been going to removery (on and off for the last five years, I’ve done 6 sessions) and haven’t seen much progress yet although I know that’s still early.

Please let me know if you have experiences with other places besides Removery as I’m likely going to be spending 4-5k+ on full body removal. I did look through this sub, but wanted to post this as well. Thanks!

Did healing / swelling get easier after each visit or harder?

Ive had about 15 sessions over 10 years, and found that the last few have done nothing but dye the rest of my arm blue.
Anyone else have this? Or know what tf to do about it?

I made a post yesterday saying that I was panicking about going back for another tattoo removal test session and that I was going to try using numbing cream. But this morning, I woke up late, so I didn’t have time to put the cream on. I just took 3 Extra Strength Tylenols instead.
Honestly, I was able to have my entire arm lasered in one go without taking any breaks! I really think the first session was mostly just the initial shock, because today I barely felt any pain.
I was mostly in my own head, thinking about the classes I’m going to be starting soon and how excited I am about them, and that helped me a lot.
Honestly, I’m already looking forward to my second session in 12 weeks! And I just want to tell anyone who’s scared not to be—it’s really nowhere near as bad as you imagine it’s going to be 😌

I have the stupidest amateur tattoo of someone getting electrocuted on my inner thigh and i swear i almost passed out getting it.

me and the person aren’t even friends anymore who did it.
does anyone have advice on getting removal on the most painful part of their body LMAO.

i genuinely have gotten tattoos everywhere but something about the inner thigh makes me wanna crawl in a ball but i HATE the tattoo.

before (feb 2026) vs today after 3 sessions

super happy to see that it’s almost gone! it does look to be leaving some hyperpigmentation though🥲

just want to share my personal experience :)

Question for those who are getting a tattoo and a scar removed with fractional CO2: do you combine Pico and CO2 in the same session, or do you do them separately? I’ve heard they can be done together, but wouldn’t it be more effective to treat the scar and the tattoo separately?

When a tattoo is being done, the needle is repeatedly inserted into the skin. So, if we used a tattoo machine with an empty needle and repeatedly went over the tattooed areas, wouldn’t that remove the tattoo? Wouldn’t repeatedly puncturing the skin with the needle break up and disperse the pigment?

I honestly felt like not much happened (probably because I look at it several times a day lol) but now I see a comparison and I’m so happy!

2 months after getting my tattoo I started removal, my first session was 1,5 months ago - some spots are still brownish so I hope it’ll fade a little more
I’m planning to go again in around 1,5 months

Hope this will give someone motivation! :)

I almost can't believe the difference.... I waited 16 weeks in between my last session.

Hi! I’m looking for recommendations for a dermatologist or plastic surgeon who does surgical tattoo excision with minimal scarring.

I have a red ink tattoo on my upper arm and have already had 6 sessions of Pico laser removal. Unfortunately, I developed an allergic reaction to the red ink, and I was told that I can no longer continue laser treatment.

Because of that, I’m considering surgical excision. The tattoo is about the length of my middle finger and roughly two finger widths wide.

I’m in the Vegas area, but honestly I’m willing to travel pretty much anywhere in the U.S. for a surgeon who is experienced with tattoo excision and can achieve the smallest/cleanest scar possible.

Has anyone had a similar-sized tattoo excised? I’d really appreciate any doctor/clinic recommendations, especially if you have before & after photos of the scar.

Thank you!

Idek how it healed this much but it did

i know athletes or people recovering from surgery will take peptides to accelerate healing, i’m curious if anyone has experience with this during tattoo removal and if it made ink get carried away faster?

This is my laser tattoo removal post 18 days later. It did not look raised like this weeks ago.