Well i called in to a local tattoo shop today called Tattoo chaos because they have started doing tattoo removal, so i went to get some information about removing the black shit off my arm. He said it would be £50 a hour sessions and would take around 10 sessions to complete which he said would take around a year to do.
The reason im getting this tattoo removed is because i got it for the sake of getting a tattoo done when i was 15 to be the cool guy in school. With me being under age it was not possible to go to a tattoo shop so i went to (apparently) a retired tattoo artist in a garage who turned out was really shit at what he did. Not only he put lumps in my arm from where he went in to deep doing the tattoo. He kept stopping to roll another ciggerette and smoking it why he was tattooing me. Later on he says “really need some new glasses, these are a pair of my old ones because my others broke.”
Planning to get it lazer’d down enough so that i can have a south park half sleeve evolving the Eric Cartmen tattoo that is also near the tribal tattoo.
Here’s a picture of the shit he done for those who have not seen it.
A lot of you may say it could be worse, but… even though it look’s terrible on the picture the picture actually does it justice.. it’s 1000+ worse in person.
Thanks anyway guys just thought i would share this information with every one see what your thought’s are.
Hello Mate,
I had a tribal piece lasered off which was about 3″ x 4″ & it was £50 a session, however I am not sure where he’s getting an hour from as mine where literally 1 minute each. Plus that laser really hurts so no way you’ll be getting an hour done.
If I recall they said I should go every 3 months for a session & could go sooner but it would be less effective. I didn’t notice a difference after the first 3 – 4 sessions & then I figured I was getting ripped off but after that I really stated disappearing quickly. I think in the end I only had about 7 sessions & there is a faint outline but I’ve had it worked over.
You’re might come of quicker as it doesn’t look as dark as mine was.
Regards,
Stuart
Good luck m8. Hopefully once you get it lasered, you’ll be able to cover it up relatively easily.
wish I could get you down here in the south, Immortal Images in North Carolina is one of the best, most folk for ATlanta and surrounding cites go there, give them $100 a session (as long as is neccessar for 100, a hour if you can hang), about 4 sessions, 10-30 minutes each and that travesty would be gonein
Hi Wardy
Is it Dave Banfield in Dewsbury?
Good news is that black pigment is one of the easiest to breakdown and cover over.
The charge is reasonable and just need to have some patience as you will not see any major progress until about midway. The sessions can be quite short as the laser sends a blast into the dermis so don’t need to keep going over and over the same area in one session.
The number of sessions sounds about accurate or could be as many as 12.
As for the cost – skin canvas is priceless and once you have the room think of that sweet sleeve.
Below is the extract of some of the research I did on the topic;
Laser Removal
Currently the most popular method of tattoo removal the use of lasers is still a long (usually a minimum of around 10 sittings, with up-to several months break in-between) and expensive method of tattoo removal. It can also be painful, sometimes more so than getting the tattoo done.
The results vary depending on the pigment red, orange, green being very difficult to remove.
Some irritation, blistering, soreness, and scarring are common with laser removal. However modern lasers can often keep scarring to a minimum. The effectiveness is dependant on the pigmentation of your skin, the age of the tattoo, and the inks used.
So what type of laser?
Argon laser
One of the first laser treatments from the late 1970’s to be used in tattoo removal. The results were somewhat limited as the laser often damaged the melanin within the skin. Over half of the patients were left with pigment remaining after treatment. Nearly a third were left with serious scarring.
This was because the wave lengths were too strong for the human skin to cope with and were solid (no pulses) so affected all areas of the skin, not just that of the tattoo pigment.
Carbon Dioxide Laser
This type of laser was a solid beam that scientists considered to be absorbed by the water in the skin, limiting the heat damage done at lower levels of the epidermis. This is known as thermal necrosis.
Later results showed that thermal necrosis was still happening and this type of laser was to be used with extreme care.
The idea was to vaporise the tissue containing the pigment in one sitting.
The results often led to thick scars in the shape of the tattoo and some pigment retention.
Q-Switched Ruby Laser
This is a laser that sends out pulses at nano-second intervals rather than being a solid beam of light.
The effect is that it dissolves the tattoo pigment and does not leave the same amount of thermal necrosis, reducing the scarring risk in the skin.
The disadvantages were that the removal could only be done at much lower power levels resulting in the need for several more sittings.
The risk of scarring is still possible although improvements in modern ruby lasers have reduced this dramatically compared to older lasers.
This does not remove the risk of scarring or skin discolouration.
Q-switched Nd:YAG laser
This type of laser is similar to that of the modern Q-switched ruby laser except that it has a longer wavelength.
This laser is particularly useful for those of a darker skin pigment or who have black or blue tattoos, as it is highly effective in the removal of black and blue, based pigments with minimum of scarring or pigment discolouration.
This type of laser is pretty much ineffective against other pigments and the initial treatments can be quite painful.
This does not remove the risk of scarring or skin discolouration.
Q-switched alexandrite laser
This is the most modern of the three Q-switch pulse lasers, and is reportedly the one that initial test results are showing as having the least impact of pigment discolouration or scarring at the end of the treatment.
However this is the most expensive of the three to have a tattoo removed with.
This does not remove the risk of scarring or skin discolouration.
Tattoo removal by laser can take up-to a year and there is always a risk that the skin will have an allergic reaction, scarring, discolouration, or pigment retention at the end of the treatment. It is however still the most popular form of tattoo removal.
Injected Tattoo Cream Removal
There is a product on the market called Rejuvi, which is a cream that is tattooed into the skin over the original tattoo.
The cream is supposed to force the tattoo pigment rise to the surface and form a thick, crust-like scab, which when drops off takes the tattoo with it.
I have viewed a number of videos showing the procedure however despite my best attempts I have not been able to identify the chemical makeup of the cream. I suspect it is being kept secret for marketing purposes.
Initial reports seem positive with many saying that their tattoo has completely gone within 3-4 sessions or has faded dramatically. There is some feeling that like laser treatments it is possible for some pigment to remain behind in certain cases.
It has to be said that there still seems to be a risk of scarring although the product argues this is quite a minimal risk. Infection is possible if you pull the scab, and the pain level is said to be around the same as getting a tattoo.
The cost is much cheaper than that of a laser treatment course.
This does not remove the risk of scarring or skin discolouration.
Good luck with it.
Matt
I bring it up because an ex of mine had a hackjob tattoo done. She wanted to get it covered, and every artist she went to turned her away. And, with the artists she went to, that’s saying something.
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