My 1st Two Tattoo Removal Sessions
Have you been following along with my tattoo removal journey? Check out this post first! I’ve been sharing on Instagram (see my “Tattoo Removal” highlight here), but if you missed it, I started removing my chest tattoo in March. And today I thought I’d catch you up and talk about my first two sessions at Delete Tattoo Removal. It’s located in Phoenix, and they are just about to open a new office in Chandler! There are a ton of tattoo removal choices in the Phoenix area so when I started my search I was overwhelmed and a little confused with so many options- so I decided to ask Instagram! SO many people recommended Delete over any other place and I’m really, really happy I listened to everyone’s recommendation.
It’s scary to make a change to your body, and also to trust someone to do something like this. My chest tattoo is in a very prominent place on my body- and although I don’t hate my chest tattoo, but I do want it gone. My fear though would be I would start this process and it would mess up that area, so not only would I have disliked what’s already there but now I just have something there that I REALLY dislike to deal with forever. So scary, right?
I stalked Delete’s Instagram feed and found a couple other people who were going through similar processes with their own large tattoos and reached out to them. All of them were so encouraging and told me all sorts of details and shared tips. I am so grateful, and through sharing this here I hope to be a source of information and help for anyone who needs it too.
So- you’ll start the process by giving Delete a call. They treat people from all over, so if you’re not in Phoenix I would still recommend contacting them and maybe you can make a trip out of it! On the phone they’ll ask you questions about your tattoo- what color, how old, all of that. Then they’ll schedule a consultation to come in. For mine they made an appointment right after my consult so I could begin.
One VERY cool thing is that Delete offers optional injectable lidocaine numbing. They have a doctor and nurses on staff who administer this and if you’re able to, DO IT! I can’t speak for what tattoo removal feels like without it, but with it, it’s painless. The only pain I experienced at any of my appointments was a tiny little pinch when the first numbing needle went in. But more on this later.
At your consultation they’ll go over the treatment plan, give you an estimated time frame for your removal, talk payments, etc. Then…you can begin! I was VERY scared to get started but everyone there was so nice that I really felt at ease. We started with the numbing- my fave nurse ever Mylissa did mine- and that took much longer than the actual laser part. They’ll inject the whole area, then go through and check to be sure it’s all numb. Once it is, you’re good to go.
For the laser part, you’ll wear special glasses and the laser tech (shout out to Stephanie! She is AMAZING!) gets to work. I don’t know all of the scientific details about how the lasers work, or which ones they use on what color, but I do know Delete is always on top of all the latest tech so I feel confident I’m getting the best.
From their site-
Our laser tattoo removal treatments begin using the best industry-respected laser options- the PicoWay, the world’s first and only dual laser that pulsates with higher levels of comfort, compared to other lasers. PicoWay delivers ultra-short picosecond pulses of energy to the tissue. These bursts of energy create a photo-mechanical impact, breaking up the tattoo ink or pigmentation into smaller, more easily eliminated particles. PicoWay can delete the most intricate tattoo ink on a variety of skin tones and pigments. New in 2017, our tattoo removal salon is the only salon in the state of Arizona with access to PicoWay’s 785 nm wavelength.
So there you go! Like I mentioned above the laser part is FAST! It does NOT hurt with the numbing, and I was shocked at how easy it was. It sounds like it hurts, but it didn’t. After you’re done it looks VERY red and painful, but I was still numb so I didn’t feel a thing. Later it felt like a bad sunburn but aloe + all the icing helped. More on this in my next post. Once you’re done with the laser, they cover the area in aloe, then in my case, sent me home with an amazing “ice shirt!”
RIGHT after the treatment, when I removed the ice. It looks much worse than it felt.
My first two appointments were pretty much the same as far as numbing + the laser, and it was cool to see the fading over the following months! There is MUCH to say about the after care, and like I said I’ll cover that in my next post. I’ll break it all down for you, and share all of my tips and tricks! I’ll also share a FAQ.
Until then, be sure you’re following along with me on IG and I’ll continue to share there.
xoxo