Today I started on a long journey of having tattoos removed by a laser. For years I’ve thought about having them removed, and for some reason, this past week I just knew that it was time to start the process.
I’ve had a lot of people ask why I want to remove them and I don’t have one definitive answer. I’m different than I was 20 years ago. The tattoos are a mark of the person that I was then. I’m who I am now, and part of who that person is today doesn’t have the tattoos that I’m having removed.
The process is slow and painful. The actual treatment of the tattoo isn’t very long, as indicated in the video below. It’s probably going to take four sessions at 10 weeks apart to have the sun removed.
And laser tattoo removal isn’t pain free. I ain’t gonna lie — it hurts. My new friend and laser technician, Cara, said it would feel like hot grease splatters. I’ve also heard it feels like a rubber band snapping against the skin. I’d say it felt like a long, electrified needle being pounded into your skin with a motorized ball ping hammer at a rate of 5 jabs per second. And not like tattoo needle jabs – this was like direct stabs with a long needle followed by an immediate micro-explosion in the dermis. I thought it might feel a lot like getting the tattoo applied. I think having the tattoos removed is 3-times as uncomfortable and painful.
I’m a glutton for punishment though. It’s the right thing for me to do at this phase of my life, and I’ll endure the pain.