So Long, Tattoos! - Day 1

It's been about 28 hours since I completed my first tattoo removal session, and I just took the bandages off for the first time. I have to admit, it's kind of gross looking, but I do believe it works!

You can see in the picture that some of the black ink in the tattoo on my back has faded a lot already. It's supposed to progressively get lighter for the next 3-4 weeks, so I'm excited! If this works the way I think it will, it will be worth every penny of the $1,254.00 I spent on this.

Taking the bandages off was pretty simple. Putting the bandages back on, however, was not. I had to twist myself in all sorts of ways to see my backside in the mirror, while attempting to put the new bandages on the right spot. Thankfully, the Bacitracin I'm using kept the pads sticking to it so I could attempt to tape it down! THAT was the tricky part. I'm definitely not looking forward to changing these things once or twice a day for the next 1-2 weeks while it heals. And I have to do this whole routine until it is COMPLETELY healed to prevent any scarring. F-U-N!

Tattoos Really AREN'T Forever!

Yep. They really arent, thanks to laser tattoo removal!!! I have these 2 tattoos. One is a classy tramp stamp. It's some cliche tribal design with a heart in the middle. And then there's the one on my hiney... a crescent moon with a halo and 2 stars. Why I got that one, I have no idea. I think I was drunk the night before and clearly thought it was a good idea. Needless to say, hindsight is 20/20 and I've hated these damn tattoos for a while now.

Recently I've decided to look into tattoo removal so that I could budget and plan to accomodate getting these tryphlin' things removed! Well, to my surprise, I discovered that tattoo removal is definitely NOT what it was 10 years ago! Before, you could get the tattoos removed, but it was extremely painful and it left a considerable amount of scarring. But, thanks to the gloriousness that is technology, it's pretty much as easy to get rid of the damn thing as it is to get it! Actually, I think it hurts a lot less -- just my opinion. I found a nice place near my office and I got my first treatment yesterday! I am SO excited at the thought of not cringing when I catch a glimps of my backside in a mirror! Typically it takes about 6 treatments 6-8 weeks apart to get the tattoo to go away completely. They use special FDA approved lasers to break up the pigment, which gets disposed of by your body over a period of 3-4 weeks. The procedure is pretty quick. They make you lay on a table and they numb your skin with some numbing medication (similar to Novicane). That part sucks. I compare it to getting Botox (not that I really know what that's like....) because they have to numb the WHOLE area of the tattoo. I probably got stuck 6 times in my butt and a dozen times on my back (which was NOT fun!).

So after the discomfort of getting stuck with a needle for 5 minutes, they do the laser treatment, which literally lasts for like 10 seconds. Then they put a bandage on the treated area, and off you go! You can't shower for 24 hours (ick), hence why I'm blogging at 7:15am!

I am curious to see what my tattoos look like this afternoon when I have to change the bandages! I hope it's not too gross... Update on that coming tonight!

Have a great day!

It's Official!

I've joined the blogging world! Hooray! I figure now is as good a time as any to post my first blog!

So, I'm house/dog sitting for my aunt while her family is on vacay in the Outer Banks. I'm watching the 'devil dog' for only 2 nights, thankfully! She is crazy and has just successfully punched me in the face, which will, I'm sure, leave a LOVELY scratch -- I'm thrilled. And I'm pretty sure this house is "haunted" by my grandmother, who used to live here many moons ago. Needless to say, I'm pretty much looking forward to Tuesday afternoon when I can go home to my house and sleep in MY bed!

Ahywhoo...
My first day house/dog sitting was really nice :o) A few peeps came over, had a few beers, ate some yummy food, and lounged around in the pool. I even have the sunburn to prove it! Good times, though. Good times.

So, blog 1 down. Go me. Goodnight!