Tatted Up
Beauty is pain and more pain.
When people ask me why I do the things I do, I typically dont have an answer.
Recently, I learned a new response mechanism.
I told her I wanted a cover-up.
This time it wouldnt be as simple as a Disney villain and a styrofoam cup full of brown liquor.
I cant cover that, Mira said as she looked at my hand.
It was one of my first tattoos.
Originally, it said, let go in cursive writing.
I got it as a teenager right after a painful breakup.
I think tattoos should be evolutionary; something to always add onto as life twists and untangles.
Lets go, I thought.
You should get that removed, said Mira to my widened eyes.
There are only a few peoples opinions that I take seriously, and Miras is one of them.
It was the first and only time shed ever suggested tattoo removal to someone.
It just doesnt fit you at all, she says.
Heres what the (painful) process was really like.
A licensed nurse used The Spectra, a Q-switched ND YAG laser by Lutronic, on my hand.
Because of the proximity to my palm and all of its associated nerve endings, this hurt a lot.
A common example is that it feels like bacon grease splattering from a pan.
For my palm-adjacent tattoo, it felt like my whole hand was in the fryolator.
As a reference point, I have a very high pain threshold.
Ive had a root canal with no novocaine and I was awake and watching during a recent eye surgery.
My advice: Take the lidocaine injections.
The time between sessions allows for the ink to be broken up and dissolved by the body.
Each treatment, shed be going up in setting strength.
She started at a level three on the Spectra laser for my olive-toned skin.
More Pain
The day of the treatment, my skin felt like it was badly burned.
Not sunburned, but burned by a waffle pan or straightening iron.
The nurse advised taking ibuprofen for the pain and occasionally icing the area as you would with a burn.
My takeaway after all of this as a lover of tattoos, keep them light and fun.
This article was originally published onOct.
