Full Transcript
Billy: Welcome to the Faded Podcast. In this episode, I'm gonna explain how you can prepare for your tattoo removal session. And there's a couple reasons why you wanna prepare. Number one, you wanna get the best results you can possibly get, and number two, you want it to be as safe as possible for your skin. So how do you prepare? For your session now, I'm gonna assume that you've already been to the studio or you've got some type of consultation, you've gotten a quote, you've booked the first appointment, and you're ready to go, whether it's at our studio or at another studio. The general preparation is pretty much the same. So we're gonna assume that all that's been taken care of, you've already gotten the consultation, and you're off, you're, you're getting the laser session done, you're starting your journey. How do you prepare yourself? How do you prepare your skin? What are some things that you should avoid before you come in to get laser tattoo removal? Well, I'm gonna break it down for you. Before you prepare for the laser tattoo removal session, you should first probably understand how it works, and yeah, you should have gotten that information in your consultation, but I'm gonna give it to you anyway, just a very short explanation of how the process works. The laser will have a energy pulse. The energy pulse penetrates your skin. It finds that pigment in your skin and it shatters the pigment into tiny particles. So there's a little explosion going on underneath your skin. And when that pigment shatters, the particles become very tiny and then your body absorbs that pigment over time. It's your lymphatic system that picks up that pigment. So that's how the process works, and knowing that should help you kind of prepare yourself for what you're getting yourself into. So when you come to get laser tattoo removal, there's a couple things that you have to be aware of. Number one, you should already know what the aftercare is. You should book your appointment at a time when you're able to follow the aftercare. Don't book your appointment on a day, and the next day you're going to, you know, on a surf trip to Indonesia or something like that. You want to be able to properly take care of your tattoo after. The laser session. So that's part of preparing for it, is knowing what the aftercare is and booking an appointment at a time. When you're able to follow the aftercare to a T. You don't want to take any chances. You don't wanna book, you know, eyebrow removal or a tattoo removal, and then go to the beach the next day, or sit on somebody's dock and go fishing. You wanna plan your. Removal and make sure that you can follow the aftercare to a T. So that's number one with preparing, is actually knowing what the aftercare is. So depending on where you go, there might be a little bit of different aftercare instructions, but generally speaking, all of tattoo removal aftercare is pretty much the same. You don't wanna go swimming, you don't wanna be in jacuzzis, saunas, you don't wanna be doing hot yoga, no sun exposure for a couple weeks. All that stuff is pretty much the same. So number one, make sure you know what the aftercare is and that you're able to follow it when you book your appointment. Number two, when you're preparing yourself for laser tattoo removal is you wanna make sure you come in and you're rested and you're feeling healthy. You don't wanna show up to a tattoo removal session hung over, or extra tired or just coming off of a cold, or somehow your immune system's compromised. You wanna make sure that you're feeling healthy. You're feeling rested, you're hydrated, all of those things. You want to be in top condition before you come in to get laser. And the reason is if you laser that pigment and it shatters and you're depending on your lymphatic system to pick it up, well, you better be healthy so you can get some good clearance going. Otherwise, you're gonna waste your money. I already mentioned this, but you want to definitely make sure that you don't have any sun exposure on the treatment area. Now that doesn't mean that you have to avoid the sun completely. It just means that the treatment area should be kept out of the sun. A lot of people use band-aids or KT tape, or just clothing to protect their skin from the sun. So if you have a tattoo on your arm that you're looking to get lasered and you plan on spending time in the sun, then you can. Locally protect that area with a bandage or KT tape or some type of UV sleeve. A lot of our clients do that, and I think that's the best option. You don't have to avoid the sun completely, but just make sure the treatment area is protected. You also wanna avoid self tanner. Not only is the sun dangerous, but anything that's gonna change the pigmentation of your skin. So if you're going into a tanning bed, that's definitely a no-no. Um, any type of lotions or sprays or anything like that, that's gonna make your skin a different color or darker, you wanna avoid that. The best bet is to come into the studio as pale as possible. The lighter your skin. The better the treatment's gonna go. We can treat more aggressively and it's gonna be safer and you're not gonna feel as much pain and the less chance of blistering, and it'll just overall be a better. Process. So come in at your playlist and you'll be happy that you did. You also wanna avoid any type of active ingredients, whether it's retinol, A-H-A-B-H-A, any type of acids or anything like that. You want to completely avoid any type of chemicals that are gonna compromise the integrity of your skin. So don't put that on the treatment area. If you have a. Tattoo that's on. You know, if you're doing your eyebrows and you feel like you have to use the retinol on your face, that's totally fine. Just don't put it on the treatment area. So your face is fine, but the brows, if you're getting your brows lasered, are not. Same thing with, uh, any body tattoos or anything like that. Um, I don't really know what type of active ingredients people put on. The rest of their body besides of their face. But if there are any chemicals that you think would, um, make your skin more sensitive, then avoid that for a couple weeks before and a couple weeks after getting laser tattoo removal. Okay, let's talk about what you should bring to your tattoo removal session. Everybody kind of wants to show up and they're first session, they're super nervous, and then you see 'em second, third, fourth session and they're like professionals. So I wanna tell you what you can expect. So the first session, you feel like you're confident and ready to go. Number one, you wanna wear nice loose clothing that allows easy access. To the tattooed area. So if you have a tattoo on your thigh, don't wear skin tight shorts that you can't peel off or that are gonna cause friction after you put 'em back on after the session, wear something nice and loose. Easy access on and off, and it's not gonna be rough on your skin. If you have something in your waistband or if you wear a bra and you have something in your bra line, make sure you wear something comfortable that's not too tight. Or if you don't have to wear the bra and you can wear some type of shirt. When you leave, that way, it's not gonna be abrasive on the area. Same thing with the pant line. Don't wear anything that's really tight and abrasive. Wear something that's kinda loose and comfortable and when you leave the studio, you're gonna feel nice and comfy and you're not gonna feel like the clothing's rubbing on the area where you just got lasered. That's not what you want. Let's talk about numbing cream. Some clients choose to numb the tattoo. Before they come in and some just want to see how it feels without it. If it were me, I would use numbing cream because it's there and it doesn't have any impact on the efficacy of the laser. So if. I were getting laser tattoo removal. You better believe I'm putting numbing cream on. But if you wanna be a tough guy and not use numbing cream, that's totally fine. Some people don't do well with lidocaine, uh, which is normally the active ingredient in numbing cream. So make sure that you're okay with that ingredient. Whether you gotta check with your own doctor or just based on your, your medical history, if lidocaine is okay for you. Then I would recommend using it prior to coming in. We normally tell our clients to put it on a half hour or so before and after you put the numbing cream on. We recommend putting a little plastic wrap, tape it on so it number one doesn't wipe off. And number two, it'll have time to absorb in your skin before it dries up. So numbing cream. Is a plus, but like I said, make sure that it's okay for your body and that you don't have any issues with any of the ingredients that are in the numbing cream. If you're coming from somewhere far, whether it's driving or if you're jumping on the train and you're not gonna be at home for quite a while, I'd recommend maybe bringing some type of cold compress or ice pack that you can use while you're traveling back home. I normally recommend icing the tattoo on and off. Five minutes on, you know, half hour off or so ice it periodically throughout the day when you get laser and the following day. That's normally how I recommend it. So if you're coming here and you're coming from a far away distant land, then I'd recommend bringing your own cold compress or ice pack. And when you leave the studio and you're sitting in your car or on the train or whatever it is you're doing. You can throw an ice pack on there and cool the skin down. Now, when I recommend ice packs, I normally recommend it not only for the pain, but just to cool the tissue down. What you wanna do is settle that skin. If you think about it, there was a little explosion that happened underneath your skin, and the heat from that explosion combined with your body temperature is gonna raise that heat. So what you wanna do is counter that by applying a little cold compress or ice pack, and you'll avoid blistering swelling and it'll be less painful. Okay. Let's talk about what you can expect during your laser tattoo removal session. Normally when you come in, we'll have a quick chat, even though people do consultations before they book their first appointment, some people don't and they just book the tattoo appointment without any consultation. Either way, we like to sit you down and have a little chat just to make sure we're on the same page with anything. Before we start, so we'll talk about the process. We'll go over the consultation again real quick. We'll explain how the laser works and we will explain what you can expect. We'll go over the aftercare to make sure all of the aftercare is understood completely, and then we'll answer any questions that you may have. After all that's done, what we'll do is we'll take some photos of the tattooed area so we can compare them after we take the photos. You'll hop into the chair or on the bed, whatever you need to do to access the. Tattoo and what we'll do is we'll shave it if we need to. We'll clean it with a little alcohol that always feels great, and we'll ice it. We'll ice the tattoo a little bit and we'll also blow cold air. On the tattoo. So we do two methods of cooling. One is an ice pack and the other is cold air. What we like to do is get the, the skin as cool as possible without causing too much pain before we start the laser process. So we ice it, we get it nice and cold. We'll do a test spot just to see how you feel. If everything looks good and you feel okay, then we'll start lasering the tattoo. And if you want to take breaks, you can let us know and we can take some breaks as we're going. If it hurts and you wanna stop, no problem at all. We can stop, take a break. If you wanna run, you can do that too. Uh, we don't really have any people who quit and and stop the session, but we do have people who oftentimes take. Breaks, and that's totally fine. Um, you can take breaks if you want, or if you'd prefer to just go right through it, you can do that too. But we'll zap it. We'll ice it again, we'll blow some cold air on it, and then we'll put a little bit of ointment on. We'll bandage you up. And we'll send you on your way. Normally after you head to the front, um, you can go to the front desk and settle up. Whether you pay per session or you buy a package that's up to you. Um, we won't pressure you either way. We'll just kind of give you the information. And it's up to you to decide what you wanna do, and at that point you can book your next session. We normally recommend at least two months in between sessions unless you're otherwise advised. You know, if there's a some type of unique situation, we might tell you to wait longer, but normally it's eight weeks in between sessions, so you book your session and you're out the door. It's important to remember. What the aftercare instructions are. When you leave, we will give you a little card, but it's important to know that because the aftercare starts right when you leave, that's not the time to go hit the gym or go to the beach or whatever. This is now time for you to play your part. In the process, A lot of times clients will ask what they can do to help the process. You know, 'cause people find out that it's gonna take nine to 12 sessions to remove a tattoo. And they're like, okay, well is there anything I can do to to help this? Move along quickly. There are some things you can do to help the process, and there are some things that you should avoid. Some of the things that you can do to help the process are staying hydrated, eating healthy, being well rested, and believe it or not being happy. If you do all of those things, it's gonna boost your immune system and the boosted immune system is gonna break those pigment particles down faster. Than a system that is not boosted. Now, what are the things that you should avoid? Exactly the opposite of the things I just told you you should do is what you shouldn't do. Let's recap some things that you can do to prepare for your laser tattoo removal session. Number one, know the aftercare. If you know the aftercare, you'll be able to book it at a time when it is possible for you to follow that aftercare. Uh, number two, show up healthy. And in great condition, if you're not feeling healthy and if you're feeling down for any reason, whether it's because you're sick or your skin's acting up or whatever it is. Just rebook your appointment. Come in when the circumstances are best for you, and you'll see the best results possible. Number three, come in with some clothing that's gonna allow easy access to the area. If you wear nice, comfortable clothing that we can access the tattoo with no issues at all, put that clothing back on and it's not abrasive or anything, that would be the best. Case scenario, don't wear clothing. That's gonna be uncomfortable to either access the tattoo or to cover it back up afterwards. Another one you can put numbing cream on before. If you do decide to put numbing cream on and it's okay with your body, then do it 30 minutes before. Cover it with plastic wrap. Come on in. We'll take the plastic wrap off. We'll wipe off all the numbing cream. We'll clean it up and everything and we'll get you going. But, uh, numbing cream is an option. If you do decide to do it 30 minutes before, cover it with plastic wrap. And last but not least, make sure if you have any questions. That you ask. We'll be glad to answer any questions you have, but if you don't ask, then we don't know what to answer. I hope this episode was helpful in the preparation of your tattoo removal journey. It is quite a journey. It's gonna take several sessions, so it's important to know what you're getting yourself into before you start. Thanks for tuning into the Faded podcast, and we'll catch you again next week.