Getting a tattoo can be a big decision. Removing it can be an even bigger one.

Talitha McCloskey is a Regina-born communicator, community activist, mom and wife. She’s also dabbled in tattoos since she was about 21, which is how she got to Nu Image. In 2016, she made an emotional decision to get a tattoo and six years later, she made an equally emotional decision to get it removed. What follows is Talitha’s first-hand experience and story.

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I’ve thought about removing one particular tattoo for the last few years. Why? I feel it looks too big on my forearm, the ink is bleeding, it’s raised, and it’s overall just not well executed. BUT the script is my dad’s writing, and the message means the world to me.

April 2, 2016: Giving blood for the first time before going to get my tattoos!

So how did I come to the decision get it removed? Well, here’s the story behind getting the tattoo and why the decision was so emotional in the first place.

On Monday, March 28, 2016, my dad was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). AML is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow and because of compounding factors much too detailed and personal to get into in this blog post, my dad was not able to accept available treatment options and at the time was diagnosed terminal. Well… as you can imagine, this shattered my world. My two older brothers and I couldn’t quite comprehend the magnitude of the journey we were all about to embark on. We felt helpless and hopeless. But the one thing we knew we could do was give back! This is what my dad would have done in this situation, so that’s what we did. Since AML is a blood cancer, we knew giving blood and signing up to be bone marrow donors was the best thing we could do to help someone else in this situation. The next day we booked appointments to give blood—for me, the first time—and promptly searched all available options for walk-in tattoos to keep a part of dad with us forever.

On Friday morning, April 2, 2016, my brothers and I went to the hospital in the morning to share some breakfast bagels, coffee and tears with dad—as we had done for the last few mornings—and got him to write out a couple of things on some paper in sharpie that we would later get tattooed. Then we were off. First, we went to the Canadian Blood Services to donate and sign up to be OneMatch donors, which is the stem cell registry where folks can register to donate their stem cells or bone marrow to those in need, such as blood cancer patients like my dad. Then we made our way downtown Regina.

When we walked into the tattoo parlour that advertised walk-in appointments that day, we didn’t really know what we were getting into. The walk-in appointments were all claimed, and we were devastated, but my brother—being the charmer he is—convinced someone to do them for us. We would wait all day if we had to! After a few hours, it was finally our turn! My two brothers and my then-boyfriend-now-husband waited around to get tattooed. We all got one matching tattoo. “LPG” on our left wrists in my dad’s writing. (My dad signs everything—cards, letters, emails, text messages—“LPG”, meaning “Love Papa George”. He’s done that since I can remember, and so it seemed fitting). The second tattoo only two of us got—“I love you” in his handwriting. While I love the idea and the sentiment behind it, the sample we had was written in that beautiful sharpie pen, about four inches long and an inch wide.

Since April 2016, that “I love you” tattoo has been raised (indicating scar tissue) and has bled (meaning it’s become a bit illegible). While I know ink bleeding is somewhat inevitable with tattoos over time, this particular tattoo had started to look like a blob. I’ve been considering getting this tattoo removed for a while and the only thing holding me back was the sentiment associated with it. But then I realized, just like I got it done the first time, I knew I can redo this tattoo in collaboration with my dad in a much better way. SO, off to Nu Image I went!

I booked in with Allyssa, a medical esthetician, for a consultation in late May. We sat in a beautiful consultation room off the main reception area, and Allyssa and I chatted. I told her about the meaning behind my tattoo and the ultimate decision I made to remove it. She asked me about my goals with removal—partial removal/fading or full removal—she felt how raised the tattoo was, asked when I got it to assess the ink type and determined the last time the tattoo was exposed to the sun. And then she asked if I was ready to go now. “Oh my god,” I thought. “Now?!” “No time like the present,” I said with excitement! And we were off. We crossed the hallway into a treatment room where she set up the laser and cooling machine. I laid down on the bed and she took a hose that was blowing ice cold air and placed it over my tattoo. Allyssa explained that cooling the skin first would reduce the sting of the laser. When she was all set, she removed the cool air and started with a test area. She explained she would be looking for the skin to turn white—the “white frosting” is a result of the rapid healing of the treated area where the pigment is broken by the laser and confirms that the laser was absorbed by the pigment and is working as it should. *SNAP!* It felt like she snapped a little rubber elastic band against my skin. I felt it, but it was tolerable, so I said, “Let’s do it!” About 15 seconds later we were done. Allyssa immediately pulled out an ice pack and placed it on my skin. Instant comfort! I then got my aftercare instructions and was on my way!

Immediately following my first appointment at Nu Image for tattoo removal. The area was raised for about a day.

About a week later, everything had healed up and I even started to notice some ink breakdown in parts of the tattoo. “WOOOHHOOOO!!!!” I thought! I knew not to expect an immediate transformation overnight, but even a little fading felt like I was moving along on this journey. Would I need six more treatments? Ten? Twenty? It’s honestly hard to say. Each treatment will get me closer to my ultimate goal, but I know patience is a virtue and to just enjoy (or maybe endure..?) the ride!

I’ll be filling this community in on my journey periodically, so I’m happy to answer any questions anyone has.

-Talitha McCloskey

I’d love to connect! Reach me at talitha@thenovacreativeco.com or on Instagram!

“For My Dad”: A Tattoo Laser Removal Story (part 1)