As many of you know I have been volunteering at Homeboy Industries since 2020 removing tattoos from the formerly incarcerated and former gang members. Those close to me know I am passionate about this work and have done a number of things to improve the experience. I have read numerous articles about the process, canvassed a number of companies looking for suncreen samples (finally finding L’Oréal and their incredible representative Jan), and even flew to Tampa, Florida to spend time with a tattoo removal expert (thank you Loretta from https://erasablemedspa.com/). This weekend I am once again in search of help for the Homeboy Tattoo removal service.
Patrice and I were invited to attend an educational meeting sponsored by Cutera, the company who makes the laser machine I use at Homeboy. I went to a meeting sponsored by the company two years ago and made some great contacts who have been wonderful resources when it comes to treating my Homeboy patients (thanks once again, Loretta, and also to Shannon). I also tried to make inroads to getting a new machine donated to Homeboy. That is still a work in progress. Two years ago I was offered a new machine that sells for $250,000 for the bargain price of $225,000. I thanked the representative but told him that was about $225,000 more than I was hoping to spend. Unfortunately the prospect of making a tax deductible donation to a wonderful organization like Homeboy fell on deaf ears. I was hopeful that this year might be different. My previous representative is no longer with the company and the new rep offered me the same machine for $300,000. Hmmm, seems like we are going in the wrong direction with this project.
I sat through the Saturday morning meetings which mostly had to do with products for beautification. The talks were interesting but they were not the reason I came here. Finally we had a very brief talk about tattoo removal which was very helpful. Unfortunately it was much too short for my liking. I did manage to hook up with Steve from Cutera and he promised to get me some helpful information about the company’s machine and sounded much more encouraging about getting a new machine for Homeboy. I showed him a cool magic trick and promised to teach him how it is done once our new machine gets delivered (now that would be some real magic).
Patrice wasn’t very interested in the talks but she did manage to make appearances for breakfast, lunch, and the Saturday evening cocktail hour (actually 2 hours) at which there was ample food for a dinner. We met some great people. In addition to a number of very friendly Cutera employees we met some other interesting attendees. Jill and Celine from Fresh Start in San Diego (https://www.freshstart.org/). I had not heard of their non-profit but they also remove tattoos helping people change their life paths. We shared stories and realized that we have many common experiences with our work.
We also met Dr. Judy Bourget and her co-worker Natasha. Dr. B had a lot of helpful hints about tattoo removal and how we might get some up to date equipment. She also had some great ideas of about how to have a good time.
During the cocktail party we noted that Dr. B was not around. She later arrived having just had a sample treatment with one of the Cutera machines called “Tru Flex”. Apparently a 15 treatment with the machine is the equivalent of doing 50,000 sit-ups. The thought of doing that many sit-ups makes me want to take a nap. Dr. B said she was a skeptic at first but found the machine invigorating. She told us more appointments were available with a variety of the Cutera products. Patrice was interested in a treatment with the Cutera Secret RF which apparently can reduce wrinkles and rejuvenate your skin. With that in mind we went in search of a place to sign up for a demo. Patrice signed up but I was not interested because it meant they were going to put needles in my face. I am old and don’t want any needles in my face trying to make me look younger. But to support my wife I agreed to sign up too. On further questioning Patrice uses a facial cream that prevents her from getting the treatment. I was too embarassed to back out so I agreed to proceed but made her promise she would hold my hand if I got scared.
Here is a picture of me before the treatment.
Here is a picture of me after getting numbing cream applied.
Here is a picture of me during the treatment.
This is me post treatment.
I am told it will take 8-12 weeks to see the full effect of the treatment. I look forward to looking 30 again, very soon.
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Our next trip is coming up very soon when we travel to …………..
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 