A small black tattoo on the shoulder reached 75% fading after 5 sessions at Fading Fast over 10 years. Total cost: $1,000.
Before (session 0) and after (session 5) at Fading Fast.
The tattoo
A small black tattoo on the shoulder on Type I skin (very fair, always burns), 5–10 yrs old when treatment began.
Fitzpatrick Type I allows the highest laser energy settings with the lowest risk of pigmentation changes.
The shoulder has good proximity to the axillary lymph nodes, supporting clearance between sessions.
Older ink benefits from years of natural immune-driven fading: macrophages have been working on the particles throughout the tattoo's life, reducing effective density before treatment begins.
Timeline
5 sessions at 1 year intervals accounts for roughly 208 weeks of active treatment.
The total reported duration was 10 years, which means roughly 308 weeks of gaps between sessions.
Intervals of this length are far beyond the standard 6 to 12 weeks, but they allow maximum time for the immune system to clear fragmented particles before each successive pass.
Cost
Fading Fast: $1,000 across 5 sessions works out to $200 per session.
Reputable providers typically charge $350 to $700 per session; $200 falls within that range.
The laser
Fading Fast treated this case with the Picoway, a picosecond platform.
For black ink, it operates at 1064 nm with a pulse duration of 240 - 450 ps.
Mike from GO describes PicoWay as a monster on black ink, and it is his personal choice for black ink removal.
Bottom line
The last 5 to 10 percent of clearance is consistently the hardest phase: residual ink sits deepest, immune response slows, and the composition of what remains is unknown.
Similar cases in the gallery: Large Black tattoo on the forearm, upper arm: 75% Fading in 5 Sessions ($1,700) — Small Black tattoo on the neck: 75% Fading in 6 Sessions ($960)