We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melanie Gregory. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melanie below.

Melanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

Laser tattoo removal has its ups and downs. For most clients, it is a long process that takes a lot of patience. The folks who see it through, realize that time will pass…eventually it will go away…and the process is worth the journey.

A few years ago, we were approached by a young women who had both sides of her face tattooed. She was starting school, and had just had a new baby. The image in the mirror didn’t reflect who she had grown to be. We realized there wasn’t an organization out there currently, that could help her get to the next level. That’s when our non profit, Step Forward Tattoo Removal was born.

It took three years to remove all of her tattoos. They were very deep and dense. In the beginning, the first 6 sessions on each side, we had to split into separate sessions. We do this when people have too much to laser in a single sitting. (You may see on Instagram people doing giant pieces, IE a full arm piece. What they don’t see is why that is a bad idea. Swelling, bruising, and a long healing time. When you split the session up, it allows the client to have a better outcome. The body can efficiently work on the area that has been lasered, instead of being overwhelmed.) Even with her sessions being split, it was no walk in the park. She did experience a black eye (the ink was very close to the sensitive area of the eyelid, laser uses acoustics deep in the skin to shatter ink and bruising can occur) and some swelling.
She stuck it out. She showed up on time. She committed to the process. Session by session.

During this time, she went to school and became a nurse’s assistant.

Watching her transformation will always be one of those things you look back on and really FEEL all the feels. Giving someone back their identity. Being able to say, hey…we all make mistakes…its how we grow and overcome that matters. We are not defined by our bad choices…we have the ability to work hard, and transform into whatever we want to be.

Giving people the opportunity to have their reflection match their heart, is one the greatest things we can do with our energy. Imagine walking around with all your past wrong doings/choices on your face….how would that feel? We would all hate it.

Our mission is to bring re-entry, ex-gang, victims of sex trafficking, and youth a fresh start. Individuals who are taking the steps to have a full-filling life for themselves and their communities. An opportunity to love their skin, and thrive in their potential.

We help people who are already helping themselves. To truly rehabilitate, shedding this old skin is vital. It gives them back their confidence. It gives them peace. It gives them hope. It helps them climb their rungs in life that were previously unavailable. Its beautiful to be able to give that.

Melanie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We are a small operation. It started with just myself and my amazing partner Ron. We are a family, and I think people feel that when they set foot in our office. We are not a med-spa, we don’t offer a bunch of services. We aren’t techs, we are masters of our trade. We are honest and realistic with our clients, and we have the experience to back it up.

We got into the laser tattoo removal industry about 12 years ago. Ron was passionate about the idea and the journey began. We attended specialized laser school. Attended business classes, and had a couple great mentors. Later we worked closely with a master laser specialist out of Ontario, and then began the process of acquiring all the equipment. Lasers are very very expensive, and we wanted to have the best and be the best.

Laser tattoo removal, isn’t just what we do, it’s a part of who we are. When you come to us, you become a part of our tight knit little group.

We have had to endure legislation changes, COVID, and life. But all of it has just been a season. We love what we do, and believe in what we represent, and we just keep chugging along.

Laser tattoo removal has many facets. Folks often ask us what we see. EVERYTHING. From micro-bladed brows, names, ring fingers, to entire sleeves. 18-90 year olds (yes we lasered one 90 year old lady)
We lighten tattoos for better cover-ups, which is super fun and we love doing. Laser isn’t just for a bad tattoo anymore. It’s for someone who maybe doesn’t identify with something they choose at 20, and now wants to get something else. With over 10 years in the trade, we have seen it all.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Two years ago, we were informed with zero warning, that legislation had changed and we were not in compliance to run our lasers. We are, (and at that time) the most experienced operation on the West Coast with 10 years of experience and 1000’s of successful removal’s.

It was stressful, and absolutely unsafe and unfair. Our legislation had voted to put the cosmetology board in charge of laser tattoo removal. We were told we had to become Advanced Esthetician’s. We essentially fell through the cracks, and no one was put in charge of informing us. What this also meant, is out of nowhere, inexperienced people had the potential to run lasers, and experienced people could not……

We went to school. (We also hired an attorney who told us we could pursue legal action. We decided to put our energy into continuing to be the best at what we do.) Schooling, unfortunately, didn’t have a lot to do with laser tattoo removal, and more about aesthetics. BUT…we did it. We did what we needed to do to continue providing for our family, for ourselves, and for the business we love and built.

You can say we are most definitely the most educated in experienced group in all the West :)

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Care. When you care, it shows. I think care encompasses honesty…even when its not what they want to hear. Someone may quote them less. Less money, less sessions. But we know we are honest. Having realistic expectations in tattoo removal is key. There is a lot of education that needs to happen. People think its all the laser and the tech …and the laser is just half of it. Half of it is your body. Your body needs time to efficiently breakdown the ink.

We do our best to show all our clients that they matter. We know its not an easy process. and we are there for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.renotattooremoval.com
• Instagram: renotattoremoval
• Facebook: Reno Tattoo removal
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Renotattooremoval
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/reno-tattoo-removal-reno-2