Your tattoo may have seemed like just the thing to have at one point but according to Howstuffworks.com, about 50 percent of people who get tattoos later regret them. There are various reasons why you might want a tattoo removed.
You may have a chance to get a really good job but that tattoo on your hand or neck is getting in the way. Perhaps you had a sweetheart’s name blazed on your skin but that relationship is long over and your new love doesn’t want to see the reminder of another. If you have a gang-related tattoo, you may want to dissociate yourself with that group and move on in your life.
Choices for tattoo removal are few. Some methods can be costly and painful while others may not work at all:
- Laser removal is the most common method used for tattoo removal. Darker tattoos are the easiest ones to treat because the darker color absorbs more of the laser light so is removed more readily.
Laser tattoo removal will require at least two to four sessions depending on the size of the tattoo and how deep the pigment has penetrated the skin. The cost will be $225 to $850 a session, according to the tattoo removal center.
Laser tattoo removal can be painful. People report the sensation is like being splattered with hot grease or snapped with a rubber band.
- Intense pulsed light therapy (IPL) is a newer method and uses another form of high intensity light, instead of laser light, delivered in bursts. Longer duration bursts of light are used for larger tattoos and short bursts for smaller ones.
IPL therapy has been reported to be less painful and may not need as many sessions as laser tattoo removal but the price tag is heftier -- $10 per a pulse. IPL is also not recommended for those with darker skin due to risk of skin discoloration.
Older methods:
These methods were more commonly tried before laser removal became the preferred choice. They are no longer used unless laser therapy is not an option.
- Dermabrasion is a method that “sands” the skin to remove the appearance of the tattoo. This method works best for tattoos that are not deeply injected and do not have darkly colored ink. It may take several sessions and a possible scar or discolored area may remain.
- Excision is probably the cheapest, most immediate method to use. Excision works best for small tattoos in areas that have loose skin.
There are references for use of over the counter cream that supposedly fade tattoos, however, there is no guarantee that they will work and they take months to show any effect. Karen L. Hudson, a former tattoo guide on About. com, stated that if you cannot afford the price of the other methods you might consider them.
Upon inspection of a couple of tattoo removal cream websites, I noted that there is no listing of what the active ingredient is in these creams and there is no way to know if their testimonials are real. This method falls under "buyer beware.”
Another less expensive alternative is try camouflage makeup to cover your tattoo. Camouflage makeup for tattoos can be found at sites such as
http://www.colortration.com/
http://www.smartcover.com/
http://www.camouflageskin.com/
Sources:
How Tattoo Removal Works. Discover Fit & Health. Retrieved Mar. 2, 2012.
http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/skin-and-lifestyle/tatt...
Tattoo Removal - Options and Alternatives to Tattoo Removal
About Laser Removal and Other Removal Methods. From Karen L. Hudson, former About.com Guide. Retrieved Mar. 2, 2012.
http://tattoo.about.com/od/tatremoval/a/tatremoval.htm
Tattoo Removal Information Center. Retrieved Mar. 2, 2012.
http://www.tattooremovalinfonow.com/
Michele is an R.N. freelance writer with a special interest in woman’s healthcare and quality of care issues. Other articles by Michele are at www.helium.com/users/487540/show_articles
Edited by Jody Smith