Life's 411: Removing Tattoos
Life's 411: Removing Tattoos
Oct 1, 2007
Jilyan Landon/WCIA 3
Illinoishomepage.net
Tattoos have always been a part of American mainstream culture: reflecting changes in life status or group affiliation.
A report by the FDA estimate as many as 45 million Americans have tattoos. It's also estimated that an average of 17 percent of them regret it. Unfortunately, removing a tattoo isn't as easy as say scrubbing with soap and water, but requires a lot of time and money and might be even more painful than getting a tattoo. Dr. James Kurley is part of a growing industry catering to people who may not have thought about the implications of forever the first time around. He says, "Those tattoos have the potential to be visible, and therefore unacceptable to their employers." There are a variety of options to remove an unwanted tattoo but more and more doctors are turning to lasers. Dr. Kurley says, "When I am using a laser it's usually carbon dioxide laser and that works a little bit differently in that it's primarily working by producing heat that then unroofs the skin and allows us access to the pigment." Jeromey McCulloch says that he got his tattoo removed because he simply wanted a different one. He says, "I was uninformed on what the possibilities were for art and not because I don't like my tattoos, I think tattoos are neat, I want better artwork on me." But he says it burned for a week then blistered.
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