Tattoo Removal Becoming More Common
Tattoo Removal Becoming More Common
September 26, 2007
Christine Webb, Your Health and Fitness
Central Florida News 13
Tattoos are supposed to be permanent, but more and more people are undergoing laser procedures to have them taken off.
There are several methods of tattoo removal available today.
The method your doctor chooses will depend upon the size of the tattoo and its location, as well as the length of time it has been on the skin.
Laura Hathaway, 31, decided to spend the money to have a tattoo removed by laser from her lower back.
"Now that styles have changed, you can see it when I bend over. It's just something I wanted to be private and now it's not," Hathaway said.
Dermatologists said, in Hathaway's case, it would take about 10 sessions to remove the tattoo.
"It's like a shock wave to the pigment underneath the skin, so it goes through the skin without damaging it and hits the pigment depending on which wavelength and which color you have and it blows it into small pieces," said Dr. Scott Karempelis.
The body then reabsorbs the pigment.
"Almost everyone gets a little bit of dispigmentation, a little lighter, a little darker for a while," Karempelis said.
Hathaway admitted that having the tattoo removed hurts a lot more than getting it done, but she said it was worth it to erase something that no longer fits her lifestyle.
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