The stinging reality of tattoo removal - Tattoo Removal Treatment

The stinging reality of tattoo removal
September 23, 2007
By Bryan McKenzie
DailyProgress.com

The laser pierces the tattooed teardrop mere centimeters from his left eye, its intense light disrupting the subcutaneous ink with a pop-pop-pop.

Chris Denby does not flinch. HeÌs here for a purpose.

ÏIÌve got about 60 tattoos and two that IÌm getting rid of,Ó says the 36-year-old transportation supervisor from Fluvanna County. ÏMost of the tattoos are 15 or 20 years old and theyÌre from a different time of my life, a part of my life thatÌs in the past and no longer exists. The two I want gone are where people can see them and they attract too much attention.Ó

ItÌs a common comment heard at the Charlottesville Skin and Laser Center. Here, in the office of Richard Snell, complicated computerized lasers are commonly used to remove unwanted hair and age spots. Once a month, the lasers - in the hands of skin cancer specialist Dr. Vandana Nanda - are turned on tattoos.

ÏLaser treatment is all based on color,Ó Nanda explained. ÏYou use the opposite color of light for the color of ink in the tattoo. Black, blue and red inks are the easiest, but colors like turquoise, peach and pink are difficult because we are limited in the colors of lasers we have.Ó

The process is not easy.

ÏThe laser shatters the pigment beneath the epidermis and in the dermis, and the smaller pieces of pigment are then eaten up by white blood cells that carry the pigment away,Ó Nanda said. ÏThe ink often is deep in the dermis, however, and that requires up to four or more treatments.Ó

Often painful

Neither are the treatments painless. The laser burns as it pierces the skin and injures it much like an abrasion. The skin scabs and the procedure often proves painful.

ÏItÌs not an easy process,Ó Nanda said.

ItÌs a process many are willing to endure because removing a tattoo, like getting one, is a personal statement.

ÏThere are a lot of reasons to get a tattoo but, to be honest, my tattoos really arenÌt about anything,Ó explained Billy Fisher Jr., an apprentice tattoo artist at Mama Rocks Tattoo on High Street. ÏSome people like the process of getting a tattoo and some like the art and design. Others get them for emotional purposes and some to display their individuality. For some the reason is stupidity: They get drunk and do it on a dare under peer pressure.Ó

Fisher made many of his tattoos himself. He enjoys the experience, the buzzing bee-like sting of the needles and the endorphin rush that follows. He recommends that those getting tattoos, especially first-timers, get them in places that are easily concealed.

ÏNot everyone appreciates body art,Ó he said. ÏYou have to understand that and look to your future.Ó

Sometimes that future is tattoo-free.

ÏWe have some people getting a tattoo removed so they can put another in its place,Ó Snell said. ÏThen there are others who want the tattoos removed because they have jobs that donÌt allow tattoos or look down on them.Ó

Motives vary

In SnellÌs office this day are a woman in her 30s who has decided the tattoo doesnÌt fit her lifestyle and an 18-year-old getting her tattoo removed because her Christian school prohibits students from having them. A 20-year-old artist named Kevin is having removal treatment due to artistic differences between himself and the artist who copied the design in ink.

ÏIÌm getting it off because I donÌt like the way it turned out,Ó Kevin says. ÏThereÌs definitely a culture behind tattoos that I didnÌt understand and a lot of artists donÌt like to do someone elseÌs drawing. I designed it, but it didnÌt turn out the way I wanted. So IÌm going to get it touched up here and there or maybe put something over it.Ó

Kevin said he would likely get more tattoos: ÏIÌm sure I will. I like them.Ó

Denby is keeping most of his. HeÌs foregoing treatment on the tattoos on his arms and body, including spider-webbed elbows and a skeleton tattoo on his chest. Now in management, the father of four and husband has left his wild side of youth behind and the most visible remnants have got to go as well.

ÏThereÌs a lot of history, and some of the tattoos have meanings to people, and I donÌt want that to become an issue,Ó Denby admitted. ÏI donÌt want to have my kids answering a lot of questions about my tattoos, and thatÌs beginning to happen. It also doesnÌt look very professional.Ó

Not every tattoo is ready for removal, however. The more intricate and large the tattoo, the more Nanda is likely to recommend keeping it.

ÏLarge tattoos with lots of colors can take eight treatments and the skin may never be completely clear and thatÌs a lot to go through,Ó she said. ÏSometimes a patient needs to consider whether it would be better to keep it and just cover it up, if possible.Ó

Lengthy treatment

Most tattoos require several treatments that are scheduled six to eight weeks apart to allow the skin to properly heal. Getting rid of the tattoo costs more than getting it, averaging between $150 and $250 each treatment.

Denby doesnÌt mind.

ÏI donÌt have a problem with tattoos if theyÌre in the right place and not gang-related,Ó he said. ÏThe ones IÌm having removed stand out and people look at you. I definitely want them gone.Ó

© 2007 Media General.