Think before you ink: Tattoo removal a $27M annual business
By Aaron Aupperlee, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
But the tattoo of her husband's name scrawled between her shoulder blades will take a bit longer to disappear.
"No more names," Hancharik, 34, of
Tattoo removal clinics around
"I've seen everything," said
Actor
About 40 percent of people have tattoos removed for employment reasons, according to a study by The Patient's Guide, a website that provides information on dermatological treatments.
Removing the name of a former lover ranks second at 18 percent, followed by people who want tattoos erased because they have changed their beliefs or just don't like them anymore, the study found.
At Kyklops Tattoo on the Southside, the minimum cost for a tattoo is
"They had that stupid night. They were in college, in Vegas, and now, they are like, 'Man, how am I going to explain this in a interview?' " said
Davantae Ramsey, 22, of
"Big time regrettable,"
"It was always something I wanted to do. I wanted to travel. I wanted to have the brotherhood,"
Americans had more than 45,000 tattoo removal procedures last year and spent nearly
Even after many procedures, tattoos might not be completely removed. The lasers can cause burns or skin irritation. The expensive procedure often is not covered by health insurance, he said.
At Invisible Ink, it costs about
Most small tattoos cost between
Business has been brisk at Invisible Ink, which uses a laser recently approved by the
Three to four clients visit each day. The laser, which fires so rapidly that it's measured in picosecond intervals (that's one-trillionth of a second), breaks up tattoo ink into particles as tiny as a grain of sand, which the body can then absorb, Barnes said.
It can take six to eight procedures to remove a tattoo. Hancharik, who went for her second treatment last week, already has seen results.
"This has been a monkey on my back," she said.
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