Tattoo removal is growing in popularity as tattooed teens and 20-somethings age. Plastic surgeon Dr. Mitchel Krieger explains how new technologies have improved outcomes for erasing ink you may regret.
Although it may have been cool to get a piece of barbed wire, butterfly, Chinese character or other symbol tattooed someplace visible as a young adult, many people are finding as they get older and enter the workforce, it’s not so cool anymore.
The majority of managers in a 2008 CareerBuilder study said –regardless of company policy — that their opinion of any given employee was lowered by visible body art. In a survey conducted by Reed, Haldy, McIntosh & Associates for the Employment Law Alliance, 39 percent of the 1,000 Americans polled said they believe employers should have the right to deny employment to someone based on appearance, including visible piercings and body art.
But by definition, tattoos are permanent. That’s what makes them cool—the risk that comes with such dedication. However, with laser tattoo removal becoming more accessible, young rebels can now have the best of both worlds. They can decide to get their boyfriend’s name tattooed in plain sight, and at the same time have it removed in a year or two when it’s not so cool anymore.
In this video, Dr. Mitchel Krieger explains that laser tattoo removal is accomplished on an outpatient basis using local anesthetic. Although the procedure itself doesn’t take long, complete removal usually takes six to eight visits every two months for about a year and a half. The article continues below the video player.
Article continues below video player.
In nature, the skin tends to attack and carry off foreign bodies, such as ink particles. If left alone, a tattoo would eventually fade completely, but the process would take decades. Laser tattoo removal works by speeding up this process—the lasers work to break ink particles down into smaller pieces. Then, the skin can carry away the pieces faster.
Ideal candidates for laser tattoo removal are medium- to light-skinned patients with dark tattoos. Red and black ink respond best to the wavelengths most commonly used in removal; there are special lasers best suited to lighter inks, but since they can’t break down dark colors, they are less common.
So whether you just broke up with the girl whose name is emblazoned on your bicep, or your new job doesn’t share your love of dragons, you don’t have to let your tattoo mark you for life.
