For years, young people have been paying good money to adorn their skin with tattoos. Now, an increasing number of not-so-young people are paying good money to have those tattoos removed.“It’s like a really hot Exacto knife slicing through your skin,” said John Klear, describing his recent laser removal treatments.

Despite the pain and the cost, he says, it’s worth it to him to have his tattoos removed. He got them when he was in the Navy, a rite of passage but also a lasting reminder of “the folly of youth,” he says.

Later, after deciding he didn’t like the way they looked, he researched tattoo removal on the Internet and decided to go to the University of Michigan Health System for treatment.

His dermatologist, Jeffrey Orringer, M.D., sees many patients who want their tattoos to disappear. Indeed, he says, nearly 20 percent of people with tattoos are thinking of having them removed – and other estimates are even higher.

“The most common reason,” he says, “would be to remove a name of someone who is no longer involved in the patient’s life.”

Orringer treats patients with a technology is far superior to the techniques of the past.

Current technology allows the physician to choose certain wavelengths of laser light and shine them on the skin. The wavelength of light from the Q-switched (or quality-switched) laser targets the ink in the skin; the ink heats up when absorbing the laser light, and the balls of ink “pop like popcorn – but on a microscopic basis,” says Orringer, assistant professor of dermatology at the U-M Medical School.

The body responds by sending in white blood cells that chew up the altered ink and lighten the tattoo.

For typical, professionally applied tattoos, Orringer orders six to 12 treatment sessions that will clear most tattoos. And it’s not an easy process.

“Some patients tell me that having it removed with a laser is somewhat more uncomfortable than acquiring it in the first place,” he said.

Not Cheap
The cost also tends to be greater than the price of having the tattoo applied, he says, and can add up to a few thousand dollars for the most complex tattoos. Simpler tattoos cost less than that.

Some tattoos are easier to remove than others. Those that are older, simpler, contain fewer colors are easier to remove, while those located on arms and legs tend to be tougher, Orringer said.

“I’d say it’s most difficult to remove a tattoo from the ankle area,” he said. “The hands, fingers and other areas at the end of extremities are also more difficult because of a difference in blood flow.”

Counter intuitively, darker colors, such as black, are easier to remove; vivid, bright colors can be more difficult. When tattoo artists mix colors – such as dark blue with white to create sky blue – it can pose difficulties during the removal process. The white ink acts as a shield that reflects much of the laser light, protecting the blue ink and making it more difficult to eradicate with lasers.

For Robert Kelley, 48, the process of having his tattoo removed is a chance for him to teach his son about the potential downside of getting a tattoo. He is pleased that he has the option to have the tattoo removed, but it hasn’t been easy.

“I’ve been able to show my son after my surgeries what the healing process looks like,” said Kelley, who has required more than a dozen laser sessions for the removal of a tattoo on his arm, which he got when he was a teenager. “If my son wants a tattoo when he’s older, I’m going to remind him of the process I went through.”

Article Source: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/07/tattoo_removal.html

Author: Barney Garcia

People like to get tattoos when they are younger and sometimes do so for stupid reasons. Often, after ten years of so of having a tattoo, the person may decide they don’t want it any more. There are many reasons that a person may want to have a tattoo removed. Perhaps they have a named of an old lover tattooed on them, or they have a gang tattoo that there are no longer associated with. Some people have tattoos in places that will prevent them from getting a job they want. Some people might also have a tattoo that symbolizes hate or racism, and they no longer feel this way. Whatever the reason is, there are methods of removal out there.

Laser tattoo removal is one option for people considering the removal of a tattoo which is the most common method of tattoo removal. Laser removal involves targeting the tattooed area with pulses of concentrated light that will in turn break the ink fragments up into tiny particles which are then removed by you’re immune system. This process does not happen after one session, however, and the more treatment you have, the more likely the laser will destroy the ink. However, the more treatments you have also means heightened damage done to your skin. Excess treatments can lead to blistering of the skin, painful sores on your skin, scabs and even scarring. Since technology has advanced so much, the risks of skin damage have become minimal and many experts say it is very rare for scaring to occur. However, there is always some risk involved. Laser tattoo removal can be quite painful, as some people have described it as feeling like being splattered with hot grease.

Laser tattoo removal can also hurt your wallet though. Depending on the size and detail of your tattoo, you might need to have up to ten sessions in order to fully remove all of the ink. Each session costs in the range of $250 to $850. There are many other options for you to consider before you decide if laser tattoo removal is right for you. No method is 100% effective and guaranteed, but many will get you the results that will satisfy you. Laser removal is one of the best treatments for removing a tattoo, but remember, if you have a large colorful tattoo, you may spend thousands of dollars on treatment and it will not even be fully removed.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/

By C.D. Northup

Once the distinctive mark of social rebellion and a marginalized lifestyle, tattoos are now indelibly etched into the dermis of mainstream culture. But despite the social acceptability of being “inked,” there are a number of reasons why someone who has a tattoo may not wish to have it anymore. It may be that your purple butterfly of youth is now starting to look more like a bunch of grapes and you don’t want to sit around watching them turn to raisins. Perhaps the once-love-of-your-life turned out to be not so lovely after all and you don’t want to have to limit yourself to only dating people named “Guido.” Fortunately, you are not alone, and as tattoos become more and more commonplace, the technology used to remove them is slowly becoming more advanced as well.

Laser Tattoo Removal: The “What” and “How”
Laser tattoo removal is a significant improvement over older tattoo removal methods in several ways. Most notably, it does not involve cutting or abrasion and, in most cases, does not leave noticeable scarring in place of the tattoo. However, it’s not exactly a Magic Eraser for your skin, either.

Laser tattoo removal works by passing specific beams of light into the skin, the energy from which is absorbed by the pigments in the tattoo. This causes the pigments to break down and the tattoo to begin to disintegrate and fade. The process is gradual, usually requiring several treatments spread out over a year or more. Because different pigments absorb different types of light in different amounts, colorful tattoos are harder to remove and take longer than simple black or blue ink designs.

It’s also worth noting that removing the tattoo is significantly costlier and more painful than having it put on in the first place.

It’s also worth noting that removing the tattoo is significantly costlier and more painful than having it put on in the first place. The sensation one experiences while undergoing laser tattoo removal has been described as similar to having rubber bands snapped against the skin, or being spattered with hot oil. It’s also relatively expensive, as each individual treatment can run between $200 and $500, depending on the size and color of the tattoo, and most people require five to ten treatments to achieve acceptable results.

An Insider’s Perspective
Curious about the motivations behind getting, not getting, and removing tattoos, I conducted an informal survey of my peers. Despite the small number of people included in my survey, I found that the percentage of respondents who reported having tattoos (36 percent) was in line with most national estimates. Among those who had never gotten a tattoo, 67 percent claimed that they had genuinely considering getting one at some point in their lives. But the response I found most interesting came from a 29-year-old male who admitted that he is currently in the process of having a tattoo removed.

“I’ve decided to remove or even cover [the tattoo] up with another piece of tattoo art. The first time I got the tattoo, there was a lack of direction and not much thought put into the process, hence the unprofessional look and decision for removal. I wish the damn laser procedure wasn’t so expensive. I’ve invested more on the treatment than the actual tattoo itself. I am still paying for the consequences. The laser is more painful when taking off a tattoo than [getting the tattoo in the first place].”

This young man describes a sense of regret about a decision made in haste, under the wrong circumstances, for the wrong reasons. He is not alone. Business is booming for practices that provide laser tattoo removal, which suggests that a fair number of people who currently have tattoos will eventually decide that it is worth the pain and price to have it removed.

When Good Technology Falls into the Wrong Hands
Unfortunately, some people’s laser tattoo removal experiences involve much more unpleasant issues than pain, expense, and regret. Botched treatments, administered by under-qualified laser technicians, can cause burns, scarring, and other types of serious skin damage. State regulations are often slow to catch up to technological advances; at present, only Kentucky currently requires a medical doctor to be present during the laser tattoo removal procedure. This leaves many patients at the mercy of laser technicians who are simply not qualified to be providing such a delicate procedure.

Getting It Right, the Second Time Around
Just as it is vital to choose your tattoo artist carefully in order to avoid infection and poor quality work, it is extremely important to choose a qualified dermatologist or other medical professional to perform your laser tattoo removal. Don’t look for bargains or discounts for this kind of treatment, because there is a very good chance that you’ll get precisely what you paid for. Take your time, do your research, and make sure that you know what you’re getting into before handing over your credit card.

Article Source: http://www.docshop.com/2007/12/09/getting-de-inked-the-reality-behind-the-miracle-of-laser-tattoo-removal/