One of the businesses booming (along with the medical profession and pharmaceuticals thanks to the "hepatitis C-tattoo" alliance) as a consequence of the tattoo-craze is the dermatology industry. According to the American Society of Dermatological surgery, over 50% of everyone receiving a tattoo wants it removed.

Tattoo removal via laser surgery is among the fastest growing areas of the dermatology industry.

Depending on the size of the tattoo and colors used, the laser tattoo removal surgery can be very painful and very expensive. Tattoos performed by commercial tattoo parlors are much more difficult to remove because the tattoo is deeper, the ink more complex and thicker. It normally takes between 10 and 15 laser surgery sessions to remove the average tattoo, but 25-30 sessions are not uncommon, depending on the complexity of the tattoo. When you consider the average single session costs between 0 – 0, the removal surgery can be very expensive, costing as much as ,000. That tattoo might cost 00 to remove. And may I remind you, health insurance does not cover tattoo removals – this is strictly out of the pocket expenses. And yet despite this enormous personal cost, most people are so disgusted with their tattoo they’ll literally pay any cost to have it removed.
Plastic Surgeon Tolbert S. Wilkinson, of San Antonio, Texas, who has removed tattoos warns:

"If people only realized how difficult it is to remove a tattoo, understood how costly and how painful tattoo removal is, and recognized that society as a whole still views tattoos as a stigma, maybe they would think seriously before getting one.
Laser removal costs a minimum of ,000.00 (national average) per tattoo, and takes at least 10 to 15 treatments, spread out over two or more years. Even with this treatment, the tattoo is still visible." http://www.heloise.com/tattoo.html

Tattoo author Laura Reybold, writes that ". . .an ever rising number of people are so unhappy with their tattoos that they are willing to pay anything to have them removed."

"Yet an ever rising number of people are so unhappy with their tattoos that they are willing to pay anything to have them removed. Tattoo removal laser surgery is becoming big business for the dermatologists who perform it."
(Laura Reybold, Everything you need to know about the dangers of tattooing and body piercing, p. 30)

Ronald Scutt, says in Art, Sex and Symbol that even among sailors in the Royal Naval, over 50% regretted ever getting a tattoo. And among the married it rose to over 70%

"From the statistics of the Royal Naval survey, the most significant factor to emerge was almost certainly the incidence of regrets. Out of the whole sample, more than half admitted that they wished they had never been tattooed. In the married group, the figure rose to around 70 per cent."
(Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 179)

One article claims that as many as 80 percent of people with tattoos regret their tattoo. (www.spacecom.af.mil/hqafspc/News/News_Asp/nws_tmp.asp?storyid=02-93)

I’m looking for advice from people who have had a tattoo removed or lightened, either through a cream or laser surgery. I’ve looked into both and am weighing my options. I have one tattoo on my ankle I want to remove. It is about 1.5" x 2" and it is mostly black, yellow, and orange. I already know laser surgery is painful and expensive, but I’m looking for people who have had it done to tell me what it was like (how much, how many sessions, how painful, etc). And I’m also really interested in hearing from people who used creams to lighten or remove a tattoo- what brands did you use, for how long, etc. Any helpful advice is appreciated.

I DON"T WANT SCARS OR FOR IT TO BE VISIBLE THAT I HAD A TATTOO!
I DON"T WANT SCARS OR FOR IT TO BE VISIBLE THAT I HAD A TATTOO; I WANT SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN USED, TESTIMONIALS WOULD BE GREAT!

When I am out on my own, I’d possibly like to get laser hair removal from the knees down and even permanent make up, if I can afford to do so.

Are these procedures worth it?

My grandma and my mom’s friend both got their make up tattooed on and you can hardly tell.

However, they both got their procedures done years ago.

I was looking online at pictures of people who got an eyeliner tattoo and I didn’t think it looked very good.

That typed, what about laser hair removal?

How painful is it and how much does it cost?

I have read that it’s not permanent and doesn’t work for people who have light skin and hair, like me.

I have found that, when I use a hair removal cream like Veet, my skin is, for the most part, smooth.

It usually misses a line a hair here and there but besides that, I’ve got nothing to complain about.

Would I obtain that same, just-shaved appearance if I decided to get laser hair removal?

I am under the impression that my legs would be completely free of body hair for at least the next five years, with no maintenance needed whatsoever.
Edit: I meant to type "of," not "a."

I have this tattoo that I HATE! I have other tattoos that I love, but this particular one I got on an impulse and it looks horrible. Initially I was gonna have it covered up with another tattoo, but now I’m not so sure. I just wish it was completely gone, but I’ve heard that laser removal is expensive and usually not covered by insurance. So does anyone know if those "tattoo removal creams" actually work? I have heard of one product called ‘wrecking balm’ but I’m wondering if it really works or is just another gimic? please some insight!

How much would it cost to have a tattoo of a life-sized pair of handcuffs with little wings on each side removed? (figure maybe 3" x 10") And what are the chances of it looking pretty decently normal afterwards if it’s all done in black ink? (and how bad is it gonna hurt?)
I already have the tattoo. It’s all done in black ink. I got it five years ago. I want to get it removed so bad!!!

So, when I was 16 I got my 1st tattoo, at 18 I got my 2nd and now at 28 I want them gone!!! They are both black ink thick and the larger of the 2 is @ 12"x2", the smaller one is @ 2"x2" does anyone have any experience with tattoo removals…does it leave a scar or skin discoloration, etc….is black harder to remove, etc. etc…..real life experiences please, not just what you’ve heard….Thanks

Well, one drunken mistake in Amsterdam, and you wake up with a 11" x 6" tribal tattoo on your shin, I do however remember getting the tattoo.
I can’t afford a lazer removal, it will cost me thousands, and I would like to ware shorts again after the scars have healed and gone back to my usual flesh tone
I tried the cream, total scam, I thought I would end up with this f*cking thing on my leg for the rest of my life, but I remembered a site where true body modification fanatics go, ya know, those videos you send to your friends of people amputating them selves and sticking a cactus down their cock holes, those crazy BME guys lol, If these guys know a safe, DIY way to dismember them selves, then they know how to remove a tattoo the DIY way, and I found this picture, and its a little graphic, so you have been warned:

http://wiki.bmezine.com/images/9/90/Bmegl128174.jpg

I was inspired, so I went on ebay, bought a scalpel kit and I bought some antiseptic and some of the proper gear, took about 6 shots of jagermeister, and I tried to cut it off, I made a shallow cut all the way around the tattoo, and I tried to peel the skin off, but the more I peeled the deeper I went, and I had to cut off the excess with some scissors, but there is a part that is still hanging off my leg which is too painful to remove with scissors, somebody on here must know how to do this.
I will wait until my leg has healed, and my shin skin has healed back onto my leg and then I will have another go.
Does anybody on here know how to do this?
Can you give me any pointers?
One stupid mistake shouldn’t cost me £5,000 to fix.

….what i mean is, the fade creams that you can buy over the counter, what is the difference between the specific "tattoo removal creams" and an over the counter fade cream.

Some of you may have read my other question about "What should I do". I didn’t mention it there, but part of the reason my parents are so mad about me having tats (I’m 16) is that they are in fact very rich. My parents are trying to force me to get laser tattoo removal which i wouldn’t mind, but as someone pointed out it would cost thousands of dollars. but they have more than enough money to pay for that. if anyone read my previous post about "what should i do", please tell me if this makes a difference, and what should happen. i got these tats about a month ago, how long do i have to wait to get them lasered? and i dont mind getting them lasered so if they want me to and have the $$ then i should, right? also, should i buy one of those other in-home tattoo removal products first to see if i can remove some of the ink that way so that the laser removal doesn’t take as many sessions?

i have been shaving ALL of my hair ‘down there’ since i was about 10 (i have a OCD sorta thing about hair, im not a young porn star lol), and now im 16, the hair is ver dark and thick…

this means that it grows back after about a day, so i have to shave all the time… but this causes a rash, and makes my skin bleed and is really quite sore.
recently ive had loads of ingrowing hairs that ive had to pull out with tweezers, but theyve been full of pus and leave a big scab.

dont say wax, been there and hated it. my hair is too thick for hair removal cream, and dont even get me started with epilators!

ive tried shaving with the hair then across and then against, but it still bleeds and comes up in a rash.
ive tried using shaving cream and aftershave balm, still hurts.

the thing also is that ive got a tattoo there (ANOTHER long story), and its kinda ruining it now

also, why does this happen on my legs? ive been shaving them for longer!

help xxx
"why do you want no hair anyway? boys/men do not want to go down there and see a 6 year olds…"

i dont like hair, it feels coarse and yucky and unhigenic… and also, ive got tattoo where it should be anyway
(not around my actual ‘area’ just above)

and how much will it cost to get an 1.5" by .5" tattoo to get removed and how many sessions its black ink

No color, just black, just an outline of a tattoo I never finished, on my upper arm, covers about 10" long and 5" across? It’s fairly new (5 years old) I would be doing this in Northern California (so referrals would be great too). Cost for either laser treatment or chemical removal (tattooing chemical in tattoo to draw ink out) I know it would have to be looked at for a real estimate (so please don’t tell me "see a laser specialist for an estimate" duh!), but based on your own cost of removal, or recommendation by a derm or removal specialist, I’d like to know the ballpark figure or your experience with this. Thanks

You know the classic story, I got drunk last night and woke up today with a tattoo on my lower back.
It says "la bella vita" in pink.. the t isn’t even crossed and it isn’t centered..plus, its rather big.
This is not something I want to have on me forever, let alone have on me when I go on a family vacation with my parents.
I’ve heard soaking in the bathtub helps and laying in the sun.
I’ve also heard that putting wart removal will help.
I’m not able to get laser surgery and heard the creams for removal don’t actually work.

My weaker but fairly beautiful sister in law Dzemila is single,and on the "hunt" to find a soul mate to complete her and make her life actually worthwhile.

I find her to be very charming. A true Christian woman with actual values. How rare is that now, especially in the United States?

Every morning when I wake up and see my above average European wife, I am fairly content. I have one awesome kid, and another one too.

I think the man who is willing to take Dzemila into his home will be happy.

It’s just good to know that American men actually can find women you don’t need to get tested for STD’s or find a doctor for multiple tattoo removals.