Time to Remove that Tattoo?

Of course you didn't think about it when you were younger. Why should you, you'd had a few. Or it was on a dare. Or true love. Or Woodstock, for Pete's sake!

Whatever the reason, you've got a tattoo that's no longer thrilling you.

Those eagle's wings are starting to droop, the flower petals are wilting, and that enduring love you had emblazoned over your heart is meeting you in divorce court next week.

Ah well. What can you do? Get It Off!

But can you?

I made a beeline for our go-to guru on aesthetics, Wendy Lewis.

I think that if a gal has had a tattoo this long, she probably wants to be buried with it," she laughed.

But if that's not the case? "Getting it removed is easier than ever. All done with lasers. The key is skin type, location, size and the pigments used," but she warns: "Darker skin types are more at risk for hypo and hyperpigmentation."

Lewis recommends lasers, specifically one called the MedLite: "It could be one treatment for a tiny tatt, but more likely you'll need a series of 3 to 6. Darker skin types are more at risk for hypo and hyper- pigmentation. It hurts like any laser, but it's manageable."

What might be less manageable – it's not cheap: $500 - 1000 per session at least, she says.

The Good News

One aspect that helps with recovery is that tattoos "are usually in places that can be hidden with clothes — like back, arm, thigh, buttocks," Lewis notes. 

David Goldberg, M.D., clinical professor of dermatology and director of laser research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. has more good news:

 Older tattoos are easier to remove."

Even though tattoos are meant to be permanent, Dr. Goldberg says this is a pretty common request.

"It doesn't match their image of themselves any longer," explains Amy Forman Taub, M.D., an assistant clinical professor in the department of dermatology at Northwestern University Medical School.

As far as pain, it might be less than what you experienced having the tattoo applied. Dr. Goldberg says a topical anesthetic is needed; Dr. Taub adds: "Without adequate anesthetic, it can be painful. However, with adequate anesthetic (injected under the skin), the treatment is quite tolerable."

Regarding time: "It depends on the number of colors [used]. An amateur blue tattoo may only require 1 to 2 sessions," says Dr. Goldberg, but "more typical multicolored tattoos may take many sessions."

Are you better off just leaving it?

It depends, says Dr. Taub. "There's often a ghost image of what was there. There can be a change in pigment. The ideal [is] normal skin after the removal, but usually there is at least a trace. ...most want to obliterate the image and/or make it easier to cover in the workplace.

See? Who says past mistakes can't be erased.

Although I have a friend who now wants to get her first tattoo. Wendy Lewis told me the new pigments are easier to remove. Good thing.