Tattoo: You Have One Now You Want to Get Rid of It

I went to get my yearly physical at the doctors office the other day, as the nurse, an attractive brunette, was taking my blood pressure, I noticed what looked to be a really big, but faded, guys face on her forearm. Now me, being kind of on the nosy side, asked her about this.

She told me that she had gotten a tattoo of her boy friends face, in a gesture of love to him. Well, needless to say the romance went sour and she was left with his face forever etched to her skin.

She told me that she had already endured 3 office visits to remove it. The doctor entered the room then and that was the end of that conversation.

I went home and did a little research on tattoo removal and this is what I found out.

Is it possible to remove a tattoo totally

An old tattoo is easier to remove than a new one but to remove a tattoo depends upon several things such as the size, location, how the tattoo was applied and how long it took to heal after the procedure. Your doctor can not really tell you that he can remove the whole tattoo totally because they don't know which of the 100 plus tattoo inks that was used. Also it was noted that using a more experienced tattoo artist, the ink was applyed more evenly, thus making it easier for the tattoo to be removed.

Methods used for removing a tattoo

Excision-the surgeon uses a scalel to remove the tattoo and then stitches the wound. You can use skin grafting from other areas of the body if using this type of procedure

Dermabrasion-this is where they actually "sand" off the top and middle layers of the skin where the tattoo was applied

Cryosurgery-here they actually "freeze" the area where the tattoo is located

Lasers-this is the most standard treatment for tattoo removal. Mostly because there is much less risk with side effects. Using only mild anesthesia, or no anesthesia and done as an out patient for a single or series of visits.

What to expect with the procedure

Having tattoos removed can be very painful, in fact some say when the laser light touches your skin it is similar to the painful feelings you get from hot bacon grease popping on your skin or having a thin rubber band snapped on your body.

Most people have to go on a series of visits for the laser procedure, which can become quite frustrating. Even still the tattoo may not be totally eliminated

Some people have excellent results with the tattoo removal only to have lost total skin pigment in that area forever

there is a chance that you can get infection at the site or you could develop permanent scarring in the area that could leave you feeling worse then the tattoo did

Expense of tattoo removal

Getting a tattoo can be expensive but to have the tattoo removed can be several thousands of dollars.

Another really sad news on the "expense" issue. Medical insurance generally do not pay anything on removing a tattoo (placed in the catagory as cosmetic)

Some other options to consider

Some tattoo parlors also do tattoo removals. But make sure this person is reputable to do this . The risk of infection is very dangerous so be cautious of who you decide to let do this.

If you have a "gang" related tattoo and do not have the finances to have the tattoo removed there are some physicians, health facilites ,local government agencies as well as special civic groups that offer free tattoo removals.

for more information about removing a tattoo go to www.howstuffworks.com/tattoo-removal.htm