Laser Tattoo Removal: Painful and Expensive Save Email Print

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Angelina Jolie, Tommy Lee and Dennis Rodman.

Just a few of the celebrities who have glamorized skin art.

While love sometime fades it takes a lot more than that to make a tattoo disappear.

Giustina Rossi had two cherubs tattooed on her lower back when was 21. "It was impulse, got it done and realized that it doesn't look good on me. It just wasn't what I'm about," she says.

After a shot to kill the pain, whe got her eleventh and final laser treatment to remove those cherubs.

The total cost was about 4,400 dollars.

It is a growing market.

Tattoo removal lasers are now big business.

Dr. Bruce Katz, a board certified dermatologist, has been removing tattoos for more than a decade. "We have not seen so many tattoos as in the last few years, ever."

Eighty percent of his clients are women who have changed their minds. "A lot of women today and some men have had tattoos placed when they're in college or high school, get into the real world, into business they're in wall street or investment banking and they realize this is not professional and that's when they realize they want to have them removed," Dr. Katz says.

Tattoos where the ink is very deep in the skin or with many colors, are hard to take off. "There are aqua, yellow orange, turquoise, they become a lot more difficult and they require more sessions to remove them."

Giustina wishes she had known that before she got her tattoo in the first place. "I should've listened to my parents when they said that I'd be paying for it later on. They were right," she laments.

Having a tattoo removed is about as painful as getting one.

Most people describe it as hot grease splattered on your skin, or being snapped by a rubber band.

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Posted by: Jeff Location: South Bend on Jul 21, 2008 at 12:41 PM
I am the owner of INK-OUT Laser Inc. We are the areas exclusive Laser Tattoo Removal Studio. Our pricing plan is well below any of the local cosmetic oriented facilities here in town. We are located @ 1022 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Mishawaka. You can visit us on the web @ www.inkoutlaser.com or give us a call (574)255-0465. Hope to hear from you soon.

Posted by: Jamie Location: Niles on May 17, 2007 at 06:04 PM
Tattoos are not body art.They are an offense to the eye.It's your right to make your own mistakes,but please don't put one where I can see it.

Posted by: Tattoo-less Location: South Bend on May 17, 2007 at 05:18 PM
Shop around. $4,000 is way more than need be paid for this service. Try Chicago. Dr. Katz is making a killing at $4,400.

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