by Kathleen Makepeace

Created on: May 24, 2009

So your lover broke up with you, so you were drunk, so you've realized that little act of rebellion when you were 18 was stupid: whatever the reason, you want that tattoo gone. Though tattoos are considered to be permanent, and you should go about getting a tattoo that way, there are methods for removal.

The most common type of tattoo removal is laser treatment. Laser machines mimic sun exposure to the tattoo, breaking it down so the body will absorb it naturally. Certain pigments, such as yellows, greens, and fluorescent colors can be harder to break down than others. These are harder to remove because they have a light absorption spectra outside the range of the average laser removal machine. Laser removal can be extremely painful (it's been described as feeling like being spattered with hot grease), and can cause scarring. Depending on your tattoo, you may need anywhere from 1-10 sessions, costing you up to $850 per session.

Intense Pulsed Light Therapy, or IPL, is the newest and dermal enhancer currently being used. It uses high intensity light in pretty much the same manner as laser removal. A gel is applied to the skin and then a wand is used to emit pulses of light onto the tattoo. This method is said to be less painful than laser therapy, and more effective, meaning less treatment sessions. The bad news is that it also carries a heftier price tag than laser treatment: one clinic offers a price of $10 per pulse. Depending on how many pulses your tattoo removal requires, this could add up to a significant amount of money.

There are also tattoo removal creams, though their legitimacy is questionable. However, the Tattoo Removal Institute states that they have tested a few of these products, and found a couple of them to live up to their claims. According to their research, both TatBGone and Tattoo-OFF showed significant fading of the tattoos without any pain or damage to the skin. Another website, Remove that tattoo!, also hails tattoo removal cream systems as "The only proved way to remove tattoos without surgery". There is still plenty of reason to be skeptical, but if you really need a tattoo removed and you can't afford any of the more drastic treatments, it probably wouldn't hurt if you tried a cream. It's not cheap though - a 2 month supply of Tat B Gone will cost you $125, and a 2 month supply of Tattoo-OFF is $116.95; and the Tattoo Removal Institute says it takes several months to get desired results.

There are other methods of tattoo removal, but most of them are so painful and ineffective, laser removal rendered them obsolete. These other methods include dermabrasion, which would actually "sand" away the top layer of skin. Another method is excision, where the tattooed area of skin is cut away and the skin sewn back together. These methods have proved to cause much damage to the skin and result in severe scarring, and are only used today in extreme cases where laser removal is not an option.

There are many factors that should be considered when you are choosing a tattoo removal option that's right for you, and though this information has been provided, it's ultimately up to you to decide what your body, mind, and wallet can handle.

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