by Miss Dameanor

Created on: March 26, 2007   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

Ahh...that eternal debate. Should I go for it (because I am an adult...a person of logic...and unlike the Sneetches, I will never regret the giant green star permanently etched on my jiggly frontal section) or opt for the Pamela Anderson imitation Venice Beach henna tribal band? Of course, as stated by our beloved Bill of Rights, we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Without question. However, you may want to reconsider that abdominal nautical star before finding out the expensive, painful, and not always successful solution of laser tattoo removal.

You seethe Sneetches were lucky. They had a big machine that resembled an arcade photo booth to remove their mistakes in one quick zap. No rednessno bubbly blisters. Just in and out like MacDonald's. Go in smiling, come out smiling. Wheee. Life is goood. We humans don't get off so easy.
If you have a tattoo, whether it is a horrible jailhouse black-and-gray rendition of the Tasmanian Devil wearing a Rebel flag hat holding two beer mugs.or a beautiful full-color tropical garden scene, complete with realistic Birds of Paradise and orchidsyour tattoo will not cover up easily OR beautifully. Maybe if you covered it with White-Out first. But seriouslyyou are in for heartache if you think it is simple, easy, and foolproof. Think of your skin as a canvas that already has a painting on it. Unless your artwork has that Marcel Duchamp Nude Descending a Staircase style to begin with.you will end up with a dark mish-mosh of muted over-blended color.
Your best bet, in this situation, is to visit the laser removal clinic and zap your artwork a few times. This will lighten the lines and concentrations of color well enough so that, eventually, another image can be transposed and filled in without looking like an accidental mixture on a painter's palette. Just check out the color wheel. Look at color combinations that do not complement each other. What results from these mixtures? Dark browns, black, dark reds, dark purples. EVERYTHING dark. A previous tattoo and its colors, mixed with a brand new tattoo and it's colorsyou will end up with a picture lacking depth. A blob.
You also must take into account the cons of the laser procedure. For instance the most haggard, faded, blotchy anchor tattoo from The Pike down in Long Beach just post-WWII. This being the EASIEST tattoo to remove. The ink was poorly made back then, machines were just about the same quality as the ink, and tattoo care were two words that did not go together. Even today, 2007, that faded tattoo will take close to 10 sessions (which generally range anywhere from $100 up to $400, depending on the doctor) under the laser for almost total removal. I use the words "total removal" loosely because it is never actually "gone". Your skin is never the same. Where the skin is not whitish and lightened from the mild scarring created during the original tattoo process.the laser creates a raised, painful area that blisters and sloughs off eventually after a day or two proceeding the treatment. This healing process is the main reason that a tattoo cannot be taken off all at one time; it must be done in sessions.
Though there may be tattoo removal options available, most people would agreethis is a highly inadvisable quick fix for a poorly planned lifelong commitment such as a tattoo. If you are the least bit hesitant.don't do it. If you are afraid of commitment.don't do it. If you insist on getting a name, make
it your kid's. And for goodness sakesNO BAND NAMES! Just ask the guy with the TED NUGENT RULES! tattoo on his forearmwhether he regrets it or not.

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