by Kelly A. Mello

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

Oh crud. You just got a tattoo on your tookus that says "Jack and Jill Forever". How touching. Except for the fact that Jill just pushed Jack's behind down that hill and only fetched a pail of water to throw at him as he tumbled down, hitting every rock on the way. I guess you can say it's time to get that tattoo removed. Just note that it will probably cost more to get it removed than it took to get it in the first place.

Well your first option is to get it covered up with another tattoo. I had a friend who did this, and it didn't look like anything was there previously. However, keep in mind that lighter colors will not cover up darker ones. So you are basically out of luck if you want a white snake covering that black rose. The new design can also get to be as big as twice the size of the first, depending on the area that you had inked. Therefore, it takes careful planning when deciding on an alternate design. Speak with your tattoo artist about this before you just waltz in and get it done.

If you want to completely remove the tattoo because you are trying to get a job at a company which looks down upon body art, there are other methods. One such procedure is laser removal. Aside from a tattoo cover-up design, this is the most popular way to do away with an unwanted tat. They work by honing in on the ink with pulses of highly concentrated light that break the ink into tiny fragments, which our body consumes and the immune system clears away. The thing about this practice that may deter you is that it takes several appointments to completely eradicate the ink. This can not only get pricey, but it also may leave damage to your skin. At 1-10 sessions, each costing in the range of $250-$850 per session, keeping the tattoo or exploring another method might be a better choice. A large, professional tattoo in color could cost thousands of dollars to remove, and the effectiveness of the removal still isn't guaranteed. The good news is that cases like that happen less often due to the advances in this field. Scarring may be minimal or even non-existent, depending on where the tattoo was, the colors used, how good the technician is, etc.

A similar approach is intense pulse light therapy (IPL). IPL is the newest and greatest dermal enhancer currently being used. Instead of laser light, it uses high intensity light in more or less the same manner. A gel is applied to the tattoo and then a wand is used to emit pulses of light onto the area being treated. Many people

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