Tattoos have been with us for centuries and are currently very fashionable, but that means more and more people are regretting a quick decision to have a tattoo? If you’re living with tattoo regret, there are various options open for removal.

Surgical excision

A surgeon removes the skin holding the tattoo, and sutures together the surrounding skin if the tattoo was small, or carries out a skin graft from another part of your body if it’s a mid-sized tattoo. This method is not used for large tattoos as it tends to leave visible scarring over bigger areas.

Chemical peels

Works by removing the layers of skin above the tattoo with mild acids. The damaged area is then repaired with new skin by your body. This treatment is very hard on the skin and can cause scarring, so it has been overtaken by less damaging modern methods.

Dermabrasion

This involves rubbing away the top layers of skin covering the tattoo. It is often used as a treatment to smooth out acne scars, or the fine lines from aging. When used on tattoos, it works by removing the top and middle layers of the skin, then the tattoo is removed surgically and the skin sewn back together. Like excision, this means the area may be scarred. Now falling out of use as laser treatment is more effective.

Tattoo removal creams

Creams that gradually bleach the skin sometimes claim they can also fade tattoos, if used daily for 3-12 months. A positive for the creams is they can be applied at home and are painless. But they can bleach the skin around the tattoo as well as the ink itself, and may cause allergic reactions.

Unfortunately, many have claimed the creams do not work. The manufacturers point out that every person and every tattoo is unique, so the cream will work better for some people than others. The FDA says the creams have no benefit, which is worth bearing in mind before buying several months supplies of them.

Laser removal

The most common tattoo removal technique now the equipment is widespread, it uses focussed laser light to encourage the decomposition of the ink of the tattoo, which is then cleared by the body’s immune system.

Different inks are broken down by different wavelengths of laser light. The easiest to remove pigments are black, blue and brown, whereas yellow, red, green, orange and white are more difficult. Professionally applied tattoos are usually deeper in the skin and contain more colours, making them harder to remove and requiring more treatments.

On average, it takes 7-12 treatments to remove a tattoo, but it may take more depending on how your skin reacts, and on the particular tattoo. Between each treatment the skin needs to recover and the body clears some of the ink, so 4-8 week delays between treatments is usual. In rare cases people have an allergic reaction to the decomposing ink so if you’re having a laser treatment, make sure you report any changes in how you feel to your doctor.

Sadly, the treatment is not pain free and people receiving it describe the feeling as being hit by an elastic band, or a mild burning sensation. Most treatments will be done under a mild anaesthetic so they are not too painful, but the area will be sore and will need careful cleaning and covering for at least a week after each treatment.

Make sure lasers used are ‘Q-switched’, producing very short and very intense pulses of light, these are currently the best for targeting the pigment and causing the least damage to surrounding tissue. It takes 10 to 30 minutes to cover a whole tattoo, due to the bursts being so short.

As it is the most successful and least painful procedure of the removal techniques, laser removal has become the most popular way to get rid of a tattoo.

Camouflage

Instead of removing the tattoo, it is disguised by having another tattoo in the same and surrounding area of skin. If the original design can effectively be covered and you have a skilled second tattooist, they should be able to completely hide the original tattoo. Pamela Anderson had this done after getting divorced, changing ‘Tommy’ on her ring finger to ‘Mommy’ so she was not constantly reminded of her ex-husband.

The techniques for removing tattoos are getting better and better, although they are not quick or painless yet. Before getting a tattoo, think long and hard about the design and whether you will be able to live with it for the rest of your life. If you’re planning a tattoo, look at getting a temporary version first, either in henna or as a transfer, which can look just as good as the real thing and last for several days. Living with a version you can remove will let you gauge other’s reactions as well as your own, and let you try different placements before getting a permanent version, or avoiding it altogether.

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