Vanishing act: Regret sends stream of customers to laser tattoo-removal clinics
By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 16, 2009 at 3 p.m.
Photo by Ellen Jaskol / The Rocky
A fish tattoo shown by Wendi Walker in a photo of herself six years ago - on her 29th birthday - has been successfully removed from her chest, as she points out.
Photo by Ellen Jaskol / The Rocky
Certified laser specialist Gary Betz removes a tattoo from his daughter Erica's side, in his office at Tattoo Must Go in Englewood. At left, the "before" photo.
Photo by Ellen Jaskol / The Rocky
Erica Betz before her tattoo removal
The stars all seemed to be in alignment.
She was 16, a junior in high school. It was Christmas break in Springfield, Mo. She'd just awoken with a concussion after being involved in a sledding incident with a tree at 2 a.m. the night before. A friend was an amateur tattoo artist and needed gas money to get to Kansas City, pronto. And she had $5 in her pocket.
What better time or place, then, to get a lemon-size tattoo of a fish put across her chest?
"It sounds so cliche, but you just don't know at 16, almost 17 . . . You're not thinking about your future. You're not thinking that when you're 30 you won't want a fish on your breast," said Wendi Walker.
She can laugh about it now - nearly 20 years later and after spending $1,600 to get it professionally removed. That's 320 times more than she paid to put it on, but she doesn't care.
"I would have paid $20,000 to have it taken off," she says firmly.
Walker's not alone. Tattoos are more popular than ever, with each new generation seeming to embrace them more than the last. So it stands to reason that tattoo regret - realizing you have to live with an impulse decision - is on the rise as well.
Once the exclusive realm of plastic surgeons, laser tattoo removal is becoming more commonplace in non-medical settings. Shelley Novello has run Ink Be Gone locations in Denver and Westminster for the past three years. More recently, Gary Betz opened Tattoo Must Go locations in Englewood and Loveland, with a company motto of "What was I thinking?"
Statistics are hard to come by, but a 2003 Harris Poll shows that 17 percent of tattooed people don't like what they have. A 2005 survey by the American Society of Dermatological Surgery suggests that only 6 percent of those with tattoos they don't like do something about it.
"I think the statistic is higher," Novello said. "I think 50 percent are unhappy with at least one of their tattoos. Two years ago, I think, 5 percent looked at doing something about it. Now you're looking at 20 percent."
Part of the reason, she said, is clinics like hers. "There was no place for the normal guy to go that wasn't a Cherry Creek-type of person to get tattoos removed," she said. "Now it's an option that doesn't cause scarring, and it's more affordable."
"What inspires it is some sort of life-changing event," Betz said. "I've got three clients right now working to get their tattoos off because they're getting married."
People entering the military aren't allowed to have any visible tattoos.
"I take off a lot of ex-lovers' or ex-husbands' and ex-wives' names," Betz said. "I take a ton of marijuana leaves off the hand."
Men tend to have pragmatic reasons for getting a tattoo removed, Novello and Betz said, while women lean toward the cosmetic.
Once college students enter the job market, "they get a dose of reality," Betz said. "Tattoos can kill an interview."
Or a relationship.
"Somebody had tattooed tribal eyebrows across his forehead," Novello said, which was a drawback now that he was in a custody fight for his daughter. Others had misspelled words. One man called as he was walking out of divorce court, looking to get his tattooed wedding ring removed. One woman had the names of three men on her neck.
"And the guy who brought her in - he was none of these three people," Novello said.
Betz's clients have been as diverse as a father who didn't want to explain to his young son how a unicorn got on his hip and a 64-year-old woman who got a butterfly with friends on a vacation whim. He's in the process of removing a tattoo from his daughter, Erica, a college student who got "Lebe das leben" - German for "Live life" - on her rib cage with college friends a few years ago.
"We took a trip and got tattoos," she said with a shrug.
Often, the reason a work is removed isn't that the person has suddenly become anti-tattoo. Rather, he's gotten more tattoos over the years and realized that his starter tats are amateurish in comparison, so the purpose is to "free up the real estate" for a newer, better design. Or at least in a better location.
"I love tattoos. Women who have the half-sleeves - I think that's so sexy. It can be really feminine. For me the real estate, the place where it was put and what was there - I'd grown tired of it," said Walker, who has other less-prominent tattoos that she loves.
After the impulse inking, "I proceeded to hide it from my mother for six months," she said. "From 16 to 25, every shirt I wore showed it. After that, every shirt I wore covered it up. I got to the point where I hated it."
Walker chose to skip the laser clinics and go to a medical doctor specializing in laser removal at Expert Laser Clinic because she wanted a local anesthetic, given the sensitive location of her tattoo. This was after she was the maid of honor in a friend's wedding "and four of the seven bridesmaids had tattoos that needed to be covered up," she said.
She also began thinking of her own wedding someday.
"All I knew is, I didn't want to walk down the aisle with my father and have a big fish showing through my wedding dress," she said. "The dress didn't come, but the fish is gone. That's all I care about."
"A lot of people who come in are young professionals in their early 30, late 20s and they got the tattoos in college. That's not who they are anymore," Novello said.
"We get a lot of cartoon characters. . . . We have people come in who were unhappy with a tattoo they had and had it covered with something else. Now they have a big black blob they're very unhappy with."
That was exactly the case with Cheri Deherrera, of Denver, whose five tattoos (some of them homemade) seemed like a great idea as a teen but not so hot as an executive secretary in her 40s.
"Most are gotten when you're a teenager or going through a midlife crisis," Deherrera said.
As for her own, "they were just something to do," she said. "They didn't mean anything to me."
A chain of roses "turned into a blob of ink on my ankle," she said. "I'm an assistant to executives. I had a butterfly on one of my hands. Sometimes I'll be taking notes in meetings . . . and it just doesn't look great."
She's told her children that they may get piercings but warned them away from tattoos.
"I don't care what you get pierced. That you can take out," she said. "I've made them go with me to watch the process of getting the tattoos removed."
Most laser treatments include a cooling unit that blows cold air onto the skin to numb it to the laser. The laser is then set to specific wavelengths depending on the color of the ink. The process crystallizes the ink under the skin, and in coming weeks the burned area - much like a bad sunburn - sheds the skin naturally. Each ensuing treatment takes away a little more ink. Older tattoos naturally fade and take fewer treatments.
It's counterintuitive, but the bigger, darker tattoos come off more easily than the lighter, more colorful ones.
"The ones we have a very hard time with are the pastel colors," said Novello.
"The homemade tattoos, the prison tattoos - I get those off in a couple of treatments," Betz said. "They're almost always India ink."
Most clients report that it's more painful (and expensive) to get the artwork removed than to put it on. Most clients compare the pain to getting snapped with a rubber band or splattered by bacon grease. It all depends on location, however.
"It hurt about 20 times worse to take it off than having it put on," Walker said. "Mostly I smelled it. It's just burning your flesh."
"It might hurt a little bit more doing it, but we just got one word done in a minute," Erica Betz said as the laser was working. "It took about 45 minutes to get it put on."
Brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2674
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January 16, 2009
3:41 p.m.
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Barbarosa writes:
It's funny - about 10 years ago, I was talking with a young man who was trying to get started as a tattoo artist. I told him to quit wasting his time and take up tattoo removal, because in the future, that would be where the money was going to be.
Guess I was right, eh?
January 17, 2009
3:17 a.m.
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analytixman writes:
I always tell my children when we see someone in public with their bodies covered in tattoos, "poor guy/woman didn't have any paper to draw on, so he wrote on himself". Glad to see there is technology now to help all those foolish decisions to be reversed. Most people wouldn't paint graffiti on their home or car, so why would the be foolish enough to graffiti their own bodies? Tattoos=no class.
January 17, 2009
6:14 a.m.
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gatengreen writes:
Tatoos also narrow your job opportunities.
As much as I like to watch the Nuggets play basketball, there is only one of them that I would consider putting on my payroll to represent my company.
January 17, 2009
6:17 a.m.
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denverrose15 writes:
Who knew? You can tell people they will regret tattoos but it makes no difference. It is an age old argument with the young thinking they are expressing themselves ONLY... it continues in to their adult life and people make wrong assumptions, perhaps based on those childish doings.
January 17, 2009
8:24 a.m.
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leavemealone writes:
Humans are the only animals that have the corner on regret.
People who assume they know what's best for others will have the most regret at the end of the day.
I have tattoos and love each one, top 1% income bracket, keep foolish decisions to a min, have tons of class, allow childish doings for children to have fun with....
January 17, 2009
8:38 a.m.
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CountryRoad writes:
Wow, it must be early on a Saturday morning. Only the narraow minded are up. I am a 48 year old professional who has never had a problem with employment. I have never been questioned about my tats. I don't regret any of the many that I have. In fact I am always looking for a new design to add to my inventory. Please don't judge a book by its cover, even if the cover is artfully embellished with ink. Most teachers, cops, fireman, doctors, and nurses that I know sport ink. Very few that I talk with regret their choices. So I disagree with the 50% statistic spouted in the article. Please don't use statistics that are not based on factual studies. I am glad that laser removal exists for the tats that are drawn by amateurs. Just remember good art is expensive and should last a lifetime, or until you get them touched up.
January 17, 2009
8:56 a.m.
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cjbrown writes:
73% of people without tattoos have smaller than average junk! See how easy it is to make up statistics. I agree with Countryroad, don't judge a book by its cover. I am as nice a guy as you will ever meet, I pushed a random lady's car out of a snowbank last week. I used to work in the criminal justice field, even have my masters degree in criminal justice from a prestigious east coast school. My wife is a doctor with a tattoo, Wow isn't that a scary thought...she could be your doctor! I am also constantly searching for my next tattoo, one day I hope to have 3/4 sleeves, and a full back piece.
I think what it comes down to is that it is my prerogative, and my life. Don't judge me because I carry my art on my shoulders!
January 17, 2009
9:26 a.m.
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hikingartist writes:
Mike Hess of Social Distortion: "It used to be people got a tattoo to show they were a rebel. Now people get tattoos so they fit in with the crowd".
January 17, 2009
9:38 a.m.
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KING writes:
the people who want to remove their tats because 'they didn't think about it first' deserve to pay such high rates to have them removed. For those who actually understand the art...tats are for beautifying the body and expressing your personality...too bad people use them as a way to rebel and as a cliché status symbol. I will never have mine removed because I designed it myself to fit ME, not to fit in and not to 'look cool or sexy'. Follow the art and you will understand why people have been decorating their bodies with tats before the time of Christ...
but hey...by all means if that Bugs Bunny tat doesn't fit anymore..take it off
January 17, 2009
9:46 a.m.
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FU writes:
TRAMP STAMP!!
Haahahahaaaa!!
January 17, 2009
9:56 a.m.
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SheikYurBooty writes:
The surest way to torpedo even the longest-term relationship, married or not, is to tattoo the significant other's name on oneself. Guaranteed every time....
January 17, 2009
10:23 a.m.
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SteveEdge writes:
I agree, the narrow minded are definitely up early. Tattoos are not just for convicts and biker gang members anymore, so get out of your suburban compound a bit and you will undoubtably meet some very interesting, very normal, heavily tattooed people. As for regrets, if a small tattoo that you foolishly got because of some drunken trip to Mexico is your biggest worry on your wedding day, you live a pretty sad life. The body is impermanent so what is the harm in decorating that thing? If you choose to get tattooed, that is a big decision. Tattoo removal does not work like a magic wand, erasing all the bad decisions you ever made. It is a long, painful process that can have you looking more like a burn victim before it's all said and done. Stupid people get stupid tattoos and will continue to make stupid decisions for as long as they believe that some treatment or surgery will erase and fix everything for them.
January 17, 2009
10:54 a.m.
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colowildcat writes:
My daughter has several tattoos, one in which I accompanied her to the artist studio and paid for the tattoo. She is a teacher, and has done some work as a print-ad (for a major discount super store) model. They are all beautiful works of art, done by professionals.
January 17, 2009
10:59 a.m.
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johnson writes:
I couldn't care less what anyone thinks of my full sleeves. I got them for me, not for you.
January 17, 2009
10:59 a.m.
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ofcourse writes:
I agree with gatengreen.
You won't be representing my company.
Best of luck.
January 17, 2009
11:05 a.m.
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johnson writes:
I represent my own company.
January 17, 2009
11:23 a.m.
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MavrickG writes:
I have to agree with the other company owners, I won't hire people who have tattoos that show. Tattoos that show are just bad for business. Its not the impression I want customers to have of my company. Its a hard enough market out there and you only get one first impression.
I have yet to go to an executive meeting and see any successful person with tattoos showing. They may have them, but they don't show.
January 17, 2009
noon
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jmbenn66 writes:
Tattoos are for trashy people with a low or no self asteem,but claim it is for original self expression,tweety bird,tribal bands,the black panther or tiger ready to scratch your eyes out or the most original the scull with the dagger stabed through the top and the snake crawling out from the eye sockets and they are all original.Jump on the original bandwagon.Who has ink done for their own enjoyment?
January 17, 2009
12:01 p.m.
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Noia writes:
I think of tattoos like I do jewelry. Less is more and we normally wear it to accentuate a certain area of ourselves and to catch the eye, I wouldn't want people to keep staring at my tat "bling", I want them to see me.
To each their own though. If people want to cross that line between having great tats which are works of art to looking like a carnie, it's their choice. If it makes them happy, I say go for it!
January 17, 2009
12:12 p.m.
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johnson writes:
MavrickG writes:
"I have to agree with the other company owners, I won't hire people who have tattoos that show."
But I bet you'd have no problem taking money from a customer who's face was completely tattooed. Double standards.
January 17, 2009
12:17 p.m.
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johnson writes:
http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/celebr...
January 17, 2009
12:39 p.m.
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leavemealone writes:
SheikYurBooty writes:
"The surest way to torpedo even the longest-term relationship, married or not, is to tattoo the significant other's name on oneself. Guaranteed every time...."
I'd like to take you up on your guarantee?
What address do I send the business reply card too?
January 17, 2009
12:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
colowildcat writes:
Tattoos can be a visual documentary of events which have taken place in a persons life. To categorize all individuals who have tattoos as "trashy" is subjective.
January 17, 2009
1:31 p.m.
Suggest removal
OFU writes:
I have a tattoo on my left arm of a crying eagle over the Twin Towers on fire along with the words "Never forget -- Never surrender" around it. I had it done the week after 9-11-01 with the intention of always remembering our country on that fateful day. I have never regretted it and will never remove it. I am a 48 year-old woman (employed for the same law enforcement agency for the last 25 years) and defy any narrow-minded bigot to tell me I'm trashy because of it. Get over yourselves, people!
January 17, 2009
2:08 p.m.
Suggest removal
Jason writes:
I saw this coming a long time ago. A fade that doesn't look good in the first place. Put permanently on your skin by some guy practicing how to draw, on your freaking skin.
I could care less if other dudes have tattoos, but on woman they look particularly terrible. And it doesn't matter what it says or what it means, okay.
I have had to turn down probably 20 or more offers of sexual relations from women, because they were sporting a tattoo.
January 17, 2009
2:32 p.m.
Suggest removal
izzymama writes:
jmbenn66:
so when the FDNY fire fighter gets a tattoo in rememberance of how he survived when his fellow firefighters died on 9-11 he is a trashy and has no self-esteem? Think about what you say before you categorize/critisize people for their personal decisions.... What about a father who gets a memorial tattoo for his child that died of cancer as a toddler???
Don't be so closed freaking closed minded and ignorant!
January 17, 2009
2:58 p.m.
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Billy writes:
I've got many tattoos. Got my first one at 18. 34 years later I still have them and love them. I would never dream of having them removed. They all mean something, they are all special. For those who do get them removed, cool, they weren't for you.
January 17, 2009
3:07 p.m.
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Mtgolfer writes:
So, if you get the tramp stamp removed, does it negate the tramp designation?
January 17, 2009
6:06 p.m.
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GlacierDragon writes:
Let me just start by stating that I don't happen to have any tattoos. It occurred to me as I was reading that a lot of the statements here are very bigoted. Now, at first I thought "well, that term just applies to things like race". So I looked it up.
http://dictionary.reference.com/brows...
It doesn't.
It pretty much pertains to anyone who dislikes someone who isn't like them just because of the difference.
Once upon a time tattoos were something you probably could expect on some very unsavory characters.
Today, though, tattoos can be stunning works of art on just about any character.
So while I agree that maybe if someone has something tattooed across their forehead, you would really have to wonder about them; I think that not hiring someone because they have a tasteful tattoo in plain view makes me have to wonder about you.
January 17, 2009
6:37 p.m.
Suggest removal
johnson writes:
02Charles02 writes:I have had to turn down probably 20 or more offers of sexual relations from women, because they were sporting a tattoo"
Sure, sure you did.......
January 17, 2009
6:58 p.m.
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HopiMedicineMan writes:
Who wants to look at basketball players covered in mold?
January 17, 2009
8:07 p.m.
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LadyBird112 writes:
Johnson, that's just his excuse for not getting any.
January 18, 2009
9:45 a.m.
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awhite411 writes:
Some of these women don't realize that in 25 years or so, the tattoo, that they like to place "strategically" on their lower back, will end up in their CRACK! lol
January 18, 2009
9:52 a.m.
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singularity99 writes:
Tattoos illustrious origins trace back to drunken sailors, biker gangs, prisoners and trailer trash. When did anyone decide that defacing your body was classy? They have now become a fad for the masses akin to pet rocks, leisure suits and mullets. One day these people will all wake up and say, "just what exactly was I thinking?". As for those trying to defend their tatts, "methinks thou doth protest too much".
January 18, 2009
10:42 a.m.
Suggest removal
LadyBird112 writes:
Singularity-
What about ancient tribes? I don't know if they'd like to be compared to drunken sailors or trailer trash. But then again maybe they do, maybe you know something I don't know.
January 18, 2009
10:46 a.m.
Suggest removal
LadyBird112 writes:
Just in case you think I'm making it up:
http://www.pbs.org/skinstories/histor...
And no I'm not tattooed, I just wanted to let you know so you don't sound as ignorant next time.
January 18, 2009
12:08 p.m.
Suggest removal
Jason writes:
Hey, happymedicineman, basketball fans don't go to games to look at the player's skin.
Besides, this article is not even about men and tattoos. It's clearly written about women that got them and regret it because of people's hang-ups about tattoos. Mark Brown is stressing the fact that tattoos do not belong on a woman's body, because it makes them less attractive to men like myself.
Even if I was approached by a woman with a tattoo that's barely visible because she got it lasered off, I would have to respectfully decline.
January 18, 2009
12:28 p.m.
Suggest removal
HopiMedicineMan writes:
012Charles02
When you watch basketball you see the ball, the players and their
mold. Why can't they have just one tattoo? I have one tattoo that no one ever sees. I was abusing alcohol when I bought it. It's a heart with the name "Mona." Of course, the second she knew I tattooed her name on my ____, she took up with TewaMedicineMan.
January 18, 2009
7:05 p.m.
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troopermsu writes:
People get tattoos because of: insecurity, ignorance, narcisism.
January 18, 2009
7:06 p.m.
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troopermsu writes:
And immaturity.