Posted on 09/17/2007 10:27:23 PM PDT by LouAvul
Laura Hathaway initially had no regrets after getting a tattoo on her lower back when she was 21. But now, 10 years later, she wants it gone.
The pharmaceutical sales representative from Atlanta, Georgia, says it doesn't fit in with her current lifestyle as the mother of a 2-year-old boy who just started to talk. "The other day I bent over and he said, 'What's that?' and it just confirms why I'm having it removed."
Dr. Scott Karempelis of Atlanta Dermatology Associates is performing a multitreatment laser procedure that will gradually erase Hathaway's tattoo with little or no scarring. The process is painful, expensive and time-consuming.
Karempelis says that in spite of the drawbacks, "business is booming." He and three other dermatologists in his office see more than 30 patients a day who want tattoos removed by laser.
The American Academy of Dermatology reports tattoo regret is common in the United States. Among a group of 18- to 50-year-olds surveyed in 2004, 24 percent reported having a tattoo and 17 percent of those considered getting their tattoo removed.
Karempelis uses a state-of-the-art laser that targets the pigment in the tattoo. "It goes through the skin without damaging it and hits the pigment depending on which wavelength and which color you have, and it blows it into small pieces."
The tattoo ink is then reabsorbed into the body through the lymphatic system. The process must be completed over several sessions in order to protect the skin from damage.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Well said Sergie. Kudos!
I always have to hold back laughing when I see a young girl with a tattoo on her young, flat belly...
Talk about not thinking ahead!
LOL! You ARE addicted. Admit it.
Aint nothing wrong with that.
“The last “public person” who really inspired me was John Rocker!”
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As someone who rode the 7 train daily for more than 30 years, I’ve always felt that he was castigated for telling the simple truth.
It is especially funny to see some obese old fart bag woman with anklet tattos.
I've said it on other tattoo threads. Tattoos are like covering a work of art with graffiti, especially on a pretty girl.
Some of our bravest military folks may disagree with you!
No.
I’d never get a tattoo because if I ever became a fugitive from law, the wanted posters always post the statement “noticeable markings” so if you have a tat then thats a dead giveway that will get you caught every time........
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The psychological theory of 'adolescent thinking' wherein it is suggested that the not yet fully formed brain causes the young adult mind to perceive a different reality is extending well into what used to be adulthood. So is the theory of 'magical thinking' wherein the response to every issue thay demands attention and effort becomes 'it will work out' as opposed to "I will find a way to make it work out'.
Both are rampant in today's 17-28 year olds. A generation with its collective head up its collective ass (with exceptions of course).
Am I right?
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No. Ink is usually due to immaturity, and most people eventually grow up.
...otherwise known as a 'Tramp Stamp'...
I didn’t let them know for a few years. When my dad finally saw one of them he hauled me to a dr who told him it would cost thousands to remove them. My dad flipped out but he was too busy with my wilder older brother’s antics to do much with me.
A tattoo like that wouldn't make me wonder, it would remove all doubt......
I’m in the boonies - the body art tattoo craze is here, too.
Because people WITHOUT Tattoos ARE SMART enough not to get a tattoo.
I am happy for you and your personal decision.
We obviously have different interpretations of what “smart” means.
Gasp! You mean this tramp stamp might actually be an accurate portrayal?
Yep, I've seen that as well--people that are very pretty, with beautiful skin and have destroyed it with an ugly blue/black looking tattoo. Tattoos often look like bruises to me.
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