Despite the relative ease of covering up an old tattoo, many people want them completely removed. Spectrum Consulting estimates that in 1996, 275,000 Americans had their tattoos removed by a medical procedure. One of the less invasive medical procedures available is acid skin peels.

Acid skin peels burn off layers of skin with chemicals, eventually fading the tattoo. This method does not require a visit to a doctor. A tattooed person can purchase an acid peel directly from a company and apply it at home. The major disadvantage of acid skin peels is that their effectiveness is uncertain.

Excision is another tattoo removal option. This process is technically involved and requires surgery. First the tattooed area is numbed with a local anesthetic. Then the tattoo is removed with a scalpel. Next, the skin edges are brought together and sutured. Using this procedure, smaller tattoos can be completely removed in one session. Larger tattoos however, often require more than one surgery. A skin graft might also be needed from another part of the body to close up the incision. This surgical technique always leaves a line of scar that be potentially spread.

Dermabrasion is another surgical removal method. The dermabrasion process involves freezing the tattooed area with a surface refrigerant. The tattoo is then sanded off with a rotating instrument. The top layers of skin are scraped away to remove the pigmented skin and encourage the growth of a new layer of skin. This process can typically be completed in one treatment session. However, this technique does not work as well on amateur tattoos as it does on professional tattoos. This is because most amateur tattoos are applied at varying depths, so the surgeon who administers the dermabrasion treatment might not be able to removal all of pigment deposits. Scarring and pigment abnormalities are common side effects of this process.

When a person wants to remove unwanted body art, his or her options depend on whether the art is a piercing or tattoo. There is only one method to remove a piercing. A person can remove the jewerly and typically the hole will close. However, bad scarring can result from the piercings. To get rid of these scars, a person may require plastic surgery.

There are several options to choose from if a person decides to get rid of an unwanted tattoo. However, most of these methods are time consuming, expensive, and painful. To avoid the expense and pain, some people decide to cover up their old tattoos with new ones.

Although a cover-up has advantages over removing unwanted tattoos, it can be technically involved. One method is to first cover the old tattoos with a flesh-colored pigment. This does not completely cover the tattoo because flesh colors do not blend completely with human skin. However, this method gives the tattoo artist a cleaner slate to work with before inking a new tattoo over the old one.

Another method is to ink right over the old tattoo with a new tattoo. The more complex a tattoo is, the more difficult this method is. According to author Jean-Chris Miller, “A good tattooist maps out the colors and lines of your existing tattoo and then designs a new piece that corresponds to the old one. For example, if your old tattoo had brown on top and yellow at the bottom, the new one while being completely different design will also have to be dark on top and a darker color on the bottom. The reason is that you can’t cover dark pigment with a lighter pigment.” Tribal design tattoos are often used to cover up old tattoos. Tribal tattoos are typically done in black ink and abstract so they can be shaped to cover up most tattoos.

Many people who get rid of unwanted tattoos or piercings are still interested in sporting body art. There are several alternatives to permanent body art that these people, and those who are unsure if they want to get pierced or tattooed, are turning to. These alternatives include temporary tattoos, fake piercings, and mehndi.

Temporary tattoos initially were famous for being a kid’s prize found in a Cracker Jack Box. Today they are no longer just for children. Many adults use temporary tattoos to decorate their body for short time periods. Temporary tattoos come in many different designs, some created by tattoo artists. The best quality temporary tattoos are made on special paper, such as rice paper; are water proof; and last as long as two weeks.

A new type of temporary tattoo gaining popularity is a hair tattoo. A person can have a symbol, such as a star or dolphin, shaped into his or her hair. The process involves choosing a specially molded design block, which comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, and placing the block not a hairstyling hot plate. The hot plate is then placed and kept in the hair for at least fifteen minutes for the desired result. Typically the hair tattoo lasts only until the next time the person washes his or her hair, but special gels can help it last longer.

Like temporary and hair tattoos, fake piercings are a way to try body art without pain or permanency. From stick-on nose studs to magnetic earrings, jewelry that simulates piercings are available at a variety of stores. These items are gaining popularity among celebrities. For example, ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham donned a clip-on lip ring rather than pierce her lip.

Mehndi, an Indian tradition of decorating a woman’s hands and feet with henna dye, is also becoming a popular alternative to permanent tattoos. The patterns are intricate and can take hours to paint. The henna dye lasts from then days to six weeks, depending on the person’s skin. Mehndi shops are opening up across the United States of America.

Mehndi, fake piercings and temporary tattoos are becoming common fashion accessories. Their popularity is likely to increase as more people become interested in decorating their bodies but do not want to suffer the potential consequences of permanent tattoos and piercings.

No matter what form of body art, whether temporary of permanent, becomes most popular, many believe that it will continue to be a part of our culture.

Because laser treatment causes few side effects, it has become the most common tattoo removal method. During laser treatment, pulses of laser light pass through the outer skin layer and break up the pigment of the tattoo. The body then flushes out the pigment-filled cells.

One advantage of laser removal is that the risk of scarring is very low. Typically, only 1 to 2 percent of those receiving laser treatment get scars. Also, a person’s skin returns to its natural pigment in a few months. Another advantage is that laser treatments are effective at removing any size tattoo. Actress Angelina Jolie used laser method to erase the name of her ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton.

A disadvantage to laser treatments is that the larger the tattoo is, the more treatments required. Depending on the tattoo’s size, a person may require from two to eight sessions, each spaced four to six weeks apart. The sessions are spaced apart so that the body has time to absorb the pigment residue. The treatment typically cost $250 to $850 per session. Removing a large, professional color tattoo could cost thousands of dollars, five times the orginal cost of the tattoo. Plus, the more treatments a person has, the more damage is done to the skin. Laser treatments can cause painful blisters and scabs. Also, laser treatment does not guarantee that the entire tattoo will be removed. Certain inks are more difficult to remove depending on what type of laser is used. A Ruby laser, for example, has difficulty treating red.

The San Mateo tattoo removal program, which is funded and organized by the San Mateo, California, Juvenile Hall, gave Sanchez a chance to get rid of the last remnant of his old life. To qualify for free tattoo removal, ex-gang members must first complete twenty hours of community service. Then they go through the long process of having their tattoos removed. In 2001 Sanchez began this process.

Sanchez started to get laser treat treatments to have his tattoo removed and, after two years, completed his treatments in 2003. Although the process was long and painful, he was happy to get rid of the tattoo. “I feel much better now because I don’t feel like I’m stereotyped when I go places anymore,” Sanchez stated. “Everything it symbolizes is not in my life anymore.”

Gang tattoo removal programs like San Mateo’s are becoming more common nationwide. Police departments run many programs. For example, in August 2004 the police department in Wichita, Kansas created Operation Fresh Start. Former gang members can have their tattoos removed in exchange for an allotment of community service and $25 to pay for the anesthetic used during the removal process. The police officers believe the service helps the community as well as former gang members because it reduces the chances that they will return to their old lifestyle.

In addition to police departments, nonprofit groups have started gang tattoo removal programs. Agape Light provides services for troubled and low-income persons, including tattoo removal, anti gang counseling, family counseling, and spiritual direction. It offers tattoo removal to people coming out of prison who want to remove their tattoos and reenter mainstream society. Currently the organization exists in Southern California, but there are plans to expand it nationwide.

Former gang members are often among those who feel that their tattoos no longer represent their current lifestyle. Their tattoos remind them of their past, often violent, life. Moreover, gang tattoos can negatively affect a former member’s chances of getting a job and how other people perceive him or her.

Emerson Javier Sanchez experienced these effects. Sanchez joined a gang at age thirteen and became involved in violent activities and drugs. When Sanchez was sixteen, he decided to get his gang nickname tattooed onto his neck. At age twenty-five, however, Sanchez, was no longer in a gang and was living completely different life than that of his teenage years. He was attending college with the goal of either studying abnormal psychology or becoming a writer.

After having changes his life, Sanchez longed to get rid of the tattoo and everything it symbolized. However, tattoo removal is an expensive process and for years Sanchez could not afford it.

The changes associated with getting older also result in people regretting their tattoos or piercings. Body art changes in appearance over the years. Tattoos can become faded after years of sun exposure. According to a 2003 Harris Poll, the third most common reason people regretted their tattoos is that their tattoos had faded. Also, if a tattoo artist injects the pigments too deeply into the ski, the pigments may migrate beyond the original tattoo sites, resulting in a blurred appearance over time.

Piercings change over time as well. Jewelry can migrate, or travel through the skin, and settle in a different position from the original piercing. As it migrates, the jewelry is not removed, it will continue to migrate until it creates a hole large enough for the jewelry to fall out. Once this happens, the possibility of getting scars from the piercing is likely.

A person’s physical changes can also affect his or her body art. Tattoos can stretch if a person gain weight. This is one reason why doctors suggest teenagers wait until their body has completely grown before getting a tattoo. Piercings are also affected by body changes. For example, pregnant women with navel piercings may find that their abdomens expand to the point that their navels protrude and the jewelry is pushed off.

Another reason people become unhappy with their body art is that their attitudes and taste often change over the years. What may have seemed “cool” at age eighteen may look silly or not reflect someone’s lifestyle years later. At age twenty one, Rachod Mildton of Lansing, Michigan, had a devil’s face tattooed beneath his left eye. “I was a different person back then…. I was with the wrong crowd, abusing alcohol and hanging out in the streets,” Mildton now twenty seven, explained “I have to be a positive role model for my daughters…. The tattoo is not a representation of the person I am now.”

Another reason people regret their piercings and tattoos is the negative response from their religious associations. Certain Christian sects believe that it is morally wrong to get tattooed or pierced. They believe that the body is a gift from God and should not be desecrated. This view is based on Leviticus 19:28 of the Bible, which states, “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.”

Other Christians believe that the act of getting body art is not necessarily a sin, but the reason a person gets a tattoo or piercing may be against the church’s beliefs. For example, the Catholic Church does not forbid body modifications. However, church leaders do believe that if a person gets a tattoo or piercing as a way to rebel against his or her parents or other people, the action is not in the spirit of Jesus Christ and the teaching of the church.

In addition to Christians, many Jewish people believe that the practice of tattooing or piercing is in violation of Leviticus 19:28, which is part of the Torah, the books of Jewish law. When comparing tattooing and piercing to cosmetic surgery, Rabbi Mark Washofsky writes, “Tattooing and more extreme forms of body piercing, when not undertaken as part of a regimen of medicine or reconstructive surgery, are most difficult to reconcile with Jewish tradition, which commands us to strive for holiness and to treat our bodies with reverence and respect.

Even if a person with a visible tattoo or piercing is accepted at a job, he or she often has to deal with dress codes that discourage body art. Because of the increasing number of people sporting body art. Because of the increasing number of people sporting body art, several companies have instituted strict dress codes regarding piercings and tattoos. Companies have these dress code policies because they want their employees to appear professional when dealing with customers. For example, Starbucks workers cannot display any tattoos or wear any piercing jewelry besides small, matches earrings, and each employee’s ear cannot have more than two piercings.

Stricter rules are enforced at Disney theme parks. None of fifty six thousand employees at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, MGM Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom can wear piercings or visible tattoos. “We feel that the appearance guidelines reflect the appearance and quality and the attention to detail that Disney wants to project as a professional company, and those are guidelines that Disney guests have come to expect,” said Rene Callahan, a Disney spokeswoman.

Even professional sports, in which tattoos and piercings are common, have limits as to what body art players are allowed to display. For example, the San Francisco-area Webcor cycling team has told team member David Clinger that hemust remove his face-and-scalp tattoo or stop riding. Team officials are concerned that Clinger’s tattoo could upset team sponsors such as Webcor Builders, PowerBar, and Nike Cycling. Clinger has begun laser treatments to start the removal process, but it could take months of treatments to remove the tattoo. Team managers must decide whether Clinger will be allowed to race while the treatments are ongoing or if he will be sidelined until the tattoo is completely gone.

Other life changes that lead to body art regrets include divorces and breakups. Relationship tattoos, tattoos of a loved one’s name, have surged in popularity over the past decade. However, people who get relationship tattoos and then break up with their loved ones typically want to ride themselves of such tattoos.

This has been true of several celebrities. For example, socialite Paris Hilton’s former boyfriend, pop singer Nick Carter, put her name on his wrist in July 2004. About three weeks later, they broke up. In January 2005 Carter got a skull-and-crossbones tattoo to cover up the “Paris” tattoo.

Actor Johnny Depp’s right upper arm used to display a tattoo of “Winona Forever” in honor of his relationship with actress Winona Ryder. However, their love did not last. In 1993 this tattoo was laser-edited into “Wino Forever” following the couple’s breakup.

Like celebrities, many ordinary people with relationship tattoos come to regret their decisions. A 2003 Harris Poll found that the most common reason a person regrets a tattoo is that a person’s name is in the tattoo. As a result, dermatologists and plastic surgeons are receiving more tattoo removal work. “The number of tattoos people are getting removed is increasing,” says Jefferey Rockmore, a plastic surgeon with the Plastic Surgery Group in Albany. “Years ago, there was a big wave in tattoos and those relationships ended so people want to get rid of the evidence.”