Some tattoos are forever stamps

Some tattoos are forever stamps
Article by: SlingerVille Staff
October 02, 2012

Some people go to get a tattoo with the mindset that if they don’t like it in a few years, they can always get it removed, but that is not always the case. Some tattoos might not be removable from laser treatments according to a new study.

Factors that determine if your tattoo can be erased or not are the age, location, color, size, and whether or not you are a smoker.

Tattoos that are three or more years old are more difficult to remove because the ink penetrates deeper into the skin over time, according to SfGate.com. Pigments such as green, yellow and blue are harder to laser off. If you smoke, that compromises the immune system, which processes and drives out the in particles after the lasers break it up.

Tattoo remorse is common, so this information is not good news. Here are the statistics regarding tattoo remorse:

24 percent

Of Americans between the ages of 18 and 50 have tattoos, according to researchers at Northwestern University.

17 percent

Of Americans in the group above said they were considering tattoo removal. An additional 5 percent had already covered one tattoo with a new tattoo. Those who got their tattoos before age 18 were the most likely to have regrets.

12 inches

The maximum size a tattoo could be for the best chance of being removed. Tattoos were also more likely to be removed if they only included the colors black and red, and were not on the feet or legs.

8 weeks

The minimum amount of time researchers recommend between laser treatment sessions, so the body's immune system can process and expel the ink particles broken up by the laser. Three-quarters of study subjects undergoing laser tattoo removal required 15 sessions to successfully remove tattoos, and the remaining 25 percent still had not successfully removed their tattoos in that time.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Some-tattoos-are-forever-stamps-3893801.php#ixzz289sBuYP5

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