Tatts enough: Rise in Aussies wanting face ink removed
Research has shown more Aussies are getting inked than ever before, with one in four getting a tattoo, but with this comes another trend – tattoo removal.
A recent study commissioned by laser tattoo removal company Removery found a third of respondents want to get a tattoo removed, with the most popular reasons being their style had changed or it sparked a bad memory.
Removery co-founder Chris Chambers says while tattoo regret is “nothing new”, the survey shows the biggest regrets today are ink on the face (69 per cent), eyebrows (40 per cent) and neck (35 per cent).
Melbourne-based Vicki, who is in her 50s, experienced tattoo regret after deciding she wanted fuller brows after years of over-plucking and opted for cosmetic tattooing.
She went to an accredited franchise in Melbourne’s east for microblading, a technique that adds pigment to the skin. The two-session procedure cost $900 and she says the results were horrifying.
“(The artist) went really high up and made me look angry. Because I have quite dark features it was really obvious and it looked incredibly harsh,” Vicki says. “It affected my confidence. I felt the only thing people focused on when they looked at me were my eyebrows. It changed my whole face, I didn’t look like me.”
Vicki hid her brows with glasses and makeup, and had saline removal before opting for laser at a cost of $1500.
“It’s a lot of money but I feel like myself again,” she said.
Chambers says a lot of clients are pro-tattoo but the meaning or relevance of their ink changes over time.
For others, the biggest causes of regret are being under the influence of alcohol (49 per cent), doing it for a dare or bet (14 per cent), when starting a relationship (13 per cent), spur of the moment (10 per cent), and on an overseas holiday (8 per cent).