Cost of tattoo removal can be painful

Q: I had my wife’s name tattooed on my backside in 2008. Now I’m divorced. What’s the best way to remove it? Alex G., Kalamazoo, Michigan A: According to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, there’s a lot of tattoo regret going around. In 2017, members of that medical society performed over 85,000 removals!

Andthatnumberis expected to go up: Millennials born in the 1980s and ‘90s are the most tattooed segment of the population — 47% have one and 15% have five or more.

Holy artist!

Not surprisingly, one survey found that about 38% of people who regretted their tattoos got them on a whim between the ages of 18 and 21.

Removal techniques: Laser removal, using the Q-switched laser, is the method of choice these days, but dermabrasion and even surgery to cut off the top layer of skin are sometimes used.

However, those methods are more apt to leave scars, according to the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery.

How the laser works: The laser is set at the wavelength for the color to be eradicated, and then the pulse of the laser breaks apart the skin cells.

The shattered ink gets absorbed and then cleared through your lymphatic system. (The worst color for tats is red, which may contain toxic cadmium.) If you have a big, colorful tattoo, it’ll cost you lots of time and money.

One firefighter in Texas reported that he spent six months and over $6,000 to have his ex’s name removed (seven plain letters) from his back. What’s more, you and the firefighter are not alone, Alex.

One recent survey found that half of all men who get “inked” end up regretting their tats. Women regret it, too. Amy Schumer, who wrote “The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo,” used the hashtag #yesiknowmytattoosucks on Instagram.

So find a board-certified dermatologist who’s experienced with laser removal. The removal isn’t as painful as getting the tat, but the removal cost can really hurt.