Tattoo removal proves painful process

By Maggie Popek

“Extremely quick but extremely painful” was the feeling a Lane student who wishes to remain anonymous felt, as a laser penetrated her skin, targeting her once meaningful tattoo. “It felt like someone was carving my skin with hot metal,” she said.

Flashback to a few months earlier when getting the tattoo with her best friend was exactly what she wanted.

“I was really sure of myself… I didn’t even second guess it,” she said. “We both had agreed we wanted something to symbolize how we would never stop being friends. I acted on impulse and was living in the moment instead of thinking of the long term effects.”

But after the friendship ended she was left with both physical and emotional pain.

Riding the familiar elevator up to see a laser specialist is now a constant reminder of that decision she regrets.

“I wish that I would’ve never gotten it in the first place because it hurts 10 times worse removing it compared to getting it,” she said.

After having her mother fill out legal paperwork, she was off to a room where she iced her tattoo and then put on goggles to protect her eyes from the laser. The laser targets the pigments of the tattoo and produces short but intense bursts of light that break down the ink. It takes multiple sessions to remove the tattoo.

“I have to go back for three or four more sessions, but I’m so scared to because of the pain,” she said.

Regretting tattoos is very common, especially when the tattoo is done at a young age. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 17% of Americans reported regret their tattoos. At Lane, Tenzin Moenkyi, Div. 466, is one of them. She got her first tattoo at the age of 14.

“I regret that one [tattoo] because I didn’t really think it through. It was just a spur in the moment type of thing. But I’m going to get it covered when I’m 18,” Moenkyi said. The tattoo is of a nickname that her friends gave her: “Dime.”

“I thought it was cool and fun,” she said.

Although she liked the tattoo then and still likes it, she says it is not something she will want on her body when she is older.

“I’m going to get it covered later with something meaningful.” Moenkyi says. “But I haven’t decided on what [I want] yet.”

Tattoo regrets are not only limited to students. Ceramics teacher, Ms. Arter, recalls the time she got her first tattoo around her ankle.

“My first tattoo was when I was 15 and the guy who did it was just learning. It was in his house,” she said.

Based on her experiences, Ms. Arter now says that if she could start over she would be a “clean slate.”

“Sometimes I just want to wear a dress without having crazy tats everywhere,” said Arter who now has seven tattoos.

For those that are planning on getting a tattoo, Arter offers advice.

“Hang it on a wall for two years and stare at it,” she said. “If you still like it, get it.”

Dr. Lobosco recommends trying out “temporary tattoos” before getting a real one.