An estimated 40 million Americans have a tattoo. But more than half of them wish they didn't. So what do you do when your tattoo is starting to get "under your skin?"
Anchor Whitney Ward is one of those Americans who got one when she was very young. And now she is part of a growing number of adults who are learning that a tattoo doesn't have to be permanent.
Robert Sargent isn't one to shy away from pain. He knows all about tattoos -- an intricate skull design he recently got at Artistic Demographics in Boardman was his second, and took more than three hours of work by artist Drake Lenz.
And just a few feet away, Dana Tirabassi was getting her third. Sargent said he probably won't change his mind about his tattoo.
But that's what most people say when they get a tattoo. The problem is, nearly 20 million of them change their mind.
"The number of kids that are getting tattoos now, when they're in high school or college and then they go off to the job market or have to be in their friends' wedding, they have to get them off," said Dr. Jenifer Lloyd, of Lloyd Dermatology & Laser Center.
Ward is one of those "kids" who got her tattoo when she was just 16. And for years, it didn't bother her at all. But as she got older, she stopped thinking of it as "cool," until eventually it was just plain annoying.
Fortunately, the tattoo removal industry is just as thriving as the tattoo industry itself. Thousands of dermatologists and specialists can now use a laser to remove the ink that was once thought of as "permanent."
"The laser actually targets the pigment in the tattoo," Lloyd said. "Targets it, destroys it and then the body cleans it up and takes the tattoo particles away."
But it takes much longer to remove a tattoo than to get one. And the process isn't painless.
Ward in June began getting monthly treatments at the Lloyd Dermatology and Laser Center in Boardman. Within just one session, it was clear the process was working.
But not only does removal take time, it can be expensive. Most tattoos require five to 10 sessions, costing hundreds of dollars each. In the Valley, rates are much cheaper. Lloyd only charges $150 for a standard session. For many people, it's a price well worth it.
This is the first in a two-part series. Watch Tuesday evening's newscasts for the second. You'll hear about the movement within the tattoo industry to start using ink that is easier to remove and take a look at the progress Ward is making with the removal of her own tattoo.
