The 7 reasons people choose to have a tattoo removed

1# Regret after a spur-of-the-moment tattoo

Alcohol is very often, not to say always, a very bad reason to get tattooed. If you thought that waking up after a heavy night out and discovering an improbable tattoo on your body only happened in American films like The Hangover, think again: plenty of people get a tattoo after a drunken dare and bitterly regret it.

A youthful tattoo, done very early and without much thought, is for some a nostalgic reminder of their wilder years, and for others a source of regret that leads them to consider laser tattoo removal. 

2# The badly done tattoo

The internet is full of photos that would put anyone off marking their skin: phrases with spelling mistakes, drawings with poor proportions or unflattering shapes, and so on.

Today, thankfully, it is easy to find good tattoo artists with a solid grasp of hygiene standards and real artistic skill. It is worth noting that most of them create their designs using transfer paper, which avoids errors.

For a tattoo you will be happy with, it is better to book with a professional tattoo artist who has hygiene and sanitation training and offers styles that match your taste, rather than an amateur who tattoos as a hobby in their spare time.

3# Tastes and style that change

A tattoo may no longer match your taste, especially if you got your first one very young with the name of your favourite band, the portrait of a celebrity or a quotation.

It also happens that a new way of dressing no longer sits well with the tattoo, or that the colour of the tattoo clashes with your clothes (for example, a sober and elegant look with colourful, whimsical tattoos).

Laser sessions can be a way to free up space on part of the body for a new tattoo that fits your current taste or style. 

4# A tattoo style that has gone out of fashion

Just like clothing, tattoo fashion moves on. A great many designs that were popular 20 years ago have long since fallen out of favour. That is the case for fairies, cartoon characters, dolphins and the butterfly on the lower back. Polynesian tribal work and Chinese symbols, extremely common in the 1990s and 2000s, have also lost popularity.

Some women who had permanent make-up done (eyebrows, eyeliner, lip contour and so on) or semi-permanent make-up now want it removed to get back a more natural look. Semi-permanent make-up, applied with special needles, is a form of dermopigmentation: the pigments only reach the surface layer of the epidermis, but they can stay for 10 years.

5# The end of a relationship or a friendship

A tattoo takes a few weeks to heal on the surface of the skin, but heartbreak often takes a lot longer.

There are plenty of couple or friendship tattoos whose purpose is to keep an indelible trace of that bond on the body: a partner's name or initials, the date you met, or motifs symbolising affection.

Wanting to remove or cover these marks after a break-up or a falling out is more than legitimate, and it can feel necessary in order to avoid nostalgic or painful reminders and move on. On top of that, a new partner is unlikely to enjoy seeing that tattoo every day. 

6# The tattoo that has aged badly

With time and the ageing of the skin, the age of a tattoo inevitably starts to show: colours tend to fade, lines blur and thicken, and the design takes on a slightly hazy look.

The tattoo inks that last longest under the skin are the light ones: white, beige, orange and turquoise. They are also more resistant to removal. Classic dark inks such as black, red, green and blue have a reputation for fading more easily.

Although tattoos on the fingers and the soles of the feet are original and quite popular, they appear to age slightly less well than others because of the sweat and friction they are exposed to every day.

Sun exposure is also a considerable risk to the look of a design:  sun protection is essential to maintain the appearance and all the colours of a tattoo. Keeping a tube of total block in your bag is one way to help it age better.

7# Starting out in working life

Work can be one of the motivations for tattoo removal: while no legislation covers tattoos in the workplace, some employers keen to protect their company image are reluctant about them. Tattoos are sometimes not readily accepted in certain roles based on contact with customers or suppliers: front of house, hospitality and luxury hotel work, and so on. 

A small, discreet tattoo on the inner wrist or the back of the neck is rarely a problem, but a large or very visible tattoo (face, neck, hands, forearms) is unfortunately sometimes viewed poorly, even if that is less and less the case.

8# Infection or allergy

The most common complications are allergic reactions. They can occur during healing or several years later, and they show up as inflammatory reactions: redness, swelling, burning, itching. Infectious diseases (hepatitis C) and painful skin infections (staphylococcus, bacterial folliculitis, boils, warts) are also possible consequences.

All of these unwanted side effects can damage the look of a tattoo, which leads some people to turn to laser tattoo removal.

If the tattoo artist follows hygiene rules by using a sterile single-use needle, if you have no contraindications to being tattooed, and if you clean the tattooed area daily and protect it from outside aggressions (avoiding the sea and sunbathing), complications remain very rare. 

--

Tattoos keep growing in popularity and, even though 23% of tattooed people  express regrets, a tattoo is no longer quite as permanent as it once was: several sessions gradually break down the pigments in the dermis. Some people opt for fading, a technique that partially erases a tattoo before the treated area is covered with a new design. For anyone still hesitating to walk into a tattoo studio, temporary tattoos (semi-permanent or henna) are an interesting alternative to a permanent one. Individual results vary.

Take a look  at how Ray studios approaches permanent make-up removal.