Tattoo Removal Business Is Booming As More People Return To Job Market

Tattoo removal businesses have seen a boom in business lately as more people, motivated either by regret or a desire to get a job, are deciding to have their ink removed.

This year tattoo removal is up 32 percent according to The Patient Guide, a website run by a collection of skincare publications. The site claims that a tight job market is motivating many people looking for work to get rid of their old tattoos in an attempt to look more professional or get a leg up on their competition.

“When people find out that laser tattoo removal is available, it creates some kind of excitement,” said Brian Kent, owner of On Second Thought, told KSPR News.

Kent remembered one client who had her name tattooed in herself — twice. He says he’s gotten rid of some other tattoos that were pretty ugly, and all in all business is way up this year.

“This year right now has been our highest year so far,” he noted.

Experts believe the rise in tattoo removal is related to the overall increase of tattoos. About 20 percent of young people now have tattoos, increasing the odds that many will regret their decisions or need to get the ink removed later to land a job.

Kent says it takes about eight treatments to complete a tattoo removal, thought sometimes this removal can be impossible with difficult-t0-remove colors like blue. He said the process usually costs a few thousand dollars.

Some people have just moved on to a different point in their lives and need tattoo removal to help them change with the times. Model Jenna Talackova, who competed in the Miss Universe Canada competition, is one of those people.

As CBC News reported, Jenna uses heavy makeup to cover a large dragon tattoo on her back during pageants, but wants something to permanently remove the tattoo.

“I was 16 and just thought I needed this big tattoo on my back and I didn’t,” said Talackova, who is undergoing laser treatment to remove the tattoos.

“It’s extremely painful. I love modelling and I love doing runway and I can’t have a honking tattoo on my back so I have to get it removed,” she said. “It feels like a hundred elastics hitting you at once.”

The most common symbols tattoo removal expert say they see — evidence of failed romances, controversial tattoos like gang insignia, or mangled tattoos with incorrect spelling or badly drawn pictures.