- Tattoo in haste, repent at leisure. The fashion for permanent
body art fuelled by stars like David Beckham and Britney Spears has dragged
another trend in its wake: demand for treatment to remove it.
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- Lasercare Clinics, which claims to be the UK's leading
skin laser provider, has recorded a 40 per cent increase in tattoo removals
over the past two years. Last month alone it received 500 enquiries, more
than double its former average. Almost two thirds of customers are women
aged from their mid-20s to 50.
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- The tattoo that seems like a good idea at the time, but
wasn't, was exemplified last month when Julie Thomas, from Lancing, West
Sussex, spent £40 on a five-inch tattoo of Winnie the Pooh for on
her upper right arm. The 15-year-old, well below the legally required minimum
age of 18, later admitted she bitterly regretted the deed and had cried
every day since.
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- 'We've seen a dramatic increase in people coming in for
removals in all our clinics,' said Jane Lewis, regional director of Lasercare.
'Tattoos are very fashionable now you see celebrities with them. A lot
of people who get henna tattoos like them and think they'll have a real
one.
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- 'We are seeing a mixture of people. Some had a tattoo
when they were younger but have now got on the career ladder: they are
executives who can't wear a short-sleeved shirt around the boardroom table
in summer because of what it will reveal.
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- 'There are also women for whom a tattoo was hip when
they were young but who now feel people tend to look at them and be judgmental.
Kids decide the name of the boy they loved last week is not the name they
want anymore. We also see minors brought in by their parents the day after
a tattoo.'
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- Laser therapy is the most effective form of tattoo removal.
It works by matching the laser light to the colour of the tattoo ink. The
laser breaks down the tattoo ink pigments, resulting in a gradual fading
of the tattoo. The painful process typically requires six to 12 treatments,
depending on the size and colours involved, each costing £55-£155.
Black, blue and red are the easiest colours to remove while green, yellow
and purple are the most difficult.
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- Tattoos are more popular than at any time in their history
and one in eight Britons is estimated to have one, more than any other
nation in Europe. Beckham has a full gallery, including a garish winged
cross design on the back of his neck, while fellow England footballer Wayne
Rooney recently had a large blue Celtic cross installed on his shoulder.
Among those who have lived to regret it are Patsy Kensit, Angelina Jolie
and Johnny Depp, who had the names of old flames on their arms.
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- Sonia Amerigo, manager of the Cheshire Private Clinic
in Stockport, said: 'We can't keep up with the trend. We get various people
of all ages, from businessmen who want to wear shirtsleeves to young women
who want to take their ex-boyfriend's name off. Despite David Beckham and
other celebrities, I think tattoos are actually becoming less socially
acceptable.'
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- Dr Sandeep Varma, a consultant dermatologist at Queen's
Medical Centre in Nottingham, who has researched people's motives for removals,
added: 'There has been an explosion in the number and types of lasers available.
It's a booming business: if people keep coming back for 10 or 20 treatments
they can spend £800 to £4,000.'
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- Louis Molloy, owner of the Middleton Tattoo Studio in
Manchester, whose clients have included David Beckham, Roy Keane and Ronan
Keating, said: 'I owned a laser clinic for a few years and I found the
majority of people wanted removals of tattoos which were self-inflicted
or which had no thought whatsoever put into them.
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- 'In David Beckham's case every piece of work he had done
had meticulous planning. The one on the back of his neck was two years
in the preparation. I put him off and warned him there would be a negative
reaction from some people, but if he's wanted it for two years and done
that much planning it's highly unlikely he'll regret it.'
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine
- /story/0,11381,1278621,00.html
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