Removable Tattoos an Attractive Option

Dec. 28, 2006— -- Thinking about removing that tattoo of your ex-girlfriend's name from your arm?

While lovers come and go, tattoos are intended to be permanent. But as more consumers get tattoos, there are also more people eager to get rid of them.

Roughly one in four adult Americans has at least one tattoo -- and 17 percent are considering getting rid of theirs, according to a survey published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Now, one company has found a way to make tattoo inks that, while still permanent, are also easily removed. The company, Freedom-2 LLC, will make the special ink available next year.

This new type of ink is injected into the skin in the same way as conventional tattoo inks. However, it is only permanent in the skin until the owner changes his or her mind. With a single pass of a laser, tattoos composed of this special ink can be safely and fully removed.

The new technology is the result of a combined effort by a team of scientists from Harvard Medical School and Duke University.

Conventional tattoos are typically removed with laser technology. However, laser treatments are costly and time-consuming, and complete removal is sometimes not possible.

"Conventional tattoo removal takes multiple visits," said Dr. Charles Taylor, director of Khosrow Momtaz Phototherapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "Professional tattoo artists use heavy metals in their tattoo inks. For example, blacks have iron, blues have cobalt. Heavy metals are fairly resistant to current laser technology."

And certain characteristics of the tattoo can also affect how difficult removal will be. Dr. Sandy Tsao, associate program director for procedural dermatology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said the type of ink that is used, along with the age of the tattoo and the skill level of the artist involved, can play an important role.