MORE ABOUT THOSE INDELIBLE DESIGNS

"WHERE TATTOO HORROR STORIES COME TO DIE"
That's the title of a news article I happen to run across yesterday. Reminded me of the blog I just wrote questioning the sensibility of tattoos -- mainly those massive body-covering ones that I'm seeing so often these days.

Well, for the record, here's what a local doctor has to say. He's a specialist in eliminating body art and sees up to 30 patients every day who want their tattoos removed. Several examples are given of the various people and types of tattoos he's been asked to eliminate which included one about a man who was brought in by his irate wife after he'd gone to Las Vegas and returned with a tattoo of a breastacious woman on each arm. The laser doctor also tells of a local gigolo who tattoos his name on the butts of his women conquests. Sort of a 'brand', like you'd brand a calf. What happened with a heart encircling dear old "Mom" that men (usually sailors) used to sport once upon a time before tattooing became 'fashionable'.

It costs a lot of money to remove unwanted body art and takes several treatments over a period of over six months to get rid of them. Usually it costs ten times what the tattoos cost and could run as high as $37,000 to get large tattoos removed. Patients are put under a local anesthetic and a laser is used to break down the ink after which the body's white blood cells disposes of it.

Sometimes it isn't successful. Johnny Depp simply altered "Winona Forever" to read "Wino Forever" when he split from the actress some years ago. Angelina Jolie was left with an ugly smudge when she tried to have Billy Bob's name erased from her arm.

Still want to go under the needle just for the sake of a current fad?