At the age of 18, Olivia Cerda tattooed a cartoon of a dragon and tiger on her back, which she regretted wanting to remove but could not afford.
"I like traditional Japanese tattoos. At that time, I was young and wanted to tattoo my entire back," the 25-year-old model shared.
A few years later
Cerda looked for a professional laser tattoo custom baseball jersey removal site, but was quoted far more than she could afford. "I thought I would be stuck with it forever so I colored the tattoo, thinking I would like it a little bit more. But it still makes me uncomfortable," she said.
Cerda finally found an affordable tattoo removal facility in Vegas. She was assigned a course of 8 sessions, with a price of 600 USD per session. "It's very painful, it feels like being constantly burned by hot cooking oil on the skin. The tattoo is multicolored so it will take longer to fade, but I accept that," she said.
Cerda is not the only case of feeling disgusted with tattoos after a while. The number of Americans getting tattoos has continued to increase in recent years. A survey found that three in 10 adults own at least one tattoo, up from 21% a decade ago. And the number of people who regret this decision has also increased. The poll found that 8% of people with tattoos (or more than 5 million people) regret them.
This caused the cosmetic tattoo removal industry to explode. According to analysis by Allied Market Research, the industry's global market value is forecast to reach nearly $800 million by 2027, up sharply from about $500 million in 2019. About 40% of the market is North America. In Europe, laser tattoo removal procedures are also more sought after.
Advanced technology
rising demand, and popularity of services drive prices down. In the tattoo apparel past, tattoo removal services were mainly for celebrities. Stars like Victoria Beckham, Megan Fox, and Melanie Griffith have all undergone several tattoo removals. "It's a trillion times worse than getting a tattoo," said British singer Kelly Osborne.
After trying to remove many tattoos to star in a new movie, comedian Pete Davidson confided about the unpleasant experience. "I had to go to the hospital three hours early to do this. For some reason, the manufacturer didn't want me to have too many tattoos. Burning the tattoos off is a lot worse. You have to wear safety glasses. and couldn't see anything," he said.