Tattoos are the end result of etching the skin with black, white, or colored, pigments. Tattooing dates prehistorically to Egyptian pyramid times, has been known to be used for religious purposes, and is growing socially with its acceptability. But why did you get your tattoo? Maybe a specific time in you life you wanted to remember; your first concert, the name of your husband, or even a message you wanted to express. Now, years later, you wish you could remove your tattoo and move on from the past. Before you spend all of your money, there are a few things to consider with tattoo removal procedures.

The pigment in your tattoo is composed of different materials depending on the color and where, geographically, you received your tattoo. Different nut ashes and oils are used in the Pacific and Indian ocean region but most tattoos consist of inorganic metals. These metals can cause allergic reactions to some and are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration and regulated by local authorities. Tattoos composed of metal have been known to react with strong magnets and are currently undergoing testing to determine their reactivity. The different tattoo guns produce different effects on your skin. There are tattoo machines for shading, creating dark lines, thick lines, light lines, and slender lines. The pigments are punched into your skin with multiple needles fashioned into a hand-held device and left to stay forever. The pigment is injected about a quarter to a half inch deep in the skin, depending on the tattoo gun used, making it nearly permanent.

The unfortunate part of life is that we get older and along with our souls, our bodies age as well. The tattoos we get today are going to be on our skin for the rest of our lives. When our body wrinkles and sags, our tattoos will too; that beautiful Chinese character that stood out when you were twenty now looks like a blob and that pretty flower looks like a weeping willow. If you have ever considered removing a tattoo, the time is when you are young. There are different procedures available depending on your affordability, the length of the procedure, and the time it takes to heal.

Most tattoo removal procedures are painful, costly and ineffective. The oldest methods include sanding or scraping off the tattoo and applying a cover of salt on the wound, drawing out the ink. There are a number of tattoo removal creams available which serve a few of functions. They either aid in the healing of or reactivity to laser treatments or they claim to remove the tattoo solely with the cream. Laser treatments are generally the most expensive treatments, partly because the machines used are expensive. At home devices and removal creams are the cheapest ways to go but, either way, you will most likely spend more on the removal than you did for the tattoo. All the mentioned procedures take a number of applications to be effective. If your tattoo is black or similarly colored then it may be easier to remove it. The possibility of scarring, however, is great.

Caution should be used with both avenues in life. When you think about getting a tattoo, realize that the tattoo lasts forever and may be impossible to remove. On the other hand, when considering a tattoo removal procedure, take the time to understand the negative side effects and risks associated with the procedure.