Tattoos lose their hip status as Queenslanders flock to have them removed
22.05.12
"I got it done when I was 17 at Schoolies, so I was underage and they didn't ask for my ID," Ms Stephen said.
"If you are thinking of getting a tattoo make sure it's something you definitely want and it's not a spur-of-the-moment thing."
Q-switching is one of the most common laser techniques to remove tattoo ink and is done through the energy of light and absorption of laser light energy. This causes the tattoo pigment to shatter into particles.
Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery spokesman John Flynn said he'd also seen a "dramatic increase" in people having tattoos removed.
"People are often paying several hundred dollars and sometimes a few thousand dollars to get a tattoo removed," he said.
Mr Flynn said removing body art could be a complex process.
"The more colours you have in a tattoo the more treatment you need to get rid of them," he said.
"We generally say to our patients it's going to take a lot longer and cost a lot more to get rid of it than it took to put it there."
Source: Courier Mail