Removing Tattoos: Who Does It and Why

It seemed a good idea at the time. But you were young,
wild, and in love with Roland. Now you are getting married to Ed and you want
Roland's name off your right calf.

It seems that when it comes to getting tattoos removed, more women than men
go in for the procedure.

Researchers compared results of a 1996 study to a 2006 study looking at how
people feel about their tattoos. Participants were people who came to four
dermatology clinics in Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Texas.

The study was led by Myrna L. Armstrong, RD, EdD, of the Texas Tech
University Health Sciences Center.

In background information presented with the findings, the researchers write
"the vast majority of individuals who are tattooed are pleased with their
skin markings (up to 83%)."

Apparently about a fifth are estimated to be unhappy with their tattoos,
while "only about 6% seek removal."

In the 2006 study, researchers interviewed 196 tattooed people; 130 of them
were women and 66 were men.

The researchers found that today more women (69%) than men (31%) came in to
get tattoos removed.

According to the 2006 study, a typical woman who gets a tattoo is between
the ages of 24 and 29.

Most women with tattoos are white, college educated, and unmarried. They
describe themselves as "risk takers, from stable families, with moderate to
strong religious beliefs."

More women are motivated to get the tattoo removed because of pressure from
others or social stigma.

The top six reasons both men and
women gave for tattoo
removal:

• 58% just decided to remove
  it.


• 57% suffered
  embarrassment.


• 38% had lowered body
  image.


• 38% new job/career.


• 37% problem with
  clothes.


• 25% experienced
  stigma.

(Do you have tattoos? Have you ever considered having any removed? Talk
with others on the Health
Cafe board .)

Why People Get Tattoos

The 2006 study shows people get tattoos for these reasons:

• 44% wanted to feel unique.


• 33% wanted to feel independent.


• 28% wanted to bring attention to a particular life experience.

In both studies, the main reason for wanting to get rid of a tattoo was that
people had a "shift in their identities," and wanted to do away with
the past.

The findings appear in the Archives of Dermatology.

By Kelley Colihan
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario
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