Think twice before getting a tattoo


Nikki Francis got her first tattoo when she was 19 because she thought it looked cool.

"It seemed like a good idea when I was 19," said Francis, now 32.

Like most teens, she also wanted to rebel against her parents.

"My mom told me I couldn't, so I thought, 'I'll show her.'"

Now 13 years later, the image burned into her skin is "not so cool," and she tries to hide it rather than show it off.

"I don't know what I was thinking back then," she said.

The tattoo -- one of six she has -- started out as an arm band scrolled around her left upper arm. Not satisfied with the then-bland tattoo, she added to it with two colorful designs entangled into the band.

Now, she said it's an eyesore, and she wants it removed.

"I like tattoos, but I hate this one."

Her other tattoos are smaller and not as noticeable, she said.

Like a lot of young people trying to get into their professional careers, Francis now wants to shed that party-animal stigma and get the tattoo removed.

"It can ruin a good outfit," she said of the tattoo. "I don't feel comfortable wearing short sleeve shirts because of it."

Francis didn't realize removing the tattoo would be more painful and expensive than having it done in the first place.

"It freakin' hurts," she said recently during her second of 10 treatments to remove the tattoo.

"I can't wait until it's finished," she said cringing from pain as Dr. Andrew Mandery, a plastic surgeon, began the slow process of removing the tattoo.

First, Mandery stuck Francis about a dozen times with a needle in and around the tattoo to numb her arm before running a laser over the once-colorful tattoo.

The laser is held about an inch from the design and emits sparks when it penetrates through the outer layer of skin and fragments the tattoo pigment.

Laser treatment breaks up the pigment, allowing the body to carry the ink away to the lymph nodes, Mandery explained.

The laser has four different wavelengths, each designed to eradicate a different set of colors. Blues and greens are the most difficult to erase, he said, while reds, oranges and yellows are the easiest.

What took about an hour and $100 to put on her arm, now will cost about $350 for each hourlong treatment to remove.

Despite the pain and expense, she said it will be worth it.

"It feels like they're carving on me, but I know it will be worth it once it's gone," she said. "After a treatment it blisters up and gets swollen. It really hurts."

Francis shares her experience with others to warn them to think twice before getting a tattoo.

"I just hope people think about it before getting one and don't make the same mistake I did," she said.

Francis is not alone.

Just as getting tattoos was popular in the 1990s, tattoo removal has become the latest trend, Dr. Mandery said.

"I've done about 100 or so," he said.

Despite the upswing in tattoo removals, Chad "Worm" Reeves, a tattoo artist at Tommy's Tattoos on East Hoffer Street, said business is still booming.

"It's actually increased with all the TV shows about it," said Reeves of his business. "Plus, we've seen an increase in smarter tattoos that can be easily covered up."

Some younger people may get tattoos to establish their identities while others add ink to their skin to honor someone, he said.

The Kokomo artist also said he tries to talk customers out of getting sweethearts' names or large outrageous looking tattoos without taking time to think about it.

"We're the first ones to say if you have doubts, don't do it," the 31-year-old said.

He also agrees some people find themselves growing beyond a current phase of life, making a tattoo outdated.

"Tattoos are not for everybody," he said. "I got my first one on my back when I was 18, now I hate it."

"I told my own kids they can't get one until they are 25 or in college," Reeves said. "We'll see how long that lasts."

Tattoo prices can range from $50 to thousands of dollars, depending on the size, intricacy and coloring.

Some young people, especially those under 18, may come into his shops on the spur of the moment with no real design in mind, he said.

Reeves discourages anyone younger than 16 to get a tattoo, even with parental consent.

"Where you were at 18 is different than when you're 30."