HEALTH
One woman's story of laser tattoo removal
After 25 years, Melissa Lynch decided her tattoo was not 'her' anymore.
"I got it when I was 16. I didn't put a lot of thought into what I got, I just wanted to get a tattoo."
Back then only bikers and members of the military got tattoos, so there wasn't a lot to pick from, Lynch said.
"I just picked an arbitrary shape. I came home, my parents were livid and my mother said to me, 'What were you thinking? At 30 years old, are you really going to want that on your skin?'"
Thirty seemed like a lifetime away, but years later, that spontaneity caught up.
"It's not me, I don't like it anymore."
Lynch met with a plastic surgeon 10 years ago. Surgery seemed painful to her. The doctor told her about laser removal, but said to wait as the lasers were improving.
Ten years later, the lasers have improved and costs have gotten more reasonable.
The process is still unpleasant, though. Some accounts describe the laser treatment--which lasts around 10 seconds each time--as feeling like hot oil dripping on your skin or a rubber band being 'thwapped' at your skin.
The first treatment is the most painful since there is the most ink, Lynch said.
SEE photos of Lynch going to a laser tattoo removal clinic.
To hear the rest of Lynch's story and learn more about the process, WATCH tonight at 11 p.m.
Would you like to contribute to this story? Join the discussion.
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