48 AMERICANWAY
JANUARY 1 2009
L A I N K
has surrounded herself with some of the
best in the business. Luckily, my pain will
be inflictedbyoneof them.
’ve asked Kim to do the honors,
and she has been gracious enough
to workme into her schedule (Kat,
Corey, Kim, and Hannah all have
year-plus waiting lists). Just as she is on
the show, Kim is easy to talk to, down-to-
earth, andextremelyperceptive.Wequickly
discuss the Celtic cross design I want; I’ve
brought in twodifferent designswith traits
I like. In a quick 20 minutes, she returns
with a sketch that’s fused both of the de-
signs perfectly. As I lie down on the table,
she ishonest,which I appreciate.
“I’mnot gonna lie; thispart isn’t going to
be fun,” she says, referring to the spoton the
lower ridgeofmyhipbone that I’ve chosen.
As she begins, I recall frommy first tattoo
experience that theoutline is theworstpart.
Somethingsneverchange.However,whenit
trulyhurts, she lets up just enough tomake
it bearable, an example of the intuition and
TattooRegret?
While the art of tattooing has come a longway,
one thing remains the same: Youmay change,
but the tattoowon’t. So if you’re rethinking that
skull and crossbones or that name of so-and-so
who turned out to be not so, well, you know, it
might be time to look into your options. The clear
choice formany is laser tattoo removal, but it’s
not for everyone. It can take one to 10 sessions
to fully remove a tattoo, which can be a very
painful process. Another and slightly less agoniz-
ingmethod involves at-home removal creams like
Tat BGone andTattoo-OFF, which have proven
to be effectivewithout scarring or damaging the
skin. Tofind outmore, visit these sites.
This laser-removal process has prices starting
at roughly$50 a session for one square inch
or smaller, which is a tattoo about the size of
a postage stamp. Prices increase as the size of
the tattoo increases ($144per session for three
square inches, $270 for six, etc.)
It takes three to ninemonths for this tattoo-
removal cream to produce effective results; the
cost is about $300 for an amount thatwill last
you sixmonths. Trial kits are $74.
Another tattoo-removal cream, this one claims to
take eightmonths to fullywork and is $339 for
an eight-month supply or $65 for a starter pack.
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