Easy to remove tattoo: would you or wouldn't you?

What if you could easily and painlessly remove an unwanted tattoo?
Tattoos, once the mark of prisoners, sailors, rockers and gang members, have become main stream in recent decades. Now you’re just as likely to see a tattoo on the ankle of a sorority girl as you are to find it across the back of a Hell’s Angel. And while more and more average Americans are getting tattoos there is still a taboo associated with the art form. Many people site the permanence of tattoos as the number one reason to give pause when considering getting inked. After all, can you imagine someday being a granny and sporting a SpongeBob tattoo; or a gramps with a skull and cross bones over your heart? Not so much.

But what if tattoos weren’t so permanent? What if they could be permanently removed with one easy laser treatment that was less painful and no more costly than getting the tattoo in the first place? Would you be more likely to have work done? What if you could get tattooed with a naturally fading semi-permanent ink with a skin-life of 6 months to 2 years? Would that seal the deal and get you under the needle? Freedom-2, Inc. is betting that it will! Late last year the company announced it had developed a special ink that would be easier to remove than traditional tattoo inks, requiring only one pass of an in development laser.

Freedom-2, Inc. claims their product is, “a safer alternative for those seeking to get a tattoo.” Stating that, “while conventional tattoo inks may contain toxic substances and are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, Freedom-2 ink is made with safe, biodegradable dyes.”
Last month the leading manufacturer of laser technology in the world, announced it had secured a deal with Freedom-2, Inc. to develop and manufacture a laser designed to work in tandem with the new ink. Freedom-2 announced that their safer bio-degradable ink would be made available to tattoo parlors nationwide. The ink would be no more expensive for tattoo artists to buy than traditional tattoo ink, although it isn’t available in as many colors. The special laser for removing the tattoos is being marketed as similar in price to tattoo erasing lasers currently on the market only it boasts more reliable removal with much better results. The company has also announced that it is developing a semi-permanent timed-fading ink that it hopes to have on the market within the next few years. So now the permanency objection to tattooing seems a thing of the past, or is it?

Whether or not this special ink will turn up in your local tattoo parlor remains to be seen but one thing is certain, if it takes hold it stands to revolutionize the industry. Will it make you more likely to turn your body in to a canvas? Let us know.

Mike Hardcastle