Tattoos are becoming more popular, but tattoo removal business also booming
Tattoos are leaving their mark on society, in the shape of a dollar sign. The business of tattoo removal is also booming, for people of all ages.
Daniel Gonzalez owns “Tattoo Dan’s” tattoo shop on Dyer, and has worked in El Paso for 25 years, starting at an early age as an apprentice. Through the years, he’s seen many changes in his business, from the styles and machines, to the amount clients are willing to pay.
“When I first opened my shop in ’98 there were 12 shops. Now there are fifty, or sixty,” he says.
We spoke with local tattoo enthusiast Diane Carrillo, who has about $10,000 worth of body art on her arms, back, legs and hands. She says she loves each piece of artwork, and doesn’t regret any of her tattoos. She says she likes the pain of being inked, and loves when people admire her work.
INTERACTIVE QUIZ: What type of tattoo should you get?
“I decide on the tats I do because they represent who I am. My grandma here – I get to carry her with me all the time. I do travel a lot and sometimes I can’t take my kids with me. I can look at the tattoos and have them close. Now, I want to finish my back, (this) leg and my sleeves,” says Carrillo.
Diane is not alone. According to a recent Statista survey, four out of ten U.S. adults have at least one tattoo, with a quarter of respondents saying they have more than one. When you add in the additional nearly 20 percent who said they were considering getting one, only 39 percent of Americans are on the non-inked side of the fence.
Most popular tattoos of the time? Roses, skulls, full sleeves, wilderness scenes, and medalia-type art.
Sometimes, what starts off as a trip to a tattoo parlor eventually ends at a plastic surgeon’s office. Since 2010, nearly 700,000 tattoos have been removed, according to the American Academy of Dermatological Survey.
INTERACTIVE QUIZ: What is your tattoo IQ?
We caught up with Samantha Madrid, as she was getting a quarter-sized moon removed from her middle finger at Dr. Frank Agullo’s plastic surgery center on Gateway West. Using a $300,000 state-of-the-art laser more powerful than most in the country, a technician erased Madrid’s regret in a matter of minutes. She says her tattoo cost about $90.00, but the price of removal was $150.00. She says the removal process was more painful.
“My family, my parents got pretty mad at me,” says Madrid. “I shouldn’t have gotten it. I regretted it. Now I paid a lot more to remove it than I did to get it.”
It’s a scenario Dr. Agullo is familiar with.
“I think it’s very common. The regret factor sometimes. As we mature and go up in the labor force, some jobs don’t allow you to have tattoos, so that’s why some people come in. The typical ex-girlfriend, ex-spouse…you remove them from your life and have to remove them from the body as well,” says Agullo.
If you are going to get inked, Carrillo says to look for a professional. If you choose just anyone, you’ll possibly end up going to a professional to get it fixed.
