Wondering what the next growth industry is likely to be? Try tattoo removal.
New figures from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery show that, in fact, tattoo removal is skyrocketing across the country. Some 45,224 tattoo removal procedures were performed in 2013 — up from 40,801 in 2011, according to the new statistics.
And those figures are expected to rise as younger tattoo recipients grow older and decide that the costly and painful removal procedures are worth it, to undo youthful decisions to have a skin artist adorn their bodies with ink.
What that means for many estheticians, cosmetic surgeons, and medi-spa practitioners is that tattoo removal is accounting for a growing portion of business, according to a
Today Show report on the trend.
About 38 percent of American millennials have at least one tattoo, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey
. That compares to 32 percent of Gen Xers and just 15 percent of baby boomers
There are two main types of laser tattoo removal that work by using vibrations to break down the ink so it can be washed away. Q-switch takes about 10 to 20 treatments; and PicoSure, a newer technology, typically burns away skin art in about five treatments.
Both techniques are painful, and costly. Small business-card-sized tattoos can run a few hundred dollars to remove, but larger ones can reach to $1,000.
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