Tattoo removal: Is it worth it?

By Hannah Thompson 

Most regrets in life are ones that you can get over, with only mental reminders occasionally coming back to haunt you. Regretting a tattoo, however, is something that you’re constantly reminded of simply because; well ... it’s inked onto your skin.

The slight scent of burning hangs in the air, similar to the smell you get if you accidently singe the ends of your hair with a lighter whilst trying to light a cigarette after one too many glasses of plonk. The room is spacious, clean and gives the impression of quite a sterile environment, but somehow still has flare a that a beauty salon would. It’s not a place you would expect to have your tattoo removed. 

Situated at the bottom of Sara Armstead’s garden is the home of her successful tattoo removal business, ‘GoInk’, which she says is “doing really well at the moment because summer is coming, people are starting to get their bodies out and realising that they hate their tattoos ... it’s brilliant!”

Sara, who is 32 and living in Barnet, North London, has been in the game for 5 years after ditching being a beauty therapist simply “because it wasn’t bringing in the money.”

“I needed to make a decision whether I wanted to carry on with waxing people or if I wanted to do something exciting,” she laughs: “Someone actually came forward with the idea for me, I took it and it took off!”

Whilst explaining to me how her business developed, Sara is setting up her workspace in preparation for her last two clients of the day. After rolling paper onto a beauty couch she explains how the treatment works and what it does.

“It’s basically a small laser that comes out of this (she says whilst holding up rather a large pen shaped object) that hits the skin and breaks the ink of the tattoo down.”

It’s 6:15pm and her clients have arrived, both of which are over 6ft, sporting designer facial stubble and are obviously no strangers to the gym.  

James Hill, 32 from East Finchley is first up. It’s his fifth session and he’s currently having a large tattoo removed from the top of his left arm that he got when he was “25 and stupid.”

“I was going to get a full sleeve but lost interest after I got the first bit, it’s expensive and now it looks stupid so I’m getting it gone,” he says after handing me a pair of red tinted glasses.

The procedure starts and it makes a sound similar to that of a gas cooker being sparked up. After 15 minutes of what looked like a light flashing over James’ skin, his sixth session is completed and his tattoo looks lighter and softer.

“It stings, it isn’t comfortable to say the least.”

Sara moves onto her second client, who seems to be a lot more nervous than James.

“It’s my first one (session) obviously I’m nervous,” he says and on that note I leave, leaving Sara and her successful business to carry on booming. 

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