If you're having second thoughts about your permanent tattoo, a group of local doctors is offering free tattoo removal for anyone who is trying to change their image.
The tattoo removal program is so popular at Beautologie that Saturday, the doctors will have their first clinic where more than 40 people are signed up to get tattoos removed.
Mark Lopez, 19, is getting three diamonds removed from his neck. Dark tattoos that remind him of a dark time in his life.
"When I was a little younger I was always in the streets getting in trouble, not going down the right path and I want to change because I want to show my parents I can be a man," said Lopez.
The first step towards change is removing the tattoos he got when he was eighteen so he can join the Marines, which doesn't allow face or neck tattoos.
"Ever since I got it, I liked it, my girlfriend didn't like it, my mom started crying when she found out that I had it. It hurt me that it also hurt her and I didn't like how that felt," said Lopez.
Lopez is one of many clients taking advantage of the free tattoo removal program at Beautologie Laser Center.
"We wanted to give something back to our community, and what we found was that a lot of clients come in and have a tattoo that is actually visible and, because of that tattoo, it precludes them from obtaining a job," said Dr. Milan Shah, an aesthetic and laser medicine specialist. "For some of those clients, because they're looking for a job, it's also financially difficult for them to afford getting that tattoo removed."
Shah says tattoo removal can run upwards of two hundred dollars. This week, he and his staff will remove dozens of professional and prison tattoos at their first and full clinic.
"If I don't have it, I believe it's going to open more doors for me," said Lopez. "But if I keep it, it's not very professional." ...a good reminder to think before you get inked.
