Weird and wonderful

Skin deep

Tattoos are meant to last forever, but what if you change your mind?

Tattooing has become very popular over the years especially among young people. To add to the numbers, the lastest Thai movie Maha Ut has inspired Khon Kaen kids as young as 9 years old to get tattoos. But what happens when you decide it was all a bad idea and want to get rid of the tattoo?

Well, you'll have to go see a dermatologic (skin) surgeon, but he may not be able to remove it all. Tattoos are meant to be permanent, so removing them can be difficult and very painful. A tattoo etched by an experienced artist may be easier to remove since the dye was evenly injected. And new tattoos may also be more difficult to remove than old ones.

No pain, no stain

Before the use of lasers for tattoo removal, other methods that require painful surgery were used. These include "dermabrasion," where skin is "sanded" to remove the surface of the skin, cryosurgery, where the area is frozen before being removed, and the actual cutting off of the tattoo with a scalpel.

Using a laser to remove tattoos is a less messy option. Without getting too technical, there are many types of laser that are used to remove a tattoo. Each type depends on the tattoo's colours. Yellow and green are the hardest colours to remove, and blue and black are the easiest. A laser causes the tattoo's dyes to break into smaller particles that are then removed by the body's immune system.

Now the question you've all been asking � does it hurt? It has been said that removing a tattoo with laser feels like getting hot specks of grease on your skin or being snapped by a rubber band. Before getting laser treatment, doctors recommend that a painkiller such as Tylenol should be used before the procedure.

VOCABULARY

inspire (v): to give somebody the idea for something, especially something artistic or imaginative
permanent (adj): lasting forever
etch (v): to cut lines into a piece of glass, metal etc. in order to make words or a picture
inject (v): to put a liquid into something using a syringe or similar instrument
scalpel (n): small sharp knife used by doctors in medical operations
dye (n): a substance that is used to change the colour of things
immune system (n): the system in your body that produces substances to help it fight against infection and disease
speck (n): a very small spot; a small piece of dirt, etc

QUESTIONS

1. What inspired the kids in Khon Kaen to get tattoos done?

2. Yellow and green are the easiest colours to remove by laser. True or false?

3. How does the laser remove a tattoo?

4. What type of medication can you take before getting a tattoo removed?

DISCUSSION

1. Which method do you think is the most painful? Why?