Most certainly, it’s not the job of a tattooist to remove unwanted tattoos from customers. Cover ups, sure, but actually firing up the laser gun and zapping off the hideous mistakes of someone’s tattoo past? Doesn’t seem quite right.
The thing is, with the increase of home tattoo kits being sold over the internet to scratchers and the subsequent drunken/sober/moronic scratching that’s taking place in basements the world over, who better than a tattooist to do their part at cleaning up damaged skin from a terrible “tattoo”? I guess that’s the sentiment behind Northampton, UK tattooist Nigel Barden. Barden has seen so many people come into his Suns & Roses Tattoo and Piercing Studio regretting their basement made tattoos, that he’s now offering tattoo removal at a reduced price.
‘Owner Nigel Barden, who has worked in tattoo studios for 30 years, said: “There is so much bad work these days with people doing it from houses, I though this would help our business.
“We are the first tattoo studio in Northampton to have been registered with environmental health for tattoo removal. There are many places where it is very expensive so I thought we could offer it at a more affordable rate.”
Nigel believes one problem is the way in which tattoo equipment can be purchased so easily online.’
An interesting approach to the business aspect of tattooing for sure and one that makes sense. If all tattooists were registered with their respective health authorities, perhaps they could even be entrusted with the removal of tattoos as well? And, I know this might sound crazy and that it would most likely never happen in a million years, but just for the sake of argument: what if the local health authorities provided experienced and registered tattooists with tattoo removal lasers for free? In turn, the government then took a portion of the profits made from tattoo removal. I’ve seen numerous agencies that provide free tattoo removal that are supported by the government. Why not continue that concept in actual tattoo studios?