A Massachusetts company has given new hope to perhaps millions of Americans who regret having succumbed in a moment of weakness to getting a tattoo.
Candela Laser says it has received Food and Drug Administration approval to market a laser - TATULAZR - that it said has a 100 percent success rate in removing or lightening blue-black tattoos and never leaves a scar.The tattoo was once the mark of tough guys and soldiers on leave, but in the past 20 years the number of tattoo parlors has mushroomed from 400 to 2,000 nationwide, the company said.
Tattoos now adorn more than 20 million Americans - about half of whom don't want them anymore, Candela believes.
Traditional removal techniques - burning, freezing, scraping and plastic surgery - often result in scarring.
Candela said TATULAZR eliminates tattoo pigment while leaving the surrounding skin and pigment intact.
It delivers brief pulses of energy rather than a continuous wave, giving tissue time to cool and preventing spread of the heat that would otherwise damage skin.
Candela said the removal process is less painful than getting the tattoo and the only side effect is the possibility of whitening the skin, which lasts no more than a few months.