There was a recent article about tattoo removal with the headline "
Tattoo Removal Helps Man Peel Off His Past". The story itself is the story of a former gang member who is choosing to get involved with one of the many popular gang tattoo removal programs that have cropped up as part of rehabilitation services offered throughout the nation. What was attention-getting, however, was the title ... because it was such an apt description of what happens when someone chooses to get laser tattoo removal.
Okay, so technically the tattoo is not getting peeled away when it is being removed with a laser. Formerly, people did excision of the skin to get rid of the tattoo and then it literally was peeled away but now the laser just eradicates it from the skin. Still, though, there is the sense that the image is being peeled off or burned away. And that's precisely what most people are trying to do with the past when they are getting tattoos removed.
Of course, there are some people who get tattoos removed simply because they want to get new tattoos put on that spot and they don't necessarily think of it as getting rid of the past so much as staying current with their canvas. But most people do get rid of their tattoos to get rid of reminders of the past whether it was a bad relationship or a life in gangs.
Question of the Day: What is the best metaphor you've heard for what happens with laser tattoo removal?photo link
