Recent studies have shown that tattoo removal using lasers has increased 20 percent for the past four years. People are seemingly becoming more hesitant to keep those old tramp stamps on their bodies. It reminds me sort of the old Bazooka Joe bubble gum when they used to give out temporary tattoos. Those were always fun, but even after a few days they got old and you were excited when it began to peel off. If only real tattoo removal was that easy.

A growing number of people are put off by the tattoo removal process and simply being 'owning' the fact that they have a tattoo by getting more. There are a variety of tattoo galleries on the internet now, my favorites being Chopper Tattoo and Tattoo Me Now

Others concede, it's time to remove the tattoo. Or more importantly, you wished you were wise enough to have taken that advice to never get it.

But fret not, with the turn of the era, many tattoo removal methods have been invented. A laser tattoo removal cost generally ranges from somewhere between $125 -$200 per visit. It usually takes five to ten visits before you start to see results. Lasers work by producing short pulses of intense light which then pass through the top layers of the skin to be selectively absorbed by pigment. This causes the pigment to break down into smaller pieces and is then removed for the body's immune system.

Another alternative is the tattoo removal cream, which uses the same concept as laser energy in which pigments are broken down. It is painless and the cost may vary from hundreds to thousands, depending on the effectiveness of the cream. Also, it depends on that tattoo itself. However, they take awhile to work and there are no guarantees that the tattoo will be completely removed by the end of the day.

Tattoo coverups are not uncommon. The idea is simple - to get another tattoo over the existing tattoo. The cost of the tattoo varies in size and details. It is bound to be more expensive as it is more complex to cover it up than to do a fresh new one.

The key to remember is that removal cost can vary widely depending on the solution chosen above.

Or maybe just forget this whole deal. Find a really cool new tattoo design and stamp on another one.