Kimberly Corrigan was never religious growing up and had only been to church twice. But when she was 18, she had a little too much to drink — and got a tattoo of the Virgin Mary on her left forearm.

The tattoo would become an eyesore for the now 35-year-old who wants to avoid the attention that it draws. She’s getting married next year and has decided to have the tattoo removed after 17 years.

She hasn’t gotten a new tattoo since she was in her 20s.

“Not seeing this on my arm in my wedding photos will be great,” she said.

Corrigan let out a deep breath as a laser sparked across the skin on her forearm. It was the Lawrenceville resident’s first tattoo removal, and she was nervous.

Rochelle Pommer, owner of Elimination Station in Tarentum, assured Corrigan the process would feel like a rubber band flinging continuously across the skin. She handed Corrigan a stress ball to squeeze during the session.

Corrigan is not alone in her desire to remove ink that’s supposed to last forever.

Bloomfield resident Lui Giglio, 49, has removed a couple of his tattoos. He is in the process of getting a tribal biomechanical tattoo that he’s had since the early 2000s removed — he was convinced by a friend to get the tattoo because “it looked cool.”

Giglio went to Ink Eraser in Cranberry to remove the arm-length tattoo. He said the laser felt like a box of lit sparklers gliding against the skin — but the process is a relief for him.

“I’m happy it’s working, and I can’t wait to get my new ink,” he said.

Like Giglio, 62-year-old James Charles is itching to get new tattoos despite having old ones removed.

The Springdale resident has tattoos on every part of his body. There are only three that he has had covered up or that he has attempted to remove.

A tattoo that he shared with a friend later lost meaning, and he had it covered up with a pitbull’s head. Another tattoo of a small outline of a dog’s head got covered up with flowers because Chalmers was not a fan of the tattoo artist who did it. A third tattoo of a red sun was not the quality he expected. He tried to have it removed but had a bad reaction to the laser.

“The red tattoo, I regret that tattoo. It was poorly done,” Chalmers said. “I didn’t like the way it looked afterward.”

Dennis Theys, 32, of Greensburg regrets very few tattoos, but he has had a couple removed and replaced with new ink — a sleeve tattoo and a sunflower on his chest. Theys said he felt like bacon grease was being poured on his skin when he went through the laser removal process, but the results were worth it.

“Starting over is an incredible feeling, especially if it is something you don’t like,” he said.

Removal or cover-up?

Tattoo artists and laser technicians typically remove or cover up wedding dates, ex-lovers’ names, matching couple tattoos, hate symbols or tattoos that weren’t executed right the first time.

For those looking to completely erase a tattoo, seeing a laser technician can be the best bet. Sessions can range from $75 to $350 or even more, depending on the size of the tattoo.

Cassie Farkas, owner of Ink Eraser in Wexford, sees an average of 10 to 20 clients a week.

The average amount of sessions a person goes through is five to 10. Farkas said different factors impact how many sessions a person attends — placement, the density of ink and the age of the tattoo. The older a tattoo, the easier it is to remove, she said.

Farkas rates the pain as a 7 on a scale of 10, also describing the sensation as a band snapping against the skin. The sessions take no longer than three minutes, Farkas said.

“It is very tolerable and quick,” she said.

At the beginning of the session, Farkas uses a cooling machine to prep the skin for the laser. She will test spot the laser on the skin to see its reaction before starting. The laser targets only the ink to break down the particles, she said.

Pommer said laser tattoo removal has picked up in the last three years. She believes the popularity of social media videos showing the process has convinced more people to do it.

“They may see it and think ‘oh that doesn’t look so bad,’” Pommer said.

Pommer got into the laser removal process business after removing a tattoo she disliked. She wanted to be able to provide a judgment-free environment for customers.

“My main goal is to help people wanting a second chance,” she said.

Pommer said the first session hurts, but the second session is less painful. Clients are encouraged to come back every six weeks for their next sessions and to avoid direct sunlight as much as possible.

Exercise and water can help with the fading time, she said, as can a healthy immune system.

Laser removal is not always necessary. Cover-ups are another alternative if a person wants to avoid getting their skin zapped.

Hilah Rebosky, owner of Wild Woman Tattoo in Derry, has been tattooing for 11 years and does cover-ups. She got her start by helping people who had faded tattoos and needed them freshened up.

Some tattoo artists will recommend a laser removal before coming in for a new tattoo, Rebosky said.

“I do not recommend the laser technique, but it is a very popular process to make the job easier for the artist,” she said, adding that it’s not necessary because she said she can easily cover up a tattoo that hasn’t been lasered off.

Before doing a cover-up, Rebosky looks at the sizing and the darkness of the original tattoo and line work. She goes for a primitive method, which involves using a printout of the new tattoo and overlapping it on the old tattoo with tracing paper.

“This is to see how the new ink will conceal what’s already there. You have to do a lot of shading and shadowing effects,” she said.

She said one or two sessions are required when getting a cover-up. The first session involves mapping out the lines over the top of the existing tattoo.

“I always tell them that their cover-up will look worse before it looks better,” Rebosky said.

No regrets

Rita Santana, co-owner of Three Fates Tattoo in East Liberty, advises looking over an artist’s portfolio before booking and to be prepared to invest in a quality tattoo.

“Go to an artist who specializes or is really prominent in the type of work you want to get done,” Santana said.

Have your tattoo idea printed out on paper, Farkas said. “Look at it for two to three months to see if you still want that tattoo.”

If staring at a picture is not enough, there is a temporary option to try out a tattoo.

Pommer suggests using the website Inkbox to create a semi-permanent tattoo. People can test the temporary ink for one to two weeks.

“Save your money and think about it,” Pommer said.

Don’t just walk in, Chalmers said, adding to have a consultation.

“Be thoughtful – make sure it has a meaning to you,” he said.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)