Talking Business: Regret that tattoo? There's help

Talking Business: Regret that tattoo? There's help
May 31, 2010
by Erik Olson
TDN.com

Larry "Bones" Hadick's arms, legs and torso are covered in tattoos, but he only regrets one piece of body ink: a highly visible, 25-year-old lightning bolt on the left side of his neck.
Hadick underwent his first laser treatment to remove the tattoo Friday at Lower Columbia Esthetics at 1142 Washington Way in Longview. When he finished, the 35-year veteran tattoo artist headed back to work upstairs at Surreal Skin Tattoo and Body Piercing.
Kathy Whitaker, a licensed medical assistant and esthetician, opened the two businesses under the same roof in February. It's a model unlike any other in the area, she said.
"We put tattoos on, take them off and pierce around them. This is the place where you can find your esthetic and feel comfortable knowing you are receiving clean, quality work," she said.
Whitaker, who's worked with lasers in the medical field for 25 years, bought the laser-removal equipment from Dr. Alexander Ierokomos when he closed his private practice and joined a Tacoma medical group.
Ierokomos, Whitaker's former boss, has stayed on with Lower Columbia Esthetics part-time as the acting medical director, checking in with patients to ensure the safety of the tattoo removal.
The treatments can be a painful, Whitaker said, but they only last five minutes, depending on the size of the tattoo. The laser breaks up the tattoo ink under the skin, erasing the tattoo after three to five treatments, she said.
Most will be gone in less than a year, with no scarring, Whitaker said.
People need tattoos removed to meet dress codes, military requirements and to fix misspellings or other errors, she said.
Hadick said people wondered if he'd gotten the neck tattoo in prison (he didn't), and he needed to get rid of it. As a tattoo artist, Hadick has tried to warn others about making similar mistakes, but some go ahead anyway, he said.
Getting a tattoo is much easier than getting one removed, he said.
"This hurts more than getting tattooed," he said when Whitaker finished his first session.
Whitaker's son, Brandon Whitaker, is the lead tattoo artist at Surreal Skin. He's joined by Hadick, Jessica Boaglio, Vance Aase and Jason Hanks. Christy Chaos runs the piercing clinic.
Lower Columbia Esthetics is a full-service laser clinic, with five different laser systems, Whitaker said. "We remove body hair, spider veins, acne and age spots," she said. "We do microdermabrasion, permanent makeup and chemical peel.
"There's a massage therapist, lots of stuff in here. It's a sin bin - don't come in here because you're never going to get out!"
The Esthetics side is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The tattoo shop is open from noon to 8 p.m. on the same days. Call 577-1037 for more information.