How tattoos lost their cool

In a previous life, at drama school, it was drummed into me never to get a tattoo. The rationale? However Streep-esque my audition may be, a tattoo would not only distract the director, it would present them with the problem of covering the damned thing up.

This was during the ’90s when tattoos were everywhere. You couldn’t move without seeing a Pamela Anderson-inspired barbed wire snaked around an upper arm, or a ‘tramp stamp’ (charming term) on a lower back, hip bone or tummy, peeping out over the top of baggy combat trousers or low-rise jeans.

In 1995, Pamela Anderson got her infamous inking because she was starring in the film Barbed Wire and liked the make-up version that was applied for filming. Nineteen years later she lasered it off   CREDIT: GETTY

Fast-forward to 2010, and when her husband was elected Prime Minister, Samantha Cameron’s ankle dolphin cemented tattoos as not just mainstream but posh-girl acceptable. If anything, it did her husband’s image some good. Yet imagine the scandal if, 20 years previously, Norma Major had had the same.

Today, an estimated 20 million Brits have at least one tattoo and around 1.5 million pieces of body art are needled in annually – creating an industry said to be worth £80 million.

But the industry to remove them is just as buoyant. Statistics show a 440 per cent increase in revenues from removal procedures in the past decade, with 39 per cent of adults surveyed regretting their ink.

Sometimes a heart, star, angel wings or similar, the lower-back tatt was popular with stars including Jessica Alba, Drew Barrymore and Eva Longoria CREDIT: REX

"In the last year, my clinic has seen a 400 per cent increase in enquires into surgical tattoo removal," says plastic surgeon Paul Banwell of The Banwell Clinic.

"Tattoo removal is the largest growth sector in cosmetic procedures, not just in the UK but worldwide," adds Dr Tapan Patel, medical director of PHI Clinic on Harley Street. "In the two years since we opened, there has been a 100 per cent increase year-on-year in requests for treatment."

In the mid-noughties tattoos got deep. Actress Megan Fox had a Shakespeare quote inked on her shoulder, while the Beckhams got matching Hebrew tattoos that read, ‘I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine’  CREDIT: GETTY

And at the Cadogan Clinic, consultant dermatologist Dr Susan Mayou told Stella, "In six months, enquiries have risen by 20 per cent – in fact, we recently took on another specialist due to the demand."

Celebrities, who arguably led the trend for body art in the first place, are also leading the trend for tattoo U-turns. Drew Barrymore, who converted to Judaism upon her marriage to third husband Will Kopelman, is reported to have had her many body etchings removed because they are frowned upon by the faith.

"Like it or not, visible tattoos are frowned upon, especially in a customer-facing job"

Paul Banwell

As for the ex-lover-tattoo club, Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Eva Longoria, Melanie Griffith, Marc Anthony and Denise Richards have either had their ex-partners’ names (inked on to their skin in happier times) removed or morphed into other images and words.

Then there’s Victoria Beckham, whose long, snaky Hebrew tattoo down her back and the tribute to David on her wrist are fading fast – due to laser treatments, experts speculate. Perhaps it’s part of an image overhaul that has also seen her remove her WAG-style breast implants, return to her dark-haired roots and tone down the fake tan, as she endeavoured to be taken seriously as a fashion designer and businesswoman.

Victoria Beckham's fading wrist tattoo for her husband, David CREDIT: GC IMAGES

And it seems career is the most common reason for wanting your tattoo gone. ‘People assume tattoo removal is largely driven by the name of ex-partners, but it’s driven first and foremost by employment considerations,’ says Dr Andrew R Timming, reader in management at the University of St Andrews, who has done extensive research in the area.

A 2014 survey backs up his point, with 71 per cent of employers saying tattoos would put them off hiring a candidate.

"Like it or not, visible tattoos are frowned upon, especially in a customer-facing job," says Banwell. "It could also be an issue if you are a lawyer or an accountant."

Many believe Cheryl Fernandez-Versini brought about tattoo saturation point in 2014, with the huge rose design she had etched on to her entire bottom and lower back. It took 14 hours and Cheryl admitted it was ‘the cost of a small car’.   CREDIT: KARWAI TANG

Until very recently, removal was surprisingly primitive. "Surgical excision [removal with a scalpel] was and still is successfully used. But previously the tattoo was scrubbed with salt, which often caused a nasty reaction, as did dermabrasion," says Dr Mayou.

"Thirty years ago, the first lasers appeared but they destroyed the skin and tissue because you had to get down to the dermis, where the pigment lies."

The new tattoo-removing laser generating hype is the PicoWay laser.

"It’s in a league of its own," says Dr Patel. "What makes it different is that it’s so fast and smashes the ink into much smaller particles so it can be excreted into the lymph system more quickly." But not all colours can be removed. "It’s good for removing black and red, but some colours, such as pinks and oranges, cannot be treated, no matter what."

Treatment isn’t cheap, starting at £199 per 45-minute session at PHI Clinic, with a three-session minimum over four to six weeks.

Perhaps because they were running out of skin, ‘sleeve tattoos’, which cover the entire arm and often creep on to the torso, became popular with stars like David Beckham and Robbie Williams CREDIT: REX

Dr Mayou uses a Q-Switched Harmony laser, but warns, "We can clear tattoos completely in 60 per cent of cases, but 30 per cent are left with 'ghosting' and 10 per cent are too stubborn. Older tattoos are harder to remove, and with those you will need a minimum of six sessions from 30 minutes to an hour [from £150 a session]." 

Downtime from laser is minimal, though Vaseline needs to be applied for 72 hours under gauze to protect the skin – and no picking because the scabs need to heal.

Then there is the pain factor. Lasers are said to hurt more than tattoos, despite the anaesthetic cream used. And as for the oft-hyped tattoo removal creams? Don’t get sucked in. "Creams can’t get across the membrane to fade the tattoo," says Dr Mayou. After all, if a laser is challenged, what can a cream achieve?

In the late ’90s, Spice Girls Mel B and Mel C, plus Britney Spears, led the trend for Chinese letter tattoos CREDIT: INSTAGRAM/OFFICIALMELB

Of course, some people are still happy with their ink. "The first tattoo I had was after my best friend was diagnosed with cancer and she asked if I would get one done with her," says social worker Kathleen Shea, 45. "I got a Celtic guardian dog on my lower back with knots as a symbol of protection and I now have a small one on my wrist in my own handwriting that says, 'I choose,' which is often a conversation piece."

Her sister-in-law, Laura Shea, 44, a mature student, feels differently and is having her four tattoos removed. "I had them done when I was 22 and dating a wannabe tattoo artist. I let him practise on me, which was a big mistake because they all turned out tacky and I quickly regretted them."

2016 is all about blink-and-you’ll-miss-it ink. Model Gigi Hadid has a tiny ‘g’ behind her ear, Kendall Jenner has a white dot on her finger (seen here in a shot by her tattooist, JonBoy) and little sister Kylie recently had a tiny red heart on her upper arm, which she called a ‘baby tatt’ CREDIT: INSTAGRAM/JONBOYTATTOO

"When my children were teenagers, I would have paid them not to get tattoos because I knew they would more than likely want them removed," sighs Dr Mayou. (Her children did not end up getting tattoos.) "And I know how it’s more expensive, painful and difficult to get rid of them than to have them in the first place."

Who would have thought my old drama school’s attitude could have been so prophetic?