The difficulty with such public displays is that while a tattoo is permanent, identity is not. It changes over time, as life, responsibilities, experience and those around us change. The tattoo that was once a source of pride can become a simple source of embarrassment or even shame.

Tattoo removal is an effective way to get rid of any offending designs, but it cannot be seen as an easy solution. The treatment works better on tattoos that have been inked by a professional using black ink; certain colours respond less well to the treatment and some may not resolve completely.

The process is accumulative, and not without discomfort. The affected area of skin needs to be protected from sunlight during the course of treatment in order to prevent damage. All this needs to be taken into consideration, and if in doubt, find another way to make your statement.

Maria has been dubbed ‘Vampire Woman’ in Mexico and has drawn a lot of attention as her tattoo collection has extended all over her body. Reactions range from inspired to outrage in the face of this lady’s transformation.

There is no doubt that her tattoos are there to stay: complex, extensive and colourful, there are surely too many of them for the lawyer to ever contemplate tattoo removal.

Such an extreme statement is quite unusual, although extensive tattoos are becoming more and more common. You only need to look at David Beckham, who also has an impressive collection of tattoos, although they are monochrome and reflect his attachment to family and faith.

Reactions to Beckham may be less violent than those to Maria, and yet tattoos do open the individual up to a judgement based purely on appearance. When you are a celebrity, whether in the football or body art world, you may not find these judgements to hold you back. In the real world, however, the consequences can be more serious.

While this may be an understandable choice for a twenty-three year-old pop star, you could imagine such a tattoo causing problems in the real world. Potential employers could find such a design an obstacle, preventing them from making an offer of employment. The general public could base their judgements of a person on such a tattoo as this.

This must be an important consideration when getting a new tattoo. Most people depend at some point on how they are perceived by society, and tattoos can sometimes give the wrong impression. Tattoo removal is an option for people who feel their tattoos are holding them back.

While tattoo removal is not completely painless and does involve a course of treatment, it is by far the most effective way to have an unwanted tattoo removed. The pigments trapped within the layers of skin are broken down to a size that allows the body to remove the particles.

• Never have a tattoo referring specifically to your other half. Eva chose to have the word ‘nine’ tattooed onto her skin when she was married to basketball star Tony Parker; it referred to his team number. They split up after it had been revealed that he had been unfaithful.

Apparently the star of Desperate Housewives had trouble getting rid of the persistent tattoo, but laser tattoo removal finally triumphed and removed the embarrassing reminder of her failed marriage.

Unfortunately, it would seem that the message did not filter back down to her current squeeze, Eduardo Cruz. The younger brother of Penelope Cruz is currently dating Eva, and apparently had her name tattooed onto his arm just weeks after they started seeing each other.

There are too many examples of tattoo regret to ignore the evidence that tattoos dedicated to romantic partners have a high chance of causing major embarrassment when the rose-tinted specs finally come off and the relationship fails.

In these cases, laser tattoo removal is the fastest and most effective way to remove the offending name/design, but prevention is always better the cure!

Like so many people, she has discovered the drawbacks of having a tattoo that honours a particular relationship. She had the tattoo ‘Mrs C’ tattooed onto the nape of her neck following their marriage, but now it appears that it had just become an embarrassing reminder.

At the moment, it is being reported that she is considering whether to incorporate the design into another, or whether to have laser tattoo removal. The first option involves having another, larger tattoo inked over the top of the original design.

This approach offers the benefit of being a fairly easy solution, although it is important to make sure that the new design will not end up being a cause for regret like the first…

Laser tattoo removal, on the other hand, offers the chance to remove the offending tattoo completely. The treatment causes the pigment particles in the ink to break down to a size that allows the body to remove them naturally. Over time and the course of treatment, the tattoo gradually fades away.

As she sat in the waiting room she tweeted her fears of the laser rather than the pain, but fellow celebrity Lily Allen was on hand to reassure her, tweeting back that she has had the procedure and had no problems.
The idea of applying a laser to any part of your body can feel a little scary, but the lasers used for these kinds of procedures are very safe when in the hands of a competent and experienced operator.

The discomfort has been likened to having an elastic band snapped on the skin and should not cause extreme pain. Any inflammation or bleeding caused by the treatment is temporary and simply requires some TLC and simple precautions, like protecting the skin from the sun’s rays.

Laser treatment is certainly the safest and most effective form of tattoo removal, and although there will be some discomfort and inconvenience, it is worth it when you are living with tattoo regret!

The DJ who made the donation has defended his decision, saying that the tattoo removal has allowed the man to pursue professional development and has helped him gain employment, making him a useful member of society.

The views he once held as a young man are no longer representative of who he is now, but keeping the tattoo would not have allowed him to move on and make the necessary positive changes to his life.

The DJ has said that he received threats and strong criticism following his actions, but has stated that he would do the same again a hundred times over if he could, and that the positive reports from the ex-skinhead’s new employer confirmed he had made the right decision. People do and can change, and when a tattoo could prevent someone from changing their life for the better, it has to go.

The tattoo artist has also lashed out, saying that he is the victim, as he was lied to regarding the girl’s age. It is illegal for someone under eighteen to have a tattoo, and the tattoo parlour in question will not be prosecuted because this information was clearly displayed. When the girl was asked about her age, she gave a fake date of birth.

The girl now has ‘100% Welsh Lamb’ tattooed onto her hip, which she says ‘is not feminine’ and ‘looks stupid’. She claims it was done during a ‘moment of madness’, and that she now cannot afford to have it removed. Her mother is outraged that her daughter has been ‘branded for life’.

Unfortunately, tattoo regret is not uncommon amongst those who have designs inked into their skin on a whim or on impulse.

And yet, it stands to reason. Although celebrity culture and society in general seem to have become more accepting of tattoos, it would appear that they can become an obstacle to employment when they are too large, too numerous or too visible.

While this tendency to remove tattoos has risen more dramatically in Spain, we could also see the same trend in the UK, as job opportunities decline and more and more candidates battle it out over a reduced number of vacancies.

Client-facing roles, executive roles and those in the public service may be more difficult to get into for those sporting ink, and so candidates may be faced with a difficult decision. Tattoo removal is not easy or fast and does involves repeated treatment sessions and a certain amount of discomfort.

If you are thinking of getting a tattoo, you should certainly take this into account when you are deciding what to have and where to put it!