Tattoos have been around since the New Stone Age, around 9500 BC, in Eurasia. People typically cut a design into their skin and rubbed ashes into the wounds so that the design was permanent once the healing was finished. Eventually different elements were experimented with to impart colors to the designs. Tattoos were used as rites of passage and to intimidate rival tribes.

As years passed tattoos spread to the west, where sailors discovered them on voyages to Polynesia. Thinking that tattoos would be an good way to identify their bodies in case of drowning, sailors began to put tattoos on their arms. Tattoo parlors appeared on the waterfronts for just this purpose and soon tattoos became popular for decoration than identification.

As tattoos began to become a popular means of expression, they were also looked down upon by polite society. A lady or gentleman would never engage in such low activities, or so the reasoning went. Tattoos were looked at as reserved for criminals or people of low breeding and little income. As recently as the 60's and 70's, people assumed a person with tattoos was a biker or a felon.

In the 1990's, though, tattoos became popular with young people as a means of decoration and distinction. Ladies in particular began to embrace the art; they went from pretty butterflies and flowers hidden by their clothing to bold mythical creatures on their limbs and backs. Men, too, changed from plain traditional tattoos to Celtic knots and other esoterical designs, often representative of their lineage. Today 13% of women and fifteen percent of men surveyed have at least one tattoo.

In the past decade, women have even sought tattoos as permanent makeup. A cosmetic surgeon can use tattoos to save women the time and {{{effort|trouble| of applying eyeliner and many even get color on their eyelids to enhance their beauty. This type of procedure is safer than it used to be with the advances in procedure as well as medical advancement.

Regrettably, some people regret their decision and opt for tattoo removal. This can be expensive and painful as well as leaving nasty scar tissue at times. Depending on how extensive the tattoo is, a physician has several options for this type of cosmetic surgery. Sometimes the design is literally excised and the wound is sutured. If the area is large enough it requires a skin graft harvested from another part of the body.

Tattoo laser removal is a specialty of companies such as The Liposuction and Cosmetic Surgery Institute. Chicago tattoo removal is done in 4 locations in the Chicago area. This company is a leading liposuction and cosmetic surgery institute in the world. More liposuction and cosmetic surgery procedures are performed in the four locations of the Institute than anywhere else in the world.

Dermabrasion is one traditional method of removing tattoos. The skin area is frozen then sanded with an abrasive that causes the skin to peel. However this technique is quickly being replaced by more modern methods of tattoo removal.

Laser tattoo removal is now the preferred method of tattoo removal. A gentle light is directed at the pigments embedded in the skin. The light from the laser causes the pigment to break up and over a period of weeks, the body's cells remove the color and the area reverts to as it was before the patient was tattooed.

More than one treatment is occasionally needed for this solution. The safest and most effective way to remove a tattoo is to go to a cosmetic surgeon. By consulting a professional, infection and side effects can probably be avoided.