GETTING dozens of tattoos within a decade is a lot — just ask one woman who now thinks twice as she gets them painfully removed.
But with tattoo removal often costing more than the ink itself, Lauren Burnside, 31, decided to near how to do it on her own body and is now erasing her tats one by one.
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Lauren Burnside revealed the excruciating process behind getting them lasered off and how she saves money on the whole painful ordeal.
She also warned against a tattoo she says people will undoubtedly regret down the line.
Now residing in Adelaide, South Australia, she told The U.S. Sun that she has always been a free spirit and admittedly acts without thinking at times.
The self-described "bipolar baddie" admitted in a TikTok video that when she was 19 years old, she "stupidly" started getting tattoos whenever she had a mood swing due to her mental health disorder.
"Whenever I had a depressive thought or feeling, I was like, 'Oh, I'll get a tattoo,'" she explained in the clip.
It feels like being burned with a blow torch, and during the treatment, sometimes there’s a very distinct metallic taste in your mouth.
Lauren Burnside
This led her to get heavily tattooed really quickly all over her body, excluding her boobs and butt area.
"Luckily, I didn't get that far," she joked.
TAT TROUBLE
Fast forward a decade later, and Burnside currently has 15 tattoos still on her body — after removing 11 of them.
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"I’m lucky most of my tattoos are by really talentedartistsso they are actually beautifultattoos," she said.
Now eight are either in the process of beingremovedor almost completelyremoved, but it hasn't been easy.
"It feels like being burned with a blow torch, and during the treatment, sometimes there’s a very distinct metallic taste in your mouth," she said.
Despite the torture, she called the process "freeing" of the negativity thattheybrought to her life and felt relief once the ink started to disappear.
"Usually the impulsive ones or the ones I got when I was in my early 20s were the ones I began to hate," she admitted.
A singleremovalsession typically costs anywhere between $250 and $1,000.
That is sometimes more than getting the ink itself.
'Rare occurrence of a inking not being pointless' people hail woman's clever tattoo which will save her time doing DIY
It takes about 12 sessions to remove a single tattoo, and Lauren has had well over 50 treatments.
After coughing up the funds at first, she decided to get certified in the technique and make it her job.
This was partially because she was "fascinated" by it and also because it would save her a lot of money if she could simply treat herself.
She admitted that her first tattoo was an "impulsive decision" and she just booked an appointment at a random shop near the beach.
"They were the most awfully done roses on my stomach, and it was quite large and covered my entire lower stomach," she said.
They just looked terrible and misplaced. Luckily they are now completely gone.
Lauren Burnside
"I remember watching a Lady Gaga video and being obsessed with the rosetattooshe had on her back and instantly decided I needed roses."
Although Burnside's still goo-goo for Gaga, the rose ink job? Not so much.
PRICE OF PAIN
As one of her largest, the bad tattoo is taking a bit longer to work its way off her body because it is "excruciatingly" painful for her.
"It’s a very different sensation than beingtattooed. It just makes me aware that I’ve injected something foreign into my body and that fills me with anxiety," she said.
The area also swells, bruises, and sometimes even blisters as it heals.
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A decade ago, she couldn't imagine the price she would have to pay for spontaneity.
Her mom was not impressed by the tattoosshe was getting when she was younger.
"I think she always knew I would come to regret it. I’m sure she’s secretly glad that I’m having themremoved," she said.
Burnside has regretted a few other additions, some almost instantly, like "random symbols" on her fingers.
For years, they were covered in a Zelda video game symbol, the Harry Potter symbol, and the initials of an ex-boyfriend.
"They just looked terrible and misplaced. Luckily they are now completely gone," she said.
"Between the ages of 21 to 25, I started to reflect on some of the pieces I’d gotten and what they represented."
Do not gettattoosfor your partner!
Lauren Burnside
It made her start to feel uncomfortable and "self-conscious in her own skin" because they no longer represented who she was.
Before getting it removed, she used to have a quote that said: "What goes around comes back around," which she no longer identifies with.
"It symbolized a resentful time in my life. It’s just not a message I want essentially engraved into my skin for the rest of my life," she said.
OY VEY, NO WAY
Thankfully, she has the support of her friends and family to reinforce her confidence.
Burnside doesn't plan on getting any more ink, and her "aim" is to be tattoo-free in most places.
But there are a few sentimental ones she plans on keeping.
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"I have two swans forming a heart on my back and thattattoomeans a lot to me. It has a really beautiful message about love because swans typically mate for life," she explained.
Burnside also said that most of her clients are women — and many are ridding their bodies of the same thing.
"The most common theme is an ex-partner's name or initials or a significant date with that person," she revealed.
"There are much better ways to show your devotion to someone that won’t result in having to have your skin essentially blow-torched if things don’t work out."
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She knows from personal experience.
"This is why I always say, do not gettattoosfor your partner!" she joked.
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