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(Health.com) -- Getting that tattoo seemed like a good idea at the time. But now that blast from the past on your back or tribal band around your arm may seem like a bit of body art you could live without.

How easy is it to get rid of a tattoo? So the event you commemorated with a tattoo is something you'd rather not remember. Or the tattoo you got in your 20s no longer reflects the real you. How easy is it to get rid of your "tat"?

Tattoo removal is most commonly performed using lasers that break down the ink in the tattoo. The broken-down ink is then absorbed by the body, mimicking the natural fading that time or sun exposure would create. All tattoo pigments have specific light absorption spectra.

By Rebecca Camber UPDATED: 06:53 EST, 27 August 2008 Tattoos can often be a case of ink now, regret later. Extracting the dye from the skin has usually been a painful process. However, cosmetic surgeons are now offering what they say is a more efficient and less painful way of removing body art.