Tattoo-removal business flowing in the black

Actress Melanie Griffith is going through a painful divorce. But the removal of her tattoo with the first name of her husband Antonio Banderas may hurt almost as much.

And she’s not alone. Over the past decade, revenue for tattoo removals has surged 440 percent to an estimated $75.5 million.

The tattoo-removal industry is still growing and expected to hit $83.2 million annually, keeping pace with growth in the overall tattoo industry, according to research firm IBISWorld.

Revenue for the industry overall is estimated to be $3.4 billion in 2014, with an annualized growth rate of 2.9 percent, says IBISWorld lead analyst Andy Brennan.

There are nearly 8,000 tattoo businesses in the US, with no dominant player.

Tattoo removal can be as much a public statement as the tattoo itself. Griffith was recently photographed leaving a skin specialist in West Hollywood with a bandage on her right arm. Photos also showed the outline of the heart-shaped tattoo and the name of her estranged husband almost erased.

Most tattoo removals are performed on people in their 30s and 40s, says Michael Kulick, a San Francisco-based plastic surgeon. “What was attractive in your 20s is not so attractive in your 30s,” he says.

Costs vary from $500 and up, depending on the color and depth of the ink in the skin. Generally speaking, black is the easiest color to take off, Kulick says, but “now it’s very fashionable to have pastels and yellow, which is very difficult to remove.”