The most important thing about getting tattooed is deciding on a design that you know you will be happy with for life. However, even if you were absolutely sure at the time, sometimes people change, and you end up with a tattoo that no longer suits you and your lifestyle.

In that case, you may be considering tattoo removal and wondering what your options are.

The common consensus is that tattoo removal is extremely painful, but that notion comes mostly from the old days before technology provided us with better ways to remove a tattoo.

There are currently two popular tattoo removal options at the moment and those are performed using laser technology and light based technology. Both of these methods use light energy to remove your tattoo. The ink inside your skin will absorb the light and then break it up, allowing it to be easily filtered out of the body.

Most people who have had one of these types of tattoo removal surgeries describe the feeling as an annoying rubber band snapping at your skin repeatedly. However, similar to when you’re getting a tattoo, the size of it will make a difference of how much pain you will feel and it’s intensity.

Also, if you have a large tattoo that needs to be removed, you may have to spend a night or two in the hospital so they can monitor your skin afterward.

Luckily, advanced technology has made it so these methods work without leaving much of a scar, but there are risks of ending up with a different skin pigmentation in the area of your tattoo.

It also can be quite expensive and require several visits to permanently remove the entire tattoo. If you decide that you want to go ahead with a tattoo removal surgery, it is extremely important to ask questions and research the procedure. You will also want to choose a doctor who is experienced in performing the procedure and has had successful results.

Once you’ve decided that you’re ready to get a new tattoo, you’re going to have to make a few more decisions before actually getting permanently inked. One of the big ones is deciding on your budget.

So, how do you find out how much your tattoo is going to cost?

The first thing you’re going to need to do is decide on the tattoo design that you want. Before anything else, choosing a tattoo that you are 100% sure of is more important than the cost. Your tattoo is forever and it’s not a decision that you want to base solely on cost.

Once you are absolutely certain of which tattoo design you want, you can move on to choosing the studio and the artist.

Regardless of what anyone may tell you, when it comes to tattoos, you get what you pay for. That doesn’t mean that your tattoo has to be expensive to be good, but there are a few things that will determine the price:

1. Custom tattoo design
If your tattoo design idea is one that is 100% unique and you need the tattoo artist to design it for you, you are likely to pay quite a bit more for his time and skills to create that design for you.

2. Artist Reputation
Artists can charge whatever they want and it can can range anywhere from $50 to $300 and up per hour. Typically, the more reputable and famous the artist becomes, the more you’re going to pay to have that artist do your tattoo.

3. Size matters
Yes, this is one of those times where size actually does matter. For instance, a small heart tattoo on your wrist is going to cost considerably less that an intricate full back piece design.

Is it possible to find a tattoo studio that has super cheap pricing? Of course, and it’s even possible that they have professional artists with great talent, but never rush into choosing a tattoo studio, especially based on cost.