A newer method of removal is by tattooing glycolic acid into the skin with a tattoo machine, the acid pushes the ink to the surface of the skin in the scab, the scab is later removed. This method supposedly scars less than lasering. Glycolic acid is also used for facial peels; when used for tattoo removal, a lower percentage mix is used.

Another alternative for unwanted tattoos is to cover them up with a better tattoo. With the advent of laser tattoo removal, cover up tattoos are becoming less common. Many younger tattooists don't know how or won't camouflage unwanted tattoos. An experienced artist can often come up with a design that incorporates and hides the existing tattoo.

More recently, many higher end shops and artists (such as innovator Guy Aitchison) have begun using professional laser removal machines not to completely remove an unwanted tattoo, but to break down and lighten it so as to be easier to cover with a new tattoo. Usually after two or three treatments the old tattoo is eliminated enough to cover, all without the extensive damage to the skin that a complete removal would cause.

Health risks
Permanent tattooing of any form carries small risks, including of infection, allergy, disease, and stress or phobic reactions. Risk reduction in the body arts requires single use items including gloves and needles.

In most prisons there is a significant risk of illness due to tattooing being done without following universal precautions, including such blood-borne diseases as HIV and hepatitis. However there is a program underway in Canada as of the summer of 2005 that opens legal tattoo studio's in prison, this is intended to reduce the risk of infections and may also provide the inmates with a marketable talent. Inmates will be trained to staff and operate the tattoo studio's once six of them open successfully. [5]

In addition, it is important that cross contamination not occur, this is why many counties require that tattooists have blood borne pathogen training as is provided through the Red Cross.

Though any and all precautions should always be taken to prevent blood-borne diseases, it is interesting to note that no person has ever contracted HIV from the tattooing process, likely due to the minimal amount of blood drawn from a tattoo and the unstable nature of HIV in an open environment. Hepatitis, however, remains a major concern in the tattoo world, and the disease can be, and has been, spread easily.

Infection
Since tattoo instruments come in contact with blood and bodily fluids, diseases may be transmitted if the instruments are used on more than one person without being sterilized. However, infection from tattooing in clean and modern tattoo studios is rare.

Infections include surface infections of the skin, Staphylococcus aureus, infections that can cause cardiological damage, sexually transmitted diseases, and some forms of hepatitis. People who have a compromised immune system, including those who have no spleen, should consult a physician before getting a tattoo or body piercing.

Allergic reactions
Allergic reactions to tattoo pigments are uncommon except for certain brands of red and green. People who are sensitive or allergic to certain metals may react to pigments in the skin by becoming swollen and/or itchy, oozing of clear fluid called sebum is also common. People who are allergic to green soap should let their tattooist know before being tattooed, because the area is cleaned before and during the tattoo with green soap and it will ultimately get into the tattoo. A reaction to the green soap will result in itchy redness that may swell. It should go away with time, but can be very uncomfortable, so one should still consult a doctor. Allergic reactions to latex should also be stated before being tattooed or pierced.