Lawmakers eye regulating tattoo removal

It takes a state permit to be allowed to put a tattoo on someone. To take it off, all it takes is a laser tool.

Unlike tattooing, tattoo removal is an unregulated field in New York State, officials said. People trying to get uninked can spend thousands of dollars at a dermatologist's office, or about $100 elsewhere.

In response to a recent episode involving an Amityville couple who tried to get matching dragon tattoos erased from their hands, some state legislators say they want to change that.

State Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) and Assemb. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore) say they are exploring the possibility of regulating the field.

"Individuals shouldn't be able to be lasering others if they're not qualified to do so," Zeldin said.

Boyle said anyone doing such work should be properly trained.

They learned about the regulation gap from attorney Andrew Siben of Bay Shore, who represents Lauren Arensen and her boyfriend, Thomas Gianferrara Jr., both of Amityville.

They say the laser process burned them when they went to get the tattoos removed from their hands -- and now they want their medical bills covered.

"It looks like I was branded," Arensen said of the remnants of the tattoo left on her hand. She and Gianferrara are suing Ilana-Spa of Port Jefferson Station in state Supreme Court, claiming it did not do the procedures correctly.

But spa owner Ilana Cohen said she did nothing wrong and that she clearly explained to the couple that burns are a side effect of laser removal.

"They are just looking for money," she said, noting that at $100 a treatment, she charged a fraction of what it would cost at a dermatologist. "They definitely knew what they were getting into."

Arensen and Gianferrara got their tattoos in November, but within weeks said they had buyer's remorse. Arensen, who said she had paid thousands of dollars for a doctor to remove other tattoos, thought she'd save money by going to Ilana-Spa.

Gianferrara said he was burned so badly during the treatment in December that he got infected afterward. "It was like liquid fire hitting my hand," he said.

Arensen, who waits tables at a diner, said patrons recoiled when they saw her hand. Gianferrara, a roofer, said he had to work with the injured hand. "I bandaged it up crazy good," he said.

They both said they were shocked when Siben told them he'd found that unlike getting a tattoo, tattoo removal is unregulated in New York State.

"There are no qualifications required" of anyone doing laser tattoo removal, Siben said. "Anyone could do it."

Cohen said she is qualified. She said the plastic surgeon who sold her laser to her trained her on how to use it, and the manufacturer has certified that she is using it properly.

"I do an excellent job," she said.