Employers have a tendency to stereotype people with tattoos. If you have a few tattoos, and you would like potential employers to see you​ and not the tattoos, there are ways to remove the tattoos or cover them. There are even ways to make this less painful and faster.

Surgical Skin Removal

A surgeon removes the patch of skin that is tattooed. Typically, this is a reasonable option for smaller tattoos, but not for larger ones. Pieces of skin are then taken from another area of your body that is fleshier and where the skin will not be missed and grafted onto the areas where the tattoos have been removed. Skin may also be grafted over the tattooed areas without even removing the tattoo, but the former process is more successful at getting the graft to stay put.

Tattoo Removal Laser

Another tattoo removal process is the laser. The laser removes the tattoo by burning off the image. Your surgeon will use a local anesthetic to numb the area prior to applying the laser. This process can be completed as an in-office visit, unlike the surgical removal of the tattoo, which must be scheduled as an outpatient procedure in the hospital.

​Tattoo Over the Tattoo

You can always tattoo over the tattoo, too. Some people do this by creating a more neutral and prettier tattoo, but you can also tattoo over a tattoo by using a skin tone color and tattoo needle. This makes the tattoo completely invisible by making the second tattoo look like unblemished skin. It requires a highly skilled tattoo artist who has done this kind of work before.

Tattoo-Covering Makeup

​Recently, companies wanting to help people with tattoos get jobs who were otherwise not being employed because of their tattoos developed a makeup for covering tattoos. The makeup does such a thorough job of hiding the tattoos, even those with thick, dark outlines, that you can use it again and again and wipe it off when you do not need it. This is an especially good, pain-free way to hide tattoos, if you are either not committed to removing them, or you do not have the funds and health insurance to remove them. 

Tattoo Sleeves

This is the least expensive and least painful option. Nylon sleeves made to wear over your arms and legs cover the tattoos. However, they are not a one-size-fits-all option. If you are a particularly large person or a particularly petite person, the sleeves may not fit you.