Did you know? India tops list in tattoo-removal operations

There were 22,860 tattoo-removal procedures in India in 2016, followed by 20,159 in Japan. The United States was a distant third with 14,124 procedures.

Representational image courtesy Pixabay

New Delhi: Tattoos are considered a creative and/or definite form of self-expression through body art but more and more Indians are not just opting to getting inked but also going under the knife to have these removed.

According to a recent study by International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, India had more maximum tattoo-removal procedures in 2016 than any other country in the world. The study reveals that 22,860 procedures were undertaken in the country, followed by 20,159 in Japan. The United States was a distant third with 14,124 procedures.

While India has had a long tradition of body art, tattooing in its most recent form has quickly gained acceptance - especially among the urban youth. With countless celebrities also sporting tattoo(s), the craze has permeated to most to millennials. However, a number of reasons - and not just in India - lead one to opt for tattoo removal surgeries.

According to several surgeons, the main reasons for such procedures range from 'drunken mistake' and breakups to artwork going either wrong or not being what was expected. And while India's top-rank in tattoo removal procedures may also be due to its large population and therefore the compratively larger share of people getting inked, other countries that make it to this list are Italy at fourth with 11,356 procedures in 2016, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Egypt and Colombia.

Interestingly, there are also several countries which impose restrictions on body art. In 2014, a British tourist in Sri Lanka was deported because she had a tattoo of Buddha on her arm. In Denmark, tattoos on face, head, neck and hands are mostly banned. Many Muslim nations also consider tattoos as un-Islamic. In UAE for example, a fatwa was issued because tattooing was considered a form of self-injury - according to UK-based laser clinic Andrea Catton.