Tattoo trends? Seems a little ironic for something permanent, doesn't it?

According to tattoo artist Dave Schultz at Hanger 18 Tattoos and Piercing on Richmond Street, 18 to 25 years old are popular ages to be inked, and lately, it's all about quotes. "Script writing is pretty big ... old English, and Japanese symbols are kind of dying out," he said. Among the most common messages he works on are positive phrases like "Live. Laugh. Love." or powerful words like courage, strength and wisdom.

Most tattoo parlours will have similar rules; you need to be at least 16 years old to get a tattoo with parental consent, and 18 to get one on your own. This is meant to prevent young teens from making a permanent decision they'll regret.

Schultz has been tattooing for five years and has experience with fixing people's bad ink choices. He has a very clear stance on branding yourself with a boyfriend or girlfriend's name. "It's a bad omen. When you get somebody's name it's almost guaranteed that something bad is going to happen because of it," he said. "When I do those tattoos, I always tell people what we can cover them up with later."

Schultz's parents wouldn't let him get a tattoo until he was old enough, so he waited until the day after his eighteenth birthday to get a half-sleeve of abstract art.

Schultz admitted to having tattooed some strange things that even he doesn't understand: "I did a roll of toilet paper on a guy's butt ... and that was pretty weird." He added that he finds it hard to talk people out of tattoos they may come to regret. "I try to be as nonconfrontational as possible. If somebody comes in wanting something, it's hard for me to say, 'You don't want that,' because I don't know this person. I just try to guide people towards something they're going to like for a longer period of time," he said.

If you're thinking about getting a tattoo, it may be comforting to hear that with today's technology, their permanence isn't what it used to be. Eliminink is a new pain-free alternative to plastic surgery or lasers used to remove tattoos. Using a needle, one similar to what is used to apply the ink, Eliminink penetrates the skin over the tattoo and causes the ink to rise to the surface. It crusts over, and eventually falls off as a scab. Since the area is frozen, you don't feel a thing.

Charlene Jones uses Eliminink at Artistic Aesthetic Spa in London to take off tattoos and gets customers of all ages. She explained her experience with a 23-year-old woman. "She really liked the tattoos when she got them ... she thought it was a good idea at the time, they were only there about a year," she said.

This new treatment costs about $250 per two-inch square of skin, and removes all pigment, unlike laser removal which tends to leave blue behind. Although turning the clock on a tattoo may be easier these days, all expense and regret could be avoided by following Schultz's simple advice: "Think before you ink."