Does Laser Tattoo Removal Really Have to Be So Expensive?

There has always been a lot of confusion about "cost" in health care. We constantly hear that the "cost" of a specific procedure is in the thousands of dollars. Health care "costs" are always going up. However, as a physician and health care industry insider, I can tell you that the "price" and the "cost" of a procedure are two totally different things.

If you spent $150,000 to buy a tattoo removal laser, then it would stand to reason that the money you spent to buy the equipment requires building some of that cost into the price the customer pays. But what is the "cost" after we have brought in $150,000 of revenue and paid off the asset? Do we keep charging the same rate? What you really need to consider in health care pricing is "incremental cost", that is what it costs to treat each additional customer after we've paid off that asset. Believe it or not, 5 minutes to remove a tattoo only costs the time for the laser technician, insurance, and depreciation on the laser. So why keep charging thousands of dollars?

When we opened our laser tattoo removal business, we made a conscious decision that we would treat all our customers from day one at a rate that averages our actual equipment costs with our forward thinking incremental costs after the asset is fully paid. We don't make as much money at the beginning, when we have equipment expenses, but the trade off is that our customers receive top quality laser tattoo removal at a price that scares our competitors. Our margin improves when the equipment is paid off, and our initial customers are so happy to get the lowest rate in town in the meantime.

Bottom line: I see all these adds for ineffective tattoo removal remedies that involve TCA or chemicals that cause skin injury and inflammation that are selling so well simply because the perceived cost of laser tattoo removal is high. We have created the monster of ineffective cheap DIY tattoo removal solutions by making laser tattoo removal so expensive. I hate to see people waste their money on ineffective and sometimes unsafe products just as much as I hate to see someone pay thousands of dollars out of their hard-earned paychecks to remove a $50 tattoo. It isn't fair either way, and our business was created to change that!

The next time you consider getting a tattoo removed, ask your doctor why the bill is $1,000.