Maybe you got your tattoo the day you turned eighteen. Maybe you were a rebel and got it before that. But now you’re a 30-year-old man and you’re wondering why you have a Tasmanian devil on your left calf. You could try to laugh about it, but some tattoos are so prominent—or get so much commentary from other people—that you want the thing gone. Question is, can you fully erase a tattoo? How long will it take, how much will it hurt, and how do you avoid becoming a horror story like the woman whose tattoo removal cream burned off her skin? If you’re thinking making your ink disappear, here are the facts you need first.