The one-of-a-kind Tattoo Removal Shop has been doing just what its name says since 2006.
Picture the stereotypical tattoo shop. The artists have more than enough experience with the trade judging by their arms, and the walls of their waiting rooms oftentimes look more like those of a rock and roll club.
Now think of reversing the ink-getting process and the sterile environment in which that might take place and you'll have the , Dr. Mike Towey's business on Minnetonka Boulevard.
"We're one of only two places in the country that specialize in just tattoo removals," Towey told me from inside his tastefully decorated consultation room. "The other one is out in L.A."
After 20 years in emergency medicine, Towey felt as though it was time for something else. Choosing the cosmetic laser surgery field, Towey could gone a number of different routes—removal of age lines, wrinkles, acne scarring. So why tattoos?
"That's a good question," Towey said. "The clientele we work with is young and healthy and is more fun to work with."
No matter the age of his clients, Towey—who has no tattoos of his own, nor did he previous to opening his shop—takes each through the quick "zapping" procedure that begins a long removal process.
"Patients are usually in here for 10-15 minutes at most," Towey told me. "Then their next appointment is scheduled for 10 weeks later. A year down the road their tattoo will hardly be visible and after two years it's gone."
My curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to know how the procedures worked. Aren't tattoos permanent?
"The science-y part is that when the ink first gets put into your skin, some of it washes off right away," Towey began. "After that the rest of your body tries to eat it up just like it would any other bacteria, in an attempt to dissolve it. So what we do is go in there with lasers, break up the walls and try to dissolve it further."
Towey's practice is small, decorated in contemporary fashion and is run by him, a few laser machines and his office manager, Alex Smith.
"She does everything," Towey said with a laugh.
"Everything else," Smith added, "except the actual removal. We're pretty collaborative on most things. I do scheduling and intakes, answer all the calls we get where people ask what it is we do, creative and marketing director ... office manager for short."
For right now, the two are content with how business is. In fact, Tattoo Removal Shop achieved the Best of Business in St. Louis Park award in 2009 and 2010. Couple the reputation Towey's business has gained with the friendliness he and Smith exude, and you've got a pretty great, professional ink removal experience ahead of you.