Since You Asked One of the stories that caught your attention over the past few weeks was the tale from Lewiston of the murder suspect and his unsightly tattoos. About 23,000 of you checked out our online story about Brandon Thongsavanh, 22, who was tried and convicted of murder two years ago in the fatal stabbing of Bates senior Morgan McDuffee in a street fight. After a T-shirt with inappropriate comments about Jesus got his conviction thrown out, his lawyer last month wanted to ban state prosecutors from exhibiting Ôphotographs to the jury that show his tattoos Ð a ring of thorns on his neck and horns on his head. You also checked in on Sept. 25 when a judge decided that the tattoos and the T-shirt were off limits during the trial. There were 1,000 page views on that one. Your interest in this subject made us think: What do you do with a tattoo that you don't want? The question was the inspiration for today's story. 'I don't want it anymore' Ten years ago, Giselle Goodman's ankle sported a new tattoo. Now, not so enamored with her "art," she is considering options from big bandages to redecorating her ankle. If you have a story you'd like written, contact us via e-mail or call Giselle Goodman at 791-6330 to leave a message. Please include your name and other contact information. To top of story

The Cost of Regret LASER REMOVAL: At Northeast Plastic Surgery in Lewiston, the cost for removing a tattoo starts at $1,000 and goes up from there. The fee includes 10 to 12 treatments. The tattoo is treated once every six weeks. The laser breaks up the ink, which then rises to the surface of the skin, causing sores and blisters that heal within four weeks. Removing a tattoo as small as a quarter can be a two-year process. At the Medical Laser & Cosmetic Center in Portland Ð the only other place in southern Maine with a tattoo-removal laser Ð treatments are $200 a session. SURGERY: At Piscataqua Plastic Surgery in Portsmouth, N.H., surgical tattoo removal starts at $600 for a quarter-sized mark and goes up from there. COVER-UP: Sanctuary Tattoo and Art Gallery on Forest Avenue charges a $50 minimum for any ink work. Each artist at the studio charges different rates: They start at $100 an hour. The time it takes the artist to create a cover piece is included in the cost. Check other local tattoo studios for rates. THE ADVICE from doctors who take tattoos off, those who put them on and everyone caught in between is the same: Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into before you get inked. Staff Photo by John Patriquin, Wed., September 28, 2005: This skull and daggar tattoo on Sabbatus resident Charlie Robertsis almost removed using a laser treatment from therapist Cheri Bonawitz in Lewiston. Staff Photo by John Patriquin, Wed., September 28, 2005: Charlie Roberts shows a tattoo on his forearm that is in the process of removal by laser by therapist Cheri Bonawitz at her office in Lewiston. To top of story

Maureen Fasulo has dropped $1,000 trying to rid herself of the black, amoeba-like shape on her inner left calf, and yet there it remains.

"It is supposed to mean longevity," she says.

Makes sense, since longevity is what tattoos like Fasulo's are all about.

She put it on her leg 10 years ago innocently enough, for the same reason many other people get tattoos: To make a statement about herself. To feel part of a group, while being an individual at the same time. To express originality. These are the same reasons why many people who get tattoos are happy with them year after year.

But sometimes, not long after the ink has set, there are those, like Fasulo, now 29, who wish their tattoos weren't so permanent. And, like Fasulo, those who want to remove the offending marks are also learning that the options to get rid of them aren't so black and white.

They can be surgically cut out, zapped with a laser or covered with more ink. But in each case, there is absolutely no way to completely, without a trace, rid one's body of a tattoo.

"You're going to be left with a scar no matter how you have it removed," said Cheri Bonawitz, a skin specialist who removes tattoos at Northeast Plastic Surgery out of Lewiston. "That's the thing with permanent things. They're so.Ê.Ê. well, permanent. It may look cool when you're 14 but when you're 40.Ê.Ê."

Bonawitz has seen her share of tattoo regret at Northeast. There, the most popular reason for seeking out laser removal is to get rid of an old boyfriend or girlfriend's name. The most popular place for tatoo removal: Arms and hands. The most painful place for laser removal: The ankle. The easiest tattoo to remove: The homemade, all black type. The hardest colors to remove: Red and yellow.

All these rules of thumb change, however, when a tattoo is removed surgically. This must be done by a medical-school trained plastic surgeon, like Bonawitz's husband, Steve Bonawitz, at Northeast.

It does leave a scar, just a linear one, not a tattoo shaped one.

"Some people would rather explain just a scar," said Cheri Bonawitz.

Charlie Roberts of Sabattus doesn't care what kind of scar he has, as long as it means the tattoos on his arms are gone.

He said he was just a reckless, motorcycle-riding kid when he branded his right arm with a skull and dagger and his left arm with a rose and dagger. Nearly 40 years later, the 59-year-old mason contractor thinks they don't really reflect the Charlie Roberts of today.

Plus, he said, he doesn't think they make a good impression.

"I'm a businessman who is supposed to be professional when I go to interviews," he said. "When you're talking about a $2 (million) or $3 million job, you don't want to look like you just got off a Harley."

This speaks to the other popular reason people want to rid themselves of their ink: They have outgrown it or are embarrassed by it.

Like it or not, tattoos still make an impression, and sometimes it is not a pleasant one.

Cheri Bonawitz said the story about the tattoos of Brandon Thongsavahn, 22, who is being tried again for murder in the fatal street-fight stabbing of Bates senior Morgan McDuffee two years ago, is the perfect example of the "bad boy" stigma associated with tattoos.

The jury won't see pictures of Thongsavahn as he was the night of the murder: Bald with horns tattooed on his head and a ring of thorns on his neck, and Bonawitz can see why. It's hard to remain objective about those kind of things.

"No matter who he is or what he does .Ê.Ê. you're not going to be seen as a good boy," she said.

Often, though, the case of the outgrown tattoo is more like that of 23-year-old Sidnee Olmsted of Portland. She simply doesn't like the quarter-sized seashell on her lower back anymore.

"It means nothing. It's just a seashell," she said. "I got it at a time when the whole idea of having a tattoo was more important than what it meant. I'm definitely going to cover it."

Which means she is going to put a better tattoo over the one she does not like.

"Most people don't regret getting tattooed, they just regret the tattoo they have," said Chris Dingwell, a tattoo artist at Sanctuary Tattoo in Portland.

Dingwell and the other three artists at his studio are skilled at covering one tattoo with another.

"Most often, the work was badly done in the first place or it's old, small or insignificant," he said. "They want to cover it up with something more significant."

Fasulo fits Dingwell's description. She likes tattoos and has another on her lower back she wants to keep.

But she just hasn't yet decided whether she is going to cover or remove that one on her leg. Until then, she is staying away from shorts.

Staff Writer Giselle Goodman can be contacted at 791-6330 or at: ggoodman@pressherald.com