Tattoo regret seems to be big business these days. The tattoo removal sector is surging ahead despite the economic slump. In fact the head of one tattoo removal clinic John Keefe offered this quote on the trend, “More than 40 million people have tattoos and about seven million, or 17 percent, are in the process of figuring out how to get rid of them,” according to reports published online. Keefe is the CEO of Dr. Tattoff based in California.

Not surprisingly, the majority of customers removing tattoos seem to be older people who got tattoos when they were younger. So intent are some people on getting rid of their tattoos, that the ones who can’t afford the treatment seek cosmetic cover-ups. According to Keefe, each customer spends roughly $1,600 on tattoo removal.