Jamie Thayer, part-owner of Glow Sculpting Spa in Harvey, which is a medi-spa focusing on U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved laser treatments such as teeth whitening, Zorona body contouring, and now laser tattoo removal, shares her “Don’t judge a book by its cover” philosophy with anyone willing to listen.

Thayer believes in second chances for all, which is why she was inspired to start the Erase the Hate campaign, in which she removes racist and hate-related tattoos free of charge. Thayer has already helped many clients create a fresh start as they work hard to move on from their past and start anew.

So why add tattoo removal to the spa’s already accomplished list of treatments?

“We decided to add laser tattoo removal in the middle of 2020 and one of the things I discovered — because I wanted to remove a tattoo of my own — is we are super limited on options in the Upper Peninsula and there wasn’t another actual medical tattoo removal option in our area, so being that we love lasers so much, that was an opportunity that we expanded on,” Thayer said.

ANJA McBRIDE

Not just anybody can remove tattoos with an expensive laser. Thayer went through a rigorous training process.

“I went to a medical aesthetic school in Arizona during the shutdowns, so it was our way to make lemonade during a stressful time for most businesses and I obtained a licensure to do tattoo removal, among other things, that are required to have a license that are for class 4 and class 5 lasers. So along with the licensure, we also have a medical director on staff as well,” Thayer explained.

Once Thayer obtained her licensing, she decided to use her new skill to help others create a new beginning with the Erase the Hate campaign.

“We do a lot of outreach with laser tattoo removal, which started with the women’s shelter,” Thayer said. “We partnered with them to do free removal for domestic violence survivors and then that led to our involvement in the Task Force Against Human Trafficking and we signed on as a survivors’ support resource. We are the only ones in the state that do removal for human trafficking victims as well.”

“Expanding from there, one of my mentors from the medical aesthetic school in Arizona is part of a program called From Jails to Jobs and she got me involved with that. We took it a step further. And a lot of the tattoos we are seeing from people who were incarcerated are in a gang-related fashion, there are racist tattoos, that’s a common thing as well. So we see a lot of post-incarceration, racist and gang-related (tattoos), but we also see people in the community that have never been incarcerated but they have made some bad choices. And long story short, expanding on our drive to spread positivity to our community, this was something we felt just needed to be erased.

“We needed to give people a shot to start fresh and not wear their mistakes on their faces and hands and that’s where you see a lot of these tattoos. Our philosophy is to treat everyone with kindness and allow people to have second chances and to not judge because if every one of us wore our mistakes on our faces and our bodies, we would all look a lot different.”

Thayer said that the nearest medical tattoo laser removal service is located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and even though the U.P. is considered remote, she sees a lot of clients who travel from Wisconsin and downstate to get their treatment at Glow Sculpting Spa.

“We have agencies all over the state that send us people that are related to human trafficking tattoo removal; so as far as Flint we’ve had clients,” Thayer said.

There are many questions a client may have when it comes to getting a tattoo removed. Thayer walks us through the process.

“Tattoo removal is very fast compared to actually getting a tattoo. For instance, a tattoo that may have taken two hours to put on that is say the size of your hand, would take about two minutes to laser. It’s a process. It can take eight to 12 sessions to remove cleanly and less if someone just wants to fade it enough to get a coverup.

“So what we do — because there is a little bit of pain associated with it — we put ice on the person first to numb the area and once they are nice and chilled we use what’s called a Zimmer: It’s a cryogen-chilled air machine that blasts cryo air on the area as we laser. It takes the snap out of the actual laser pulses. It feels like hot rubber band snaps. That’s the best way to describe it, and yes, I have had this done and I even am removing a tattoo on myself. So, it’s not that bad because I’m kind of a wimp.”

Thayer makes sure that the spa’s environment is very comfortable for her clients.

“We have stress balls, we even encourage people to wear their earbuds to calm themselves down, but it’s very fast so a lot of people are nervous for their first session but then they realize ‘OK, this wasn’t so bad,'” Thayer said.

Thayer explains what the aftercare is like.

“We put an ointment on the area. It’s not an open wound. It’s not an oblative service, so it’s not open like even a tattoo would be. It feels like a sunburn, so we put ointment on that soothes it and makes your skin feel a little more calm. And then we have a protocol after, of ‘just be nice to your skin,’ basically, and then I see them again within about six weeks and we do the process again.”

Thayer has some suggestions for potential clients who might be nervous.

“I would say watch some of our videos on our Facebook and Instagram (pages) and you will see how fast it is and how, you know, people aren’t running out the door after screaming,” she said. “I encourage someone — if you are even curious about it — for you to set up a free consultation with me. We’ll go through the entire process, answer any questions, definitely walk them through the steps and make sure it’s the best decision for them.”

The feedback Thayer has received from clients motivates her to continue the campaign.

“We have met so many incredible people that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to meet with this, people that you would see on the street and maybe be afraid of or they look standoffish. And seeing these people and giving them hope to remove something that they’ve been hiding or embarrassed about has really been profound as far as seeing them blossom … being able to get out into the workforce. A lot of people are reporting that they feel more confident and that they can hold their head up high again. And that’s huge for us.”

The future continues to look bright for Glow Sculpting Spa, with new laser services on the horizon.

Thayer recommends that those who know anyone with a hate-related tattoo that keeps them from living their life to the fullest to have them contact Glow Sculpting Spa at 906-360-9774 to set up a free consultation or follow them on Instagram and Facebook for more information on how to “Erase the Hate.”

Written by Anja McBride, 16.