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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Tattoo Removal Contest Seeks Ink So Bad It's Scary

 The new River North medspa will remove one lucky winner's unlucky body art.
Sempurna Tattoo Removal Contest
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RIVER NORTH — Butterflies aren't inherently scary, but having one you hate inked on your body forever could be.

So when the four-person team at River North's month-old medspa Sempurna Restoration Clinic decided to launch a Halloween contest, they knew their tattoo removal service would be the perfect one to spotlight.

"We figured there's some pretty frightening tattoos out there," Sempurna's Cleighton DePetro said of the "Scariest Tattoo" contest. Though he clarified that entries don't have to be "scary" to win — "you just have to want it removed."

The owner of the tattoo with the most votes on Facebook and Google+ when the contest ends at 1 p.m. on Oct. 31 will get full removal of the tattoo — up to 10 square inches of ink over the course of up to 10 sessions — valued at up to $5,000.

DePetro said most tattoos the shop removes are much smaller than 10 square inches and require fewer sessions (and cost less) to remove.

Sempurna's services include wrinkle treatments, sun spot removal and SmartLipo, but DePetro said tattoo removal has been in surprisingly high demand since the shop opened at 220 W. Huron St. in mid-September.

"We have done quite a few tattoo removals, more than expected," he said.