POCATELLO — It’s yet again that time of year to resolve to reach for a better life whether it’s with a better diet and exercise habits or stricter budgeting and financial planning.

But there’s no willing away an unsightly tattoo.

That’s why Scott Houston, the owner of Scratch Ink Custom Tattooing in Pocatello, is offering 75 percent off the cost of all cover-up tattoos during the month of January — so long as the new ink will better the life of the tattooed.

“I keep seeing these programs about giving people a new start and offering some type of lasering service for free,” Houston said. “But not everybody wants to do that. I wouldn’t want to do that. I want to sit down, find out what a person is into or what they like and give them something that will allow them to move forward in life.”

With more than a decade behind the ink and needle, Houston said that in his first few years as a tattoo artist he drew many gang and drug-related tattoos. But as his skills progressed, he implemented more of a cartoonist style and began covering-up many of the teardrop, pot leaf and swastika pieces he previously didn’t think twice about.

Now he tries his best to encourage those he tattoos to refrain from offensive words or symbols. And after seeing inmates on life-inside-the-penitentiary documentaries get complimentary laser removal of their offensive tattoos, Houston said he was inspired to do something himself.

“If you get the right place at the right time and get someone to cover up a tattoo and it makes you a better person, that’s great,” Houston said. “I’m just not down with the lasering thing. It’s so expensive and you still have the remnants of a tattoo, now you just have a scar in the shape of what it was.”

Larry “D” Chamberlin, the office and scheduling manager at Scratch Ink said it’s one thing to have tattoos, it’s another to have a pot leaf on your neck or an SS bolt on your chest. Comparatively, laser removal is not the way to go, he added.

“If you were to look at tattoos getting covered up compared to laser removal, the laser costs five to seven times more than a cover-up,” Chamberlin said. “You’re minimum is like at least a grand out the door for a tattoo that’s like a 3-inch by 3-inch.”

And while some laser removal companies run deals that claim they offer free laser tattoo removal treatments, Houston’s wife, Lindsay Houston, said it’s almost never entirely free.

“Lasering isn’t usually something that takes just one session,” Lindsay said. “The places that offer free laser removal is usually just for the first appointment. After that you must pay for other treatments.”

She continued, “But a cover-up gives you the opportunity to turn something ugly into something beautiful.”

Not just drug and gang-related cover-ups are 75 percent off, but essentially any tattoo that its owner can justify getting covered up because it will benefit their lives will receive the discount.

“People make stupid decisions when they are young,” Lindsay said. “So I think that if they can prove to us that this will change their life, we will cover it up for 75 percent off, even the names of your exes.”

With the price drop, however, doesn’t come a decrease in service, Chamberlin said.

“Good tattoos aren’t cheap and cheap tattoos aren’t good,” he said. “But for the entire month of January we want to give you that cheap price, while keeping that quality up there at the same time.”

Not only does Houston want to improve the lives of Pocatello residents with offensive tattoos, he also tries to make a difference for complete strangers.

In addition to the cover-up discount, Houston is currently painting puzzle pieces for autism and selling them on Etsy for the fun of it, Chamberlin said.

“He takes all the proceeds and donates it to the National Autistic Society,” he added.

The decision to offer such a significant discount isn’t about the money, it’s about providing people with a sense of security, and self-esteem, according to Houston. And he says he’s honest about his limitations — what he can cover in one sitting, and what may need more than a couple hours to completely disguise.

“Some people will need to come back in a couple weeks once it’s all healed up and do bits of back-shading to make sure everything is gone,” Houston said. “But there hasn’t been a cover-up that’s beat me yet.”