Melissa Sloan, 46, from Wales, has no regrets about her 26-year journey with tattoos, which began when she was 20. She acknowledges that her increasing number of tattoos has made her life more challenging but remains committed to her passion. “It’s like when you smoke a cigarette or have a drink, you get hooked. I can’t stop now, it’s too addictive for me. I just can’t stop,” Sloan said. After being turned away by tattoo parlors, she bought her own kit and tattoos herself whenever she can.
Despite her difficulties finding a job—often due to the messy nature of her tattoos—her boyfriend assists her in adding three new tattoos weekly. Sloan now has over 800 tattoos. She recounted, “I can’t get hired. They reject me. I tried to get a cleaning job locally, but they said no because of my tattoos… People claim I’ve never worked, but I did once, and it didn’t last.”
Social rejection is another challenge for Sloan. She faces verbal abuse and ridicule whenever she goes out. “The worse it gets, the more they label me a freak. They dodge me, and I think ‘why do that?’ It’s terrible,” she said. Despite this, Sloan remains true to herself, accepting her role as an outcast.
Her tattoos have also led to her exclusion from local bars and school events involving her two children, aged eight and ten. “The kids say, ‘Mom, they’re staring at you’ and I tell them ‘ignore them,’” Sloan explained. Although her children notice the negative reactions, she encourages them to focus on their own lives and aspirations.
Sloan inspires her children by letting them experiment with temporary tattoos and promising they will get real ones when they are older. “They got some on their arms last night, and they have school, so they’ll need to wash them off,” she said, showing her support for their interest in body art. She shares pictures of her pre-tattooed self on Instagram, highlighting her transformation over the years.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with body art, extreme cases like Sloan’s may prompt employers to hesitate. We hope her children learn from her experiences and avoid feeling alienated in the future.
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