Melissa Sloan, a 46-year-old mom from Wales, has faced teasing and insults for her tattoos, which cover her entire body in a style similar to prison tattoos. Despite this, her two children admire and respect her.
Melissa began getting tattoos when she was 20 years old and describes herself as addicted to them. She compares her addiction to how some people feel about cigarettes or alcohol. Even though tattoo parlors have refused to ink her anymore, calling her “beyond help,” Melissa now tattoos herself using her own equipment.
Having more than 800 tattoos has made it hard for Melissa to find a job. Her tattoos are not professionally done and cover her face and body in a messy way. Despite these challenges, Melissa continues to get three new tattoos each week from her boyfriend.
Melissa accepts that her life is difficult because of her tattoos but has no regrets. She sees herself as a role model to her children, who love and look up to her despite the criticism she faces from others.
Years ago, Melissa Sloan used to work as a toilet cleaner, but now she’s struggling to find similar jobs because of her tattoos.
“I can’t get a job. I applied for a job cleaning toilets where I live, but they won’t hire me because of my tattoos,” she explained. “People think I’ve never had a job, but I did once, although it didn’t last long. If someone offered me a job tomorrow, I would take it.”
In addition to her job struggles, Melissa faces cruel treatment from others. “I feel like an outcast. Every time I go outside, people stare and say mean things to me,” she shared.
“It’s even worse because the more tattoos I have, the more people think I’m strange. They move away from me, and I wonder why they’re doing that. It feels awful,” Melissa Sloan said. “I knew this would happen in life. I can’t blend in with others because I want to be myself, and I’ll always stay true to who I am.”
Melissa also mentioned that she’s been blocked from going to local bars and forbidden from attending school events that her two young children, aged eight and 10, are part of. Despite all this, it hasn’t stopped her from being herself.
“The kids say, ‘mum they’re looking at you’ and I say ‘take no notice of them,’” said the body art enthusiast, adding that her kids pick up on negative attitudes towards her. “They say my children will run away when they’re older, that’s heartbreaking.”
Influencing her children and encouraging them to use her as a role model, Sloan’s kids already have a fondness for body art.
“They got some on their arms last night, they’ve got school so they will have to take them off,” Sloan said, about allowing the children to have temporary tattoos, with promises for permanent art in the future. “I tell them they’ll have better ones when they are older.”
Before she got her tattoos, she was an average-looking woman. She shared images of her pre-tattoo face on her Instagram account. She looks barely recognizable now, if you knew her from back then!
There is nothing wrong with tasteful body art, but some people can go too far. Though it’s never right to judge, we can understand why employers shy away from allowing her to represent their brand. We hope this woman’s kids learn from their mother’s mistakes so they too don’t feel like outcasts in the future.
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