A woman whose mugshot went viral due to her full face tattoo is now undergoing painful laser removal to get rid of the ink once and for all.
Alyssa Zebrasky had an elaborate Day of the Dead style skull tattooed over her face four years ago while she was in a ‘toxic’ relationship with her ex, who had a similarly heavily tattooed face. You can see her talk about the removal process here:
Across two sessions in 2018, Alyssa had black shading around her eyes, nose, lips and cheeks as well as a large cobweb across her forehead.
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After the tattoo, Alyssa ended up being arrested - and having her mugshot taken - three times in six months, but has since turned her life around after attending a drug court program and rehab.
And as part of her new life, Alyssa wants to say goodbye to her facial tattoo.
Alyssa, from Cleveland, Ohio, US, said: "Looking back at those pictures, I just feel disappointed in myself.
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"But I have to remember that I hadn't worked on myself or tried to learn how to love myself as I have now.
"So then I feel proud because change is possible and healing and learning new things are possible. I like being able to look back and see my personal growth."
Thankfully, she’s been able to sign up with a charitable program - 'INK-nitiative, in Austin, Texas - to have the tattoos removed, but the process is far from pain-free.
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Alyssa started the removal process in October 2019 and was told she'd need 12 sessions.
"When I first started going they did my cheeks, forehead, and hands because like a tattoo your body can only heal so much at once,” she said.
"Now the cheeks are gone but we haven't started around the mouth yet.
"The cheeks were fairly painless, but I have gotten my nose done once and the nose hurts pretty bad.
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"Each session is 20 minutes, the sitting session is way faster than a tattoo itself.
"The initial pain from the laser I would relate to having a rubber band snapping against your skin, that's what the laser feels like and then like afterwards it's sore for 30 minutes.
"It welts up afterwards and there's some pain almost like if you spilt oil from the stove on your hand, that's the closest I can compare to what it feels like on my hands.
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"On my face, it doesn't so much burn but [there's] swelling."
Topics: US News
Claire Reid