Melissa Sloan has spent years becoming one of Britain’s most heavily tattooed women, with more than 800 tattoos covering almost every inch of her body.
Her appearance has made headlines many times, but recently, it wasn’t the tattoos that caught people’s attention.
Instead, it was what happened when she decided to cover them up.
Curious to see what she looked like beneath all the ink, the 46-year-old mother used a heavy tattoo-covering foundation to hide the tattoos on her face.
Highlights
- Melissa Sloan temporarily covered the tattoos on her face, leaving her children, partner, and even her dog struggling to recognize her.
- Despite many saying she looked better without the tattoos, Sloan said she prefers her signature heavily tattooed appearance.
- The makeover reignited online debate about how tattoos can shape first impressions.
The makeover left her children, partner, and even her dog acting differently around her.
As photos of her transformation spread online, people couldn’t stop comparing the two versions of Sloan.
Melissa Sloan said hiding hundreds of tattoos made her look so different that even her own family struggled to recognize her
Sloan has been adding tattoos to her body for around a decade and said they have become such a big part of her identity that she rarely thinks about what she looked like before.
Still, she wondered what would happen if she hid them for a day.
Her first attempt was fairly simple. She bought a bottle of foundation for around £3 and spent about half an hour trying to cover the tattoos on her face.
Once she finished, she walked downstairs to see how her family would react.
She expected a few surprised looks, but she revealed they were completely shocked.
"The kids freaked out because they didn't like it."
Her partner also had to take a second look. "My partner looked twice. He said, 'No, it doesn't suit you. Get your tattoos back. It looks weird.'"
Sloan said the reaction from her youngest child caught her completely off guard. She added, "They burst out crying, and even my dog looked twice. She didn't like me that way. My youngest wanted me back as I was. It scared her."
Following her family’s shocking reactions, Sloan decided to try again using professional tattoo-covering makeup
For her second attempt, Sloan opted for professional tattoo-covering makeup designed for people with heavy body art.
The process was much more demanding. "I've got proper tattoo foundation now. I had to put it on thick. I used half a tub. It was like thick cement."
Even though the makeup covered the tattoos much better, the response at home stayed the same.
"They said, 'Go back to your craziness, Mom.' None of them spoke to me. It didn't go well."
Sloan believes her family has become so used to seeing her covered in tattoos that the version without them felt unfamiliar.
"It wasn't the same. It's like they were looking at a different person."
She also added how people online often assume her children are frightened by her tattooed appearance, but she insisted that couldn’t be further from the truth.
"These trolls say my kids are scared of me, but they're scared of me with my foundation on."
Once she removed the makeup, everything immediately went back to normal.
"When it came off again, they were back to normal. It should have been the other way round."
The makeover also reminded Sloan how much her tattoos have changed her everyday life
Although Sloan laughed about her family’s reaction, she said living with hundreds of tattoos hasn’t always been easy.
Over the years, she has repeatedly claimed that her appearance has cost her work opportunities.
According to Sloan, employers often decide against hiring her as soon as they see the tattoos covering her face.
She told the Daily Star, "I can't get a job. They won’t have me. I applied for a job cleaning toilets where I live, and they won’t have me because of my tattoos.”
Sloan has previously said she would happily take almost any kind of work, including cleaning jobs, but believes employers judge her appearance before they get to know her.
She also claimed she was once prevented from helping at one of her children’s school activities because of how she looked.
Despite those setbacks, she emphasized that she has never seriously considered giving up tattoos.
In fact, she continues getting new ones regularly and has described herself as someone who loves body art.
The temporary makeover also brought another familiar response.
Many people told Sloan she looked prettier without the tattoos. One person wrote, "You look beautiful. I love this look on you."
Another commented, "Your eyes really stand out without the tattoos."
Sloan said she appreciated that everyone has their own opinion, but those compliments haven’t changed the way she sees herself.
"People said I looked beautiful the way I was before—but I like it crazy."
After Sloan shared photos of herself with tattoos covered, her makeover sparked a heated debate online
Once Sloan shared photos of herself with the tattoos covered, the internet quickly split into two camps.
Many people admitted they were surprised by how much her appearance had changed.
One person wrote, "You should keep this look."
Others, however, felt those comments missed the point.
Supporters argued that Sloan wasn’t asking people to decide which version of her looked better.
Instead, they said she was sharing an experiment that satisfied her own curiosity.
One commenter wrote, "It's her body. If she's happy, that's all that matters,” while another added, "People judge appearances far too quickly."
Not everyone was sympathetic. One said, "You decided without weighing the outcome. For every action there is a reaction."
Sloan’s story also raised questions about tattoos and skin health
According to a review published in Clin Transl Oncol in 2026, researchers have not found clear evidence that tattoos directly cause skin cancer.
Although isolated cases of skin cancer developing within tattooed skin have been reported over the years, experts revealed those cases are extremely rare, and there is currently no proven cause-and-effect relationship between tattooing and skin cancer.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, dermatologists said the more important concern is something else.
Large tattoos, particularly those made with dark ink, can make changes in the skin more difficult to notice.
A new mole, a mole that changes color or shape, or another suspicious mark may be partially hidden beneath tattoo pigment, making early detection more challenging.
Because of that, skin specialists recommend regularly checking tattooed areas for any new or changing spots and arranging a medical examination if a mole begins to bleed, itch, grow, or doesn't heal properly.
Experts also encourage people to have tattoos done by licensed artists who follow strict hygiene practices, as this helps reduce the risk of infections, allergic reactions, and other complications linked to tattooing.
"Well, can you blame them," said one viewer
