Melissa Sloan, known as Britain’s “most tattooed mother,” recently shocked the public by revealing a rare photo of herself without her signature ink. Having accumulated over 800 tattoos in just ten years, Sloan says the process became an addiction. “It’s like when you have a cigarette or a drink… I can’t stop,” she explained.

With tattoo parlors turning her away, Sloan began inking herself using a tattoo gun she keeps in her car. She’s been tattooing herself three times a week for a decade and admits she no longer remembers what she looked like before.

As an experiment, Sloan used £3 foundation to cover her tattoos. The transformation stunned her two youngest sons—but not in the way she expected. “They said, ‘Go back to your craziness, mum,’” she said. “It was like they were looking at a stranger.”

Her five older children, with whom she has no contact, reportedly disapprove of her appearance. While some viewers praised her bare-faced look, Sloan insists she doesn’t regret her tattoos, despite being mocked and called a “freak” or “smurf” online.

The tattoos, she says, represent freedom and self-expression. “I like to be me, and I’m always going to be myself,” she stated, adding that she teaches her children that beauty comes in many forms.

Sloan’s appearance has led to bans from bars and school events and significantly impacted her ability to find work. “I can’t get a job,” she said. “But if someone offered me one tomorrow, I’d take it.”