Due to her tattoos this woman is jobless for 20 years

Tattoos prevent people from getting a job; even a woman's daughter suffers

Tattoos are a popular part of today's body decoration, style, and human self-expression. Many people are not surprised, but there seems to be a limit to everything.

One woman who has had as many as 800 tattoos says that her tattoos make it difficult for her to find a job, which is especially dangerous now that her daughter is ill and needs expensive treatment.

Melissa Sloan, 46, originally from Wales in the UK, used to work as a cleaner, but the increasing number of tattoos on her body and face is making it difficult for her to find stable employment^[1].

"I can't get a job. I applied for a job cleaning toilets where I live, but they won't take me because of my tattoos. People say I've never had a job in my life, but I had one once, but unfortunately, it didn't last long. If someone offered me a job tomorrow, I would go and work, I would take any offer," says Sloan.

She became fascinated with tattoos when she was just 20 years old and quickly became addicted to them. Now, she says that even in her 70s, despite the problems tattoos cause her, she will still choose to decorate her body and face.

"I have three layers on my face. I probably have the most tattoos in the world, and if I don't, at the rate I'm going I probably will eventually. I'd like to be the record holder, it's just something different. I'm trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records", she says.

But her enthusiasm is quickly replaced by sadness, as she admits that her tattoos not only make it difficult for her to find a job but she has also been banned from the local pub and even her children's school.

Now, her daughter's health is even at risk, as she is unemployed, penniless, and unable to afford treatment for her child. The woman, who lives with her two daughters and her partner, is barely making ends meet, and her 11-year-old daughter Autumn has been diagnosed with an eye condition that could lead to blindness.

Sloan says her daughter currently wears ordinary glasses because she simply cannot pay for the special therapeutic ones, which cost around £270.

The girl's eyesight will only get worse over time: she has been diagnosed with severe myopia, which, given her young age, could lead to total blindness by the end of her teens. 

Tattoos in the workplace do not cause discomfort in most areas

Although it is difficult to determine which country in the world is the most tattoo-loving, provisional figures show that Italy has the highest number of tattooed people, with 48% of its citizens having at least one tattoo. Italy is followed by the United Kingdom, while Israel has the lowest number of tattooed people^[2].

With the popularity of tattoos, there has been a change in society for many years now, a change in attitudes towards this type of facial or body decoration and its relation to one's profession or work. In the past, tattoos were criticised, especially in professions such as health and childcare, business, the military and law.

Things are different now. After all, almost half of the millennial generation in the United States has at least one tattoo. A growing number of Generation Z people are now entering the workforce, and they are extremely fond of tattoos^[3].

This is why the percentage of people who have tattoos and do not try to hide them in the work environment is increasing rapidly.

Recently, even the US Army abolished the so-called 25% rule, which prevented military personnel from tattooing more than 25% of their bodies. With the lifting of this restriction, service members can now tattoo virtually anywhere on the body except the arms, neck and face.

On the other hand, it may take years to change the still negative attitude of employers in some cases. A 2014 Workopolis survey found that 51% of respondents thought it was more likely that someone with tattoos would be taken less seriously. The same survey showed that 14% said they were less likely to employ a tattooed person.

In the United States in 2007, as many as 85% of respondents thought that tattoos or body piercings were a barrier to getting a job.

Then, 19% of respondents said they had tattoos or tattoos. In the US, 19% of respondents said they hide their tattoos, 15% said they have been discriminated against in the workplace because of them, and 2% have been fired from a job because of tattoos. A survey conducted at the time also showed that 55% of the 2 700 people surveyed in the US thought that piercings were even worse for employees than tattoos.

Surprisingly, even seniors have dedicated their lives to tattoos

But while attitudes towards heavily tattooed bodies may still be negative, that doesn't stop many. Even tattoo enthusiasts in their old age are not deterred by the potential criticism, as their passion has led them to become true record holders.

Lucky Diamond Rich is quite well known in Australia as an Aboriginal artist, but perhaps less well known is the fact that he is the Guinness World Record holder for the most body adornments in the world^[4]. 

The man has over 1000 tattoos and various earrings. He joined a circus troupe when he was just 16 years old, an experience that led him to fall in love with tattoos, body art and body decoration.

After getting his first tattoo of a small juggling stick, he waited for more than two years to get another tattoo and then never stopped.

Now, his tattoos cover his entire body, including the skin between his toes, his eyelids, ear canals, and even his gums. He also replaced his teeth with silver veneers.

As the most tattooed person in the world, Lucky Diamond Rich says he does not regret any of his tattoos and believes his whole body is covered in just one giant tattoo.

For her part, 69-year-old Charlotte Guttenberg broke the Guinness World Record for the most tattooed woman back in 2015. More than 98.75% of her body, including her head, is covered in tattoos.

Ch. Guttenberg got her first tattoo on her 50th birthday and immediately realized that she wanted to have so many tattoos that they would cover her entire body.