Sarah-Jane Howell, a mom from Essex, has so many tattoos she’s lost track. But she recently changed things up by getting some ink on her face. Now, people frequently stop her on the street.
Sarah-Jane Howell turns heads on the street these days after a stunning makeover that involved covering her face in tattoos.
The mom from Essex, Sarah-Jane Howell, isn’t bothered by what others think. She says the tattoos have actually been a positive influence, helping her stay sober.
The 28-year-old, who has been dealing with drug addiction, is now over six months sober.
Her face tattoos feature the phrases “love is pain” and “stand out, be original,” along with her daughter’s name and birthdate.
On her cheek, she’s got a butterfly that hides an old tattoo of a crying angel.
Sarah-Jane mentioned: “At first I was a bit concerned about walking the street publicly and what people would think.”
“But after a week I got used to it and now I forget I have them to be honest.”
Yet, some random folks have been downright rude, stopping her just to give their two cents.
She shared: “I get stared at and stopped a lot and I had a woman last week who pulled me and asked what my trauma was.
“I usually give a sarcastic answer and I told her it was childhood trauma and she said ‘oh I can see that and I really hope you get better’ and I was like ‘cheers’.
“I just have a laugh with it.”
Sarah-Jane, who often posts her body art on her ‘essexink’ TikTok page with 74,000 followers, began getting tattoos at 18 and hasn’t regretted it since.
She mentioned she’s lost track of how many tattoos she has now, but she’s eager to cover her entire body as soon as she can.
One of her favorites is a Mike Myers Halloween portrait tattoo on her arm. When asked why, she joked, “I’ve always liked a man in a mask.”
The bartender mentioned that a few years ago, her life took a downturn when she got involved with the wrong crowd.
Looking for support, she went without seeing her daughter for a whole year. She explained how the face tattoos helped her deal with the challenges.
She said: “Drugs are a way to escape reality and when I stopped doing them I got more tattoos because I obviously had more money and time.
“I just find when you’re sitting in that chair it is that relief and release at the same time. It’s that way of letting go and just being under the needle.”
Her little girl is now seven, and Sarah-Jane talked about revealing the face art to her for the first time.
She recalled: “I went on a Facetime with her a couple of months ago and I was a bit concerned she wouldn’t recognize me but she didn’t say anything.”
“But a few minutes in I told her and pointed to her name and birthday and she was shocked but in a happy way.”