Woman whose mugshot went viral over face tattoo reveals what she looks like now

Alyssa Zebrasky’s heavily-tatted face was splashed all over the internet after her drug arrest five years ago.

The Ohio woman had an entire ‘Day of the Dead’ skull inked onto her face while in a toxic relationship with a gang member and while struggling heavily with addiction.

"We were having a conversation one day and he said you should get your face tattooed.’

"Initially I said no and then he just kept talking about it.

“[Now I believe it was] so nobody else would want me,” Alyssa told Metro.

"He picked it out. It was a Day of the Dead sugar skull, it was my whole face.”

After a viral mugshot prompted by drug and shop-lifting charges, she has now turned her life around and has started the process of removing the face tattoos.

"I’d been dragged on social media, everybody was saying really, really mean things about me and I didn’t even get a chance to say my side of the story,” she said.

“Now, every time I look in the mirror I’m reminded of what I went through.”

Using drugs from the age of 13 and constantly in trouble with police, Alyssa had already been under house arrest for five years as a minor.

After her addiction recovery, she believes her face tattoo is the only thing holding her back.

“I go into a store, and people stare at me. It makes me uncomfortable,” she told Removery.

"I want to be looked at like a normal person. I live my life just like everybody else.

"I still work a job, have a boyfriend, have friends, and cook dinner.

“I live a fairly normal life besides people staring at me all the time.”

Tattoo laser removal company Removery is working with Alyssa to get rid of her tattoos as part of their free program to help people who were previously in prison, gang members, survivors of human trafficking or wish to remove hate symbols or racist tattoos.

"We were a little bit intimidated at first,” says Becca, a technician who has been working with Alyssa.

“I’ve never seen so many tattoos on someone’s face,” she remembers thinking.

“We didn’t know what her background was; why she went to jail.

“She’s so sweet. She’s funny. When she came in, you could tell she was nervous, too. It’s a commitment for her. She’s never done tattoo removal before.

"We were nervous; she was nervous, but we warmed up to each other.”

She has been sharing her experience on social media.

Her cheeks and chin tattoos have now been removed, with work soon starting on the rest of her face.

“For a very long time, I felt like I wasn’t free. Like I had to live a certain way because of things that were going on in my life with addiction and self-harm,” Alyssa told Removery, the company who are helping her get rid of the ink.

“And now, I feel like I don’t have to live like that anymore. I can just live my life – I’m finally free.”