Workers’ appearances have always been a contentious subject. In many professions, people are required to follow strict dress codes and look neat, especially when dealing with clients. In most businesses, some form of dress code is in place, even when the job is a janitorial position. Melissa Sloan found out about this the hard way.

Sloan recently made the news after she reported that she was banned from going to her young children’s play, which left her baffled. Although she’s a devoted mom, Sloan had to watch her two daughters’ Christmas play through the windows of their school hall after school staff refused to let her in.

This isn’t the first place that has shut its doors on the mother of two. Even local bars have taken to giving her the boot when she comes knocking, which left her Christmas plans of grabbing a round at her local pub in shambles. Sloan confessed that people give her the cold shoulder because of her appearance.

The mother of two has apparently gotten new tattoos at the rate of three per week, and not many of them are done by a professional tattoo artist anymore.

Even walking down the street can be uncomfortable, especially when kids start to heckle the mom. That said, the worst repercussion of Sloan’s unconventional appearance has been her inability to find stable employment. Although she once had a job cleaning toilets, Sloan has recently struggled to find a job.

With two children to feed, being jobless has influenced Sloan’s life dramatically. She commented, “I can’t get a job. They won’t have me. The first job I had was cleaning ages ago, cleaning toilets. People have said I have never have had a job in my life, I have had one once and it didn’t last long.”

Why Can’t Sloan Get a Job?

Sloan can’t even get a job working as a janitor. She has reportedly gone more than seven months without any form of employment and relies on unemployment benefits to support herself and her family. While she’s willing to work, no one wants to offer her a position, and the mother of two knows precisely why.

Sloan has refused to stop getting new tattoos, confessing that it has become an addiction.

The mom has had over 800 tattoos on her body, and many of them are on her face. Sloan confessed employers had turned her down because of her appearance, saying, “I applied for a job cleaning toilets where I live and they won’t have me because of my tattoos.”

The mother of two has apparently gotten new tattoos at the rate of three per week, and not many of them are done by a professional tattoo artist anymore. While she would often consult experts on many of her pieces, Sloan noted that even the artists in her town have started to turn her away at their doors.

Now, she gets most of her new pieces from her partner, Luke, in their own home. Sloan confessed that professional tattoo artists have closed their doors on her because they all know she has a problem. She admitted with a slight laugh, “They won’t do it because I’m beyond help – because I’ve gone too far.”

Sloan, a native of Wales, has covered every inch of her face with various designs, from butterflies to crucifixes and more abstract designs. These days, she has even gone so far as to add more layers to the tattoos on her face, and she believes she is the person with the most ink on them in the world.

Sloan has admitted that she’s trying to break a world record for a person with the most ink on their body and to be immortalized in the Guinness Book of Records. And although she misses going to her local pub or wishes she could have seen her kids’ nativity play, Sloan says she’ll never stop getting inked.

People’s Reaction to Sloan’s Tattoos

Pubs, tattoo parlors, her children’s school, and prospective employers aren’t the only ones who have trouble looking past Sloan’s extensive body art. People have commented on her lack of employment, noting that many employers have strict rules about tattoos, often asking employees to cover their body ink up. One user wrote:

“Actions have consequences. Of course you won’t get hired with all these tattoos. You should open your own [tattoo] shop or work for one to advertise your art on your face. But you can’t expect everyone to accept it.”

Others insisted that, although it’s a shame she can’t find work, Sloan has made her own choices, knowing what the consequences could be. One person noted, “Poor decisions have consequences.” Another commented, “Well it was your decision don’t expect other people to bend themselves for you ….”

One person noted that Sloan’s choice to tattoo herself all over also impacts the lives of her kids, writing, “Feel sorry for her kids…she seems very concerned with her ink and not on how this impacts them.”

Others have suggested that Sloan should look for work that doesn’t require her to speak to customers face-to-face. One Facebook user wrote, “This is why they make at home call center jobs. She needs to accept a career that won’t scare someone off at first glance.”

Others also suggested that Sloan should try covering her tattoos up with makeup, while some have suggested she should try getting an office job at a tattoo parlor.

Sloan has refused to stop getting new tattoos, confessing that it has become an addiction. She stated with surety, “I’m addicted to tattoos, I get three a week and I’ll never stop – if I make it to 70 I’ll still be getting them.”