It’s an open secret that viral fame is something of a double-edged sword. For every person that goes viral due to some special accomplishment, there are countless others that go viral due to something embarrassing.
That was certainly the case with Alyssa Zebrasky. This Ohio woman was arrested back in 2018, and she went viral as soon as her mugshots went public. And it wasn’t hard to see why: her entire face was covered in spooky tattoos!
At the time, much of her viral 15 minutes of fame consisted of people showing friends her mugshot, so they could see how wild her face looked. However, Zebrasky has recently had the tattoos removed by a laser, and you won’t believe how much her face looks completely different!
The original tattoos
By now, everyone knows a few people (maybe more than a few) who have tattoos. However, it’s not a coincidence that most tattoos are on arms, legs, and other parts of the body that can be easily hidden by clothing. And part of what made Alyssa Zebrasky’s tattoos, so striking is that they cover her entire face. Even from a simple mugshot, it was easy to see just what made her own ink so extreme.
The most prominent part of her extensive facial tattoos is a spiderweb across her forehead. Her eyes are also bordered by an intricate skull design, and the combination of red and black directly around the eyes gives them an almost demonic appearance. The skeleton motif continues with ink on her cheeks, nose, and lips.
While nobody can deny her tattoos were striking, it didn’t take long after her viral infamy for Zebrasky to start having the ink removed.
The dramatic transformation
When someone has tattoo work this extensive, removing it is not an easy process (more on this later). As you can tell from these more recent photos, she still has a few more sessions to go before the old tattoos are gone entirely. Still, the progress so far reveals that Alyssa Zebrasky looks like an entirely new woman!
The red and black shades that once rimmed her eyes are mostly gone now, with only a shadow of the original skeletal border remaining. The spiderweb tattoo on her head is mostly removed, though a shadow of it also still remains. And if you look closely, you can see that she still has faint lines on her lips.
Still, even this “work-in-progress” shows a woman who looks completely different from the viral star of 2018. To top things off, she has a new hair color to go with the rest of her new appearance.
Her motivation for getting the tattoos removed
While Alyssa Zebrasky looks much better now, there are still many who have a simple question: “why?” After all, Zebrasky effortlessly achieved something that many people struggle to achieve for their entire lives: internet fame. And while many who shared her photos back in 2018 were making fun of her, the simple fact was that these facial tattoos were what made her a unique star in the internet’s ever-growing cast of characters.
Why have the ink removed, then? According to the Daily Mail, it was all about fitting in with her local community. “’I go into a store, and people stare at me. It makes me uncomfortable,” she said. “’I want to be looked at like a normal person. I live my life just like everybody else.”
There is likely a lesson in all of this. Much of what makes people famous on the internet can easily make them outcasts in real life. And at the end of the day, it’s more important to focus on real-world happiness and success than fleeting internet fame.
A complicated removal process
People have found creative ways to remove, cover up, or otherwise change regrettable tattoos for many years. One of the more famous examples was when Jonny Depp got a tattoo that read “Winona Forever” to celebrate his temporary romance with Winona Ryder. After they broke up, the star had the tattoo changed to read “Wino Forever” instead.
Of course, with facial tattoos as extensive as Alyssa Zebrasky’s, she couldn’t cover them up or change them if she wanted to fit in. Instead, she opted for having the tattoos removed via laser, but the process wasn’t simple. In fact, she was originally told it would take a dozen 20-minute sessions to fully remove all of her unwanted ink.
As we noted before, Zebrasky is still in the midst of having her tattoos removed, but it has already made a big difference in her life. As reported by the Daily Mail, Zebrasky said that she originally got the tattoos because an abusive ex said she’d need the ink to join his gang. The criminal activity resulted in multiple arrests, and this led to her mugshot going viral once it hit the internet.
Now, getting rid of the tattoos is a way to shed the past and embrace the future. “I feel like I don’t have to live like that anymore. I can just live my life — I’m finally free,” she said.” And instead of being purely ashamed of her old photos, she now looks at them as proof of how she has grown as a person. “I feel proud because change is possible and healing and learning new things are possible. I like being able to look back and see my personal growth.’