Tattoo artist Aleksandra is a walking canvas, and by her own estimation, has 99 percent of her skin covered in ink. "I basically have one tattoo, all combined," she says. "Everything is basically covered, except for one place."
In a new episode of the Truly webseries Hooked on the Look, Aleksandra finally gets the last tattoo that will complete her transformation. "It hurts so much every time," she says, "so that's one of the reasons I'm really excited for today, for getting the last spot done, so I don't have to do that any more."
Aleksandra's fascination with body art began when she was just nine years old, and she saw her parents getting tattoos. Now 30, she credits her mother Mari with teaching her to express herself and live without fear of other people's judgments.
"I decided to get my face tattooed when I was quite young, but I really didn't have the balls to do that," she says. It was only after she met her husband Roope, who is just as much a body art enthusiast as her, that she worked up the courage and they "boosted" each other to get face ink. "As a tattooed couple, I think most people think we're cool and badass... I don't consider us as anything more brave than any other person."
She adds that for the most part, her body art receives largely positive reactions from other people. "But there are also people who don't know how to behave." But while she jokingly describes herself as "addicted" to getting tattoos, she is happy with the way she looks.
"I feel more like me when my skin color is whatever I want it to be," she says. "I actually don't regret any of the tattoos I've got, because they're like phases of my life."
