“Looked Better With Them”: 95% Tattooed Man Reveals Shocking Look After Laser Removal

Thirty-six-year-old Leandro de Souza, once Brazil’s most tattooed man, is awing followers with a new look after several ink-removal sessions.

His life took a sharp turn when a divorce years ago cratered his sense of self, and he slipped into hedonism.

De Souza eventually ended up in a homeless shelter, where he met a woman whom he claimed “evangelized” him.

He has since removed most of the tattoos on his face using lasers and posted the swollen, raw, and painful-looking results to his Instagram account.

Leandro de Souza had 170 tattoos over 95 percent of his body

Tattooed man known as Brazilian Steve-O showing his dramatic new look after tattoo removal in natural light.

Image credits: leandrodesouzabless

“In 2023, I won the award for most tattooed man in Brazil at the Santa Rosa International Tattoo Expo,” he told Brazil’s OGlobo.

“I lived off the flesh, had a life of s*x, d**gs, and rock ‘n roll,” recalled the now 36-year-old who got his first tattoo when he entered his teens.

Twenty-three years later, they tally up to 170, and before the removal procedures started, they covered 95 percent of his body.

A falling out with his ex-wife triggered a downward spiral of senseless hedonism

95% tattooed man with skull face tattoos and extensive body ink revealing dramatic new look after tattoo removal

Image credits: leandrodesouzabless

The tattoos followed the falling out with his ex-wife eleven years prior and accompanied a journey of excessive substance misuse.

He described the period as one of “self-centeredness, with everyone taking photos, d**gs, and women.”

But he eventually grew weary of the life.

“I couldn’t stand the life I was living anymore. I was an attraction at an event, and I felt like a circus animal,” he said.

The decision was triggered when he landed in a municipal homeless shelter

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O showing his dramatic new look after extensive tattoo removal, with a serious expression.

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O undergoing a dramatic new look with tattoo removal treatment on his face and neck.

Image credits: leandrodesouzabless

De Souza described his dependence on cigarettes, booze, and harder chemicals as a “captivity” that he endured until he landed in a municipal shelter in the Brazilian border town of Bagé, where he was introduced to religion.

“I entered the municipal shelter in Bagé. Within a week, there was a lady who referred me and started to evangelize me,” he recounted.

Then one day, he quit his bad habits cold turkey. This massive leap in the opposite direction, he admitted, was not only due to his own resolve. 

Close-up of Brazilian Steve-O 95% tattooed man undergoing tattoo removal on his face, revealing a dramatic new look.

Image credits: leandrodesouzabless

“The first step to everything in life is to accept that you can’t do it alone, that you’re [dependent], that you’re a d**g addict.”

The converted ink fanatic has to visit a parlor in São Paulo every three months for the procedure 

And now de Souza finds himself under the searing heat of a tattoo removal laser every three months.

After his fourth visit to the Sao Paulo-based Hell Tattoo removal studio, which offered up the procedure for free after a video of de Souza applying for work went viral, he told a local outlet, G1.

95% tattooed man before and after dramatic tattoo removal revealing lighter skin and faded ink on his face and neck.

Image credits: leandrodesouzabless

“My face is getting clearer every day, after the fourth tattoo removal session.”

He elaborated that the process was the farthest thing from easy.

He says the lasers are painful despite the anesthesia 

“If you imagine that a person goes there to remove one from their finger and already complains of pain,” Desouza told the outlet.

“Imagine a session on the entire face, which involves three types of laser.”

Brazilian Steve-O before and after dramatic tattoo removal showing mostly clear skin and a new look.

Image credits: leandrodesouzabless

He explained that the process generally entails three stages, including ink removal, followed by the use of carbon dioxide “to rejuvenate and not leave a stain,” with the third being a “type of seal[ing] process.”

“It hurts a lot, no matter how much anesthesia they use,” he admitted. “The pain is horrible. But that’s part of the price for the things I did in the past.”

De Souza was misused as a child and subsequently adopted

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O showing his dramatic new look after extensive tattoo removal, revealing clear skin.

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O showing his dramatic new look after extensive tattoo removal.

Brazilian Steve-O showing dramatic transformation after tattoo removal on his heavily tattooed face and body.

Image credits: leandrodesouzabless

De Souza’s life started out difficult. As a child, his mother neglected him and he fell victim to the evil vices of a predatory army officer. 

He was then rescued and adopted by a woman who is now interned in a nursing home

He was also jailed at a young age for fraud, but claims he was treated with respect by other inmates because of his tattoos.

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O smiling with children, showing his dramatic new look after tattoo removal.

Image credits: leandrodesouzabless

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O man showing his dramatic new look after tattoo removal outdoors with backpack and camera.

Image credits: leandrodesouzabless

Despite his conversion to observant Christianity, he insists, “Tattoos aren’t the devil’s work; I just didn’t know how to handle it.”

The 36-year-old has a positive outlook on the future

De Souza aspires to find a job that will pay him enough so he can provide proper care for his ailing adoptive mother and support his 10-year-old son.

“I’m living with an understanding of everything so I don’t have anxiety. I don’t rush anything. Because there is a right time under heaven for everything,” G1quoted him saying in 2024.

Some see Leandro De Souza as learning his lesson the hard way

95 percent tattooed Brazilian Steve-O showing his dramatic transformation after tattoo removal in a close-up portrait

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O showing dramatic new look after tattoo removal, shirtless with tattoos fading on chest and arms

Brazilian Steve-O 95% tattooed man showing dramatic new look after tattoo removal with mostly clear skin visible.

95 percent tattooed Brazilian Steve-O revealing his dramatic new look after extensive tattoo removal process

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O man showing dramatic new look after extensive tattoo removal transformation

Brazilian Steve-O 95% tattooed man showing dramatic new look after tattoo removal, standing outdoors with trees in background.

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Brazilian Steve-O showing his dramatic new look after removing most of his 95% body tattoos.

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O man showing dramatic new look after extensive tattoo removal treatment

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O man showing dramatic new look after extensive tattoo removal process

95% tattooed Brazilian Steve-O revealing his dramatic new look after extensive tattoo removal treatment

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95 percent tattooed Brazilian Steve-O showing his dramatic new look after tattoo removal, shirtless and posing outdoors.

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