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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Benjamin Lynch

Model unrecognisable after £170,000 extreme makeover adds head implants and 250 tattoos

A bikini model has spent over £170,000 to become completely unrecognisable after a process of cosmetic surgery with head implants and 250 tattoos.

The body transformation journey of Lina in Germany has seen her change from a once shy woman who grew up in a religious family, to someone earning a living on OnlyFans.

Lina now goes by the alias of Cigno, which is the Italian word for swan, and said she had a difficult time of it growing up and was bullied and spat on, but has newfound confidence since her extreme changes that have cost her a fortune.

She said: "I literally grew up in the middle of nowhere in Germany in a rather conservative and religious family.

Lina, now Cigno, found new confidence after growing up in a religious family (Credit: Cigno/Pen News)

"I spent most of my childhood playing outdoors or at my parents’ health food shop.

"People in the past would describe me as a wallflower, nerd and outcast."

Cigno began her dramatic change when she was just 22 as she found an internship in Sweden that allowed her some freedom away from home and got a tattoo of a dandelion on her shoulder.

The dandelion escalated into a hugely expensive change that was "rapid" and she has now had both a nose and boob job and implants in her head and chest.

The major changes cost her over £170,000 (Credit: Cigno/Pen News)

Her tattoos cover her entire body including most of her head.

Her family had a tough time accepting her new look, but eventually came around as they "could tell it was doing me good," says Cigno.

Both of her parents sadly passed away during the pandemic.

Cigno said: "Family and friends back home definitely had some difficulties catching up with my rapid changes.

"I would visit home only sporadically, so the changes seemed more drastic to them than they would have if they had seen me every day.

Cigno's family found it difficult to accept her new look (Credit: Cigno/Pen News)

"There were acquaintances and friends who would simply not recognise me on the street. It was not just my appearance that had changed – I had also grown into a confident and more extroverted individual."

She now lives in San Francisco and makes a living from her OnlyFans account as well as doing tattooing and modelling.

Despite her confidence, the German model says she can still get a mixed reaction when it comes to her appearance, but she is "not done yet".

She added: "My tattoos are definitely controversially perceived. Some admire, some envy, some dislike, some judge, and some feel inspired to get tattooed themselves."

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