Texas woman left blind after getting her eyeballs tattooed

According to an old French saying, one must suffer to be beautiful.

Yet when beauty and pain are subjective qualities, that trade-off is tricky to evaluate.

Still, few would disagree that a Texas twentysomething recently left blind after getting her eyeballs tattooed probably took the pursuit of allure a little too far – even though she insists she has “no regrets.”

Self-confessed body art addict Sarah Sabbath has spent $3,000 to $4,000 on the inky designs that cover her from head to toe.

But despite her enviable pain threshold, the 26-year-old from El Paso says she was left unable to see after a tattoo artist dying the whites of her eyes purple neglected to put enough saline solution into the ink mixture.

Speaking to Truly this month about her ordeal, Sarah recalled that she “had a very difficult time doing anything.”

“I could not watch TV, I didn’t like being around bright lights, and I didn’t like being outside,” she told the popular YouTube channel. “I got very, very depressed from it.”

Sarah eventually had to seek help from an eye specialist, who prescribed a course of drops which have improved her sight – although her vision “still bothers her”, she said.

Yet, remarkably, despite feeling “very depressed,” Sarah claims she has “no regrets,” as body art is a vital part of her self-expression.

Having endured bullying at school for being “hairy,” she explained that being covered in tattoos helps to make her a “stronger person.”

“I think I’ve spent around $3,000 to $4,000 on my tattoos. They help me to express myself, they help me to feel me,” Sarah said. “I don’t regret getting any of the tattoos because I feel more myself now than I did then.”

She admitted that strangers probably assume she’s either a criminal or has no education, but she refuses to let that get in the way of her passion.

“Everyone’s different so I’m not going to judge them for thinking the way that they do. Not everyone has the balls to express themselves the way I do,” she said.

In fact, Sarah, who has amassed some 27,000 followers on Instagram, is planning on getting even more tattoos on her face.

“They are my shield. It’s a way of life and a part of me. I’ll never stop getting tattoos,” she vowed.

Sarah’s story recalls the shocking case last year of Polish woman Aleksandra Sadowska, who was left blind after having the whites of her eyes dyed black.

That bungled effort was reportedly inspired by a local rap artist called Popek – let’s hope Sarah’s eye-watering experience deters other imitators.