56 face tattoos media hype

The story surrounding the 18-year-old Belgian woman with 56 stars tattooed on her face has become a media hype.

A talk show in the United Kingdom offered the woman 30,000 euros for an interview but she turned it down, partly because she only speaks Flemish. In an interview with a Belgian newspaper, she expressed her desire to be out of the spotlight.

The stars were tattooed on her face on Sunday. The woman says she actually only asked for three stars and not 56. She allegedly fell asleep while being tattooed and it wasn't until she woke up that she realised what had happened. The man who tattooed her has offered to pay for the cost of removing the extra stars from her face.

Rouslan Toumaniantz, the tattoo artist, must pay EUR 3,000 for the girl to have her tattoos surgically removed.

Vlaeminck is expected to have her first removal session in the next few days.

According to Karel van der Linde, who will remove all 56 of the stars, the process should take between 6 to 8 sessions of half an hour each. Kimberley will be put under a local anaesthetic each time.

It is necessary to wait at least a month between each treatment in order for the skin to heal, and after each session Kimberley will have to wear dressing on her face for 48 hours.

Karel van der Linde expects Kimberley to have her old face back by next Easter.

Radio Netherlands/