Changzhou, China - A 24-year-old in China went through the painful process of having his facial tattoos removed after struggling to find work and being made a "social outcast" by the inkings.

Xiaolong, a 24-year-old from China's northeastern Liaoning province, has been covered in radical tattoos since he first decided to get inked up in 2018.

With ink covering his neck, arms, and elsewhere, the most striking and troublesome aspect of Xiaolong's look is the massive and detailed skull tattoo that covers most of his head and face.

Now, the former "rebellious" teen has opened up about finding it difficult to find a job with his tattoos and revealed the painful process of having them removed.

"I was rebellious back then, using tattoos as an outlet for my unhappiness," Xiaolong was cited by South China Morning Post (SCMP) as saying.

"Finding employment has been tough, I face constant insults during my livestreaming sessions, and even routine tasks like renewing my ID or using facial recognition become awkward and inconvenient," he explained.

As a result of the difficulties, Xiaolong made the difficult decision to delete his social media accounts and make a trip to Changzhou to go through the painful process of removing his face tattoos.

"This is one of the toughest tattoo removals I have ever handled," Xiaolong said of the removal, which was so painful that he had to pause treatment out of health concerns.

"I regret it so much now. What seemed cool in the moment does not hold up in the long run. I just want to live a normal life again."