AN Australian tattooist who took to social media to offer covering up people’s self-inflicted scars free of charge has been bombarded with requests.

    Whitney Develle, a tattoo apprentice at Brisbane’s Garage Ink, vowed to help people with a history of self-harm by offering free day-long sittings to conceal their scars.

    The 22-year-old was inspired by a friend who was ashamed of the scars she was had inflicted on herself, resolving to help give her a clean slate by inking over the wounds.

    She believes those who have reached out to her felt too uncomfortable to speak about their condition to ordinary tattoo artists, reports 9News.

    “The majority of them were too scared to speak with a tattooist out of fear of being judged.”

    “Society looks down at people with self-harm scars and immediately thinks they are unstable or unfit to be amongst the rest of us … I want to change that stigma,” she said.

    Develle said her friend had a new lease on life after getting the tattoos, spurring the promising artist to help others with a similar plight.

    “The look on her face — money can’t buy that.”

    The original post spread like wildfire, with thousands of social media users reaching out to take her up on her offer.

    The overwhelming demand led Develle to amend the original post, offering a total of 50 free sittings in addition to reduced tattoos rates for everybody else.

    “Please note that given the overwhelming amount of beautiful people out there, I have decided to dedicate more of my time to offering highly discounted rates to anyone who is seeking to move forward from their past and embark on a new beginning,” she wrote in the follow-up post.

    She also wrote the offer only extends to those who are no-longer self-harming, urging those who are to seek professional help.

    “I want you to be able to look down at the scars that bring you pain, embarrassment, shame, and be able to put those feelings behind you and instead feel proud of the body part that now contains art and offers a new beginning.”

    Several of her soon-to-be clients have already taken to social media to say they couldn’t wait to have their scars covered up with something positive.

    Develle is set to begin inking her new subjects from March 17.(SD-Agencies)