When TikTok creator Ashley Stratton turned 18, she immediately covered herself in tattoos. Six years later, she feels that she has "outgrown" them, so she has started blacking them all out.

Boasting several thousand followers on TikTok, where she goes as @theashfactorr, Stratton has made a name for herself via her extensive makeup tutorials and digital diary.

While it may seem like she's got everything together, Stratton largely avoids showing off the extensive tattoos that coat her arms.

Speaking to Metro, Stratton revealed that she feels like she's "outgrown" the tattoos she got when she was 18 and is now getting them blacked out to "reclaim autonomy and create a sense of closure."

"People regret tattoos for lots of reasons, but one of the main ones is that we change," Stratton told the outlet.

"Sometimes it's the quality of the work, sometimes it's the placement, and sometimes it's the reminder of a phase, relationship, or version of yourself you've outgrown," she said.

According to Stratton, she got many of her original tattoos during a period in which she suffered from some pretty serious mental health issues.

Getting inked during those years was a way for her to ground herself and exert control over the situation she was in. Now, it's just a reminder of tough times.

"As I got older and healthier, those tattoos became less reflective of who I am now and more tied to a version of myself and a moment in time that I had grown past," she explained.