Lily plans to undergo a series of operations in India totalling around £42,000 in order to give herself the life she wants. But she admits the surgery is a “big risk”
One of the world’s most tattooed women is undergoing a £42,000 surgery — and has no idea what her heavily inked face will look like afterwards.
Lily plans to undergo surgery on her forehead, including hairline lowering, as well as her nose and chin, alongside an upper lip lift, cheek fat grafting, Adam’s apple reduction and voice surgery – as part of her gender reassignment – all in one operation in India in February next year.
After around a decade on hormones, she says she wants strangers to recognise her as the woman she is. Her wider treatment plans, including breast surgery and extensive beard hair removal, carry an estimated overall price tag of around £42,000 (€50,000). Now Lily is asking supporters to help fund the first stages, and promises to document her journey, from preparations and hospital visits to the healing process.
“It is still a big risk,” she said. “Nobody knows what will happen, or what my face tattoos will look like afterwards.”
Lily has tattoos covering her body from head to toe, including her face and eyeballs, and has spent years sharing her unconventional life. An established tattoo artist who now focuses on filmmaking, she produces films, videos, books and artwork, with her creative project Psyland25 based in southern Germany.
On TikTok, where she posts as @lily_lu_filmz, she has 176,600 followers and 2.2 million likes.
But despite the dramatic changes she has already made to her appearance, Lily says there are limits to what she can achieve without surgery.
“I changed everything that is within my reach, my tattoos, my hair, my whole appearance,” she said. “I’m on the absolute limit of what I can do myself.”
Lily says she began her transition and hormone therapy around ten years ago. She planned breast surgery long ago, but repeatedly postponed it while putting her earnings into creative work.
“Every cent I had went into YouTube, into producing content, into building Psyland, into creating art,” she said.
“Over all these years I sacrificed myself a little bit,” she said. “I always pushed it back, I forgot myself.”
For the past three years, Lily says she has pursued the formal process in Germany, attending therapy, seeing doctors and gathering documents in the hope that her private health insurer would contribute towards treatment. She describes it as a “big bureaucratic nightmare” that has cost her time, money and energy. Despite obtaining medical letters supporting her need for surgery, she says her insurer will not pay.
“I now have the indication letters,” she said. “But I have private health insurance, and they pay nothing at all.”
The process has also made her more conscious of the gap between how she feels and how she believes strangers perceive her.
“At home in my bubble I feel like a little girl playing around all day,” she said. “But when I go out, everybody still sees a man, and this really bothers me now.”
For eight years, Lily says, she has worn a bra with breast forms, even at home.
“It’s part of me without being part of me,” she said. “And it’s frustrating.”
She has chosen India for her procedures because, she says, surgery costs a fraction of what she would pay in Germany. For someone whose face is covered in tattoos, the prospect brings an additional uncertainty: how the artwork will look after the procedures and healing.
Lily intends to share the experience openly with her audience.
“I am ready to share the whole journey: before and after interviews, before and after photos and video, the hospital, the healing,” she said. “I film for a living and will shoot everything myself in high quality.”
How the costs break down
Breast surgery is expected to cost approximately £3,400 (€4,000)
Facial feminisation surgery is estimated at £14,200–£19,300 (€17,000–€23,000). This covers the combined facial procedures, rather than a separate price for each area.
Voice surgery is expected to cost £3,400–£6,700 (€4,000–€8,000).
Beard hair removal carries an estimated cost of £16,800 or more (€20,000+).
Lily puts the overall cost at around £42,000 (€50,000), although the final bill will depend on the treatments. Her initial fundraising target is approximately £21,000 (€25,000), to help her begin.
“I’m not asking for all of it,” she said. “€25,000 gets me through the first real steps, and I’ll do the rest the way I’ve always done it: slowly, stubbornly, by working for it.”
She says she has saved some money herself, but years of investing in her art and content have left her with limited funds. Asking her audience for personal help has been difficult.
“I’m not afraid to say thank you, I’m much more afraid to ask for help,” she said.
Lily’s earlier adventures have included barefoot travel, endurance running and exploring the Scottish Highlands with her family. But this journey concerns something she says follows her every day.
She stresses that she enjoys her life and has plenty of ambitions, including books, films and other creative projects. She hopes moving forward with treatment will give her more room to concentrate on them.
“This path is already so long,” she said. “I decided, it’s time, it’s really time.”
She hopes small donations from people who have enjoyed her work will help her reach that point sooner.
“It doesn’t need to be much,” she said. “Many people donating a little bit can make a really big impact in my life.”
Whatever happens with the appeal, Lily insists she will continue working towards the procedures.
“I will do it anyway,” she said. “But with your help I can do it much faster.”
Lily is raising approximately £21,000 (€25,000) towards the first stages of her treatment. To donate, visit her FundRazr appeal.