tattooing of the nipple areola complex as the finishing touch to a breast reconstruction. It needs to be the very last step of your breast reconstruction, ideally with no additional surgeries planned in the immediate future. It is a medical tattoo with an aesthetic touch. I call it the grande finale!
Medical tattooing for the breast can be used in the following:
🌸 In breast reconstruction patients after a mastectomy, to recreate a natural and realistic appearing nipple areola complex. This can be done over a nipple reconstruction or without, on flat skin, using a 3D tattooing technique. Areola restoration can be used on nipple-sparing masectomies where the native areola has been attempted to be preserved.
🌸 After other breast procedures, such as breast reduction, mastopexy surgeries or top surgeries, where the pigment has been lost or to achieve areola symmetry.
🌸 Tattooing can restore absent areola pigmentation for treatment of vitiligo on the nipple-areola complex.
🌸 Tattooing can also be chosen as a cosmetic elective procedure purely per client preferences due to desiring a darker areola. Another aesthetic option is to change the areola into a fun shape like a heart.
Specific to breast reconstruction, after your surgeon has rebuilt your breast, the tattoo is done to restore a feminine appearance to the breast. As stated before, it should be the final step...the grand finale of the reconstruction process.
If you chose to have a nipple reconstruction procedure, the color is applied to the nipple and surrounding skin to create natural looking areola.
If you chose to avoid additional surgery or have found your previously created nipple has flattened out and is no longer dimensional, then a 3D tattoo is a great option. This type of tattoo is essentially a portrait tattoo of a nipple. It requires a 3 dimensional illusion to be created on a 2 dimensional surface. With specialized training, the artist can create a realistic, natural looking nipple and areola using light and shadow techniques.
No matter what the case, I use high quality tattoo ink and body art tattoo equipment to ensure a beautiful result that lasts.
You may remember hearing during your breast reconstruction consultation that
the goal of your plastic surgeon is to make you appear "normal " in clothes and your bathing suit. As a plastic surgery nurse, I've heard this said hundreds of times by physicians. The goal of nipple tattooing however, is to help you feel good looking at yourself OUT of clothing. So, that glimpse in the mirror after a shower isn't a constant reminder of what you've been through. Also, the nipple tattoos help soften and detract from asymmetries that may be present between the two breasts and many times help pull the eye away from scars you feel are unsightly.
This is a big responsibility for the artist 🎨 and that's why choosing the right one is so important!
So, how do you choose your artist? Where do you start?
1. First off, look at their photos 📷! Especially HEALED PHOTOS. It is impossible to tell much at all by looking at a fresh and red tattoo. I love showing my gallery of pictures to clients, which includes both fresh and healed examples. Every artist has a different style. Healed photos will tell you so much!
2. Ask about their equipment, ink, and training and experience level. Was your training a 2 day class or online? Are they certified in Areola Restorative Tattooing? How many tattoos have you done? Do you use permanent makeup pigment or tattoo ink? How many touch ups will I need?
3. Talk to past clients. Read reviews on their experiences.
4. Who does your physician recommend?
Take the time to find a good fit with your artist. You deserve to have all your questions answered in terms you understand. Get educated and make your choice.. this maybe the one time that 100% of the choice is yours during the reconstruction process. You don't have to settle for cookie cutter, assembly line nipple tattoos which are barely a step up from the bullseye, pepperoni nipple tattoos done in physician offices...slightly better than a pepperoni does not mean great.
💞 Perhaps most important of all, make sure whomever you choose to do your work, that it's in their heart ❤ You will be able to tell. I am very passionate and protective of my work, as should be any artist who does restorative tattooing. It is truly a privilege for me and I'm grateful to do it everyday.
XOXO,
The Nipple Fairy 🧚♀️
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