Local breast cancer survivors find healing with restorative tattoos

By Madeline Ackley
Twitter: @Mkayackley

Litchfield Park resident Susan Nichols was diagnosed with breast cancer 13 years ago.

When her finally hair grew back, it was inexplicably curly. People told her it was cute, but Nichols hated it.

“It took me a while to realize why I hated it so much,” Nichols said. She eventually came to realize her new curls were a physical reminder of her cancer, even after she had recovered.

“I was starting to not worry about the cancer every day,” she said. “But when I saw myself...it was like a subconscious reminder that I couldn’t relax. That I had to be on high alert all the time.”

Nichols’ hair wasn’t the only change her diagnosis brought. She underwent a bilateral mastectomy, meaning both her breasts were removed.

She had reconstructive surgery, but they weren’t the same. The tattoos that had replaced her areolas faded quickly over time. For many years, she simply lived without them.

That is until she learned about tattoo artist Jayd Hernandez of Studio Conceal in Gilbert.
Hernandez is a unique type of tattoo artist. She specializes in camouflage tattooing, covering stretch marks, scars and other types of compromised skin.

She recently completed advanced training on restorative areola tattoos for mastectomy patients, and is offering free temporary tattoos for breast cancer survivors, so they can test out the tattoos before committing to something permanent.

She tattooed Nichols for free.

Hernandez said that the 3-D tattoos can help bring back “a sense of normalcy after the trauma” her clients have experienced. “For me, it’s...definitely one of the most fulfilling services I’ve ever offered,” she said.

Tattooing over scars, like ones that can result from mastectomies, is more involved than ordinary tattooing. It requires training and practice, Hernandez explained. Not all tattoo artists can do what she does.

“One of the dark secrets of the industry is that a lot of artists will get into tattooing prematurely,” Hernandez said, adding that women may see their tattoos fade if they visit an artist without experience tattooing compromised skin.

“That’s unfortunate from the client perspective,” Hernandez said. Breast cancer survivors “are already having...self-confidence issues or whatever is going on emotionally from dealing with that trauma,” she said.

Some tattoo artists will use permanent makeup ink for nipple tattoos without realizing that tattoo ink is preferable because it’s longer-lasting, Hernandez said.

That was likely the case 13 years ago, when Nichols’ had her areolas tattooed at her plastic surgeon’s office, only for them to fade and eventually disappear completely.
Nichols is clear that areola tattoos weren’t at the top of her list of priorities.

“Honestly, I was like, ‘whatever,’” Nichols said. “I really wasn’t like, ‘Oh my god, I need to have these.’” But she responded to the ad anyway, because it was local and she figured it was a win-win: she gets free areola tattoos, and the artist gets more experience tattooing breast cancer survivors.

But the experience may have had a greater impact than she previously imagined.

“It was actually... a more positive experience than I expected,” Nichols said.

“The biggest transformation for me is that it provided even, after all that time, another level of...not being so vigilant and worried,” she said.

“Once you’ve got cancer...you’re always worried about it coming back,” but she said that the tattoos made her feel just “a little less worried.”

It’s why Hernandez does what she does.

Being able to give someone a piece of what they lost to cancer, “it’s a deeper fulfillment,” Hernandez said.

She finds it hard to put into words how she feels when her clients see their tattoos for the first time.

“The first time you reveal their mastectomy tattoo, and you just see... the emotions that come up for them unexpectedly...it is hard to describe,” she said, “but it does touch your heart.”

Madeline Ackley can be reached at mackley@iniusa.org or found on Twitter @Mkayackley.