A cosmetic tattoo studio in Minocqua is now taking bookings for paramedical tattoos for mastectomy patients.
Next month, the studio is offering tattoos pro-bono to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
By using flesh tones, tattoo artists can restore the appearance of natural features lost after surgeries, camouflage scars, and more.
But the service wasn’t widely available in the Northwoods- that is, until Kelsey Hinterleitner of Carabelli’s Beauty Company in Minocqua decided to make a change.
“I knew there was the need for the paramedical tattooing in this area, and I've been looking into it,” she said.
For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Hinterleitner is offering hyper-realistic nipple and areola paramedical tattoos for mastectomy patients pro-bono.
She trained in Houston, learning how to camouflage scars, create the illusion of a belly button, and more.
In Wisconsin, 1 in every 8 women develop breast cancer.
Mastectomies treat breast cancer, but can also be performed preventatively in people with elevated risk.
Loss of breast or breast tissue can come with a lot of stigma.
“If I can continue to help women feel good about themselves again, and maybe help them heal and just feel confident again, I just feel great. I'm just truly honored for the women that come into my studio that they chose me to spend the time with,” said Hinterleitner.
She closes the studio for these bookings, and says the process is almost always emotional.
“We're all over the place. We're laughing, we're crying, we're hugging, we're goofing, we're, yeah, you know, we're cussing. I am right there with them,” she said.
She’s also working on offering microblading for eyebrows after hair loss due to treatments.
“It's not taboo, it's just these are our mothers, our sisters, our wives, our daughters, you know, and we just need to support them,” said Hinterleitner.
Hinterleitner said she’s going to continue offering pro-bono hyper-realistic nipple and areola tattoos every October from now on.
