The Medical Community Needs Better Training
As a traditionally trained tattoo artist it bothers me when people come to me with subpar nipple tattoos. At this point in time there is no reason for the medical community to be putting these nipples out on the street or to exclude the tattoo community from doing these tattoos.
We do it better.
When I say “We do it better,” what I should really say is we are actually trained for this and have spent years practicing. We have the technical skills to put pigment into the skin in a way for maximum pigment retention. We have knowledge of the proper equipment needed to do the task as well as how to use it for best results. This includes the proper knowledge of machines, knowledge of needles and knowledge of pigments. We are also artists who, if so inclined, can take the drawing challenge of recreating a 3d nipple and make it look real. These art skills also include knowledge of color theory and mixing techniques for creating a realistic looking pigment color that will age naturally on our clients as well as more successfully matching pigment to an existing nipple and areola complex (NAC).
For me the approach is three pronged:
Years of training
Technical know-how
Art skills
When considering reconstructive tattooing or post mastectomy tattoos please take all these things into consideration. It definitely will be the difference between a nipple tattoo that needs to be redone in a few year or immediately and a nipple tattoo that will last.