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Focusing on using tattoos to give back what someone has lost, this talk is a journey through why tattooing can be the ultimate healing and empowering procedure. For those that have been through breast cancer and a breast reconstruction, a tattoo of a Nipple and Areola complex can make someone feel whole again. What happens if that tattoo then fades? Tattooing is a complex craft, with knowledge being passed down through generations. It takes a long time to master, and even longer to master on scar tissue. A tattoo is the ultimate tool of empowerment, when performed by the right practitioner in the right environment. Some may even call it magic…..
SPEAKER BIOG: Becky Barker is a tattooist based in Malvern – her interest in medical tattooing began when a client asked her to ‘fix’ her areola tattoos. Her mission to empower as many people as she can through camouflaging and improving scars grew from there. Becky is also a trustee for the UKs first Cancer Tattoo charity, Nipple Innovation Project. Their mission is to empower and dignify Breast Cancer Survivors with hyper realistic, 3d, permanent Nipple Tattoos with funding available for this procedure with verified artists throughout the UK. A TATTOOIST from Malvern is helping people recover from breast cancer and surgery by covering up scars and redrawing nipple pigment.
Her work includes re-drawing areolae for women who have had mastectomies following breast cancer, and scar camouflage micro-pigmentation, which makes surgical scars less visible.
Mrs Barker, 34, said: “When people have been through the trauma from being treated for cancer they want to feel normal again and so being able to help restore their body confidence is really important.
“For women who have had breast cancer, having an areola again helps them feel normal again. “At the moment they can get the work on the NHS, but that tends to just be a coloured circle, whereas these are more realistic and look more natural. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
#empowerment #english #health #tedxtalks #women