By Dawn Brazell
Public Relations

It's hard to get through life without scars, whether it's physical or emotional.

The women medical tattoo artist, Renee Maschinot, helps often carry both. What she loves about her job is she can make some of the scars disappear or at least have less impact, she said.

The licensed esthetician joined MUSC's staff in July, commuting from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where she owns a salon, with her equipment that includes a specially-made tattoo machine complete with a pink ribbon design. She comes up every other month to provide areola and 3-D nipple tattoos for breast cancer survivors.

"Dr. Schimpf is staying on trend and he knew this was an option and he wanted to provide his patients with the best possible result," she said of plastic surgeon Dennis Schimpf, M.D., who sought her out for the job. "It really shows a lot about MUSC that they want to provide their patients with every option possible."

Cynde Brown meets with medical tattoo artist Renee Maschinot at MUSC.

Maschinot said she appreciates the opportunity to provide this service to cancer survivors in a way that's convenient for them. She's been in the beauty industry for 28 years, also dabbling in fine art doing pottery and porcelain restorations.
"With that art background and after I had my own eyebrows tattooed, I thought I could have done that and probably know color theory better than she does."

She took the plunge, doing a two-year apprenticeship in 2004 with a traditional tattoo artist to gain the in-depth kind of experience she wanted. When she started researching the possibilities in the field, she discovered the specialty of medical tattoo artists who do areola work.

"I thought that is so up my alley. It's got that whole medical appeal."

Maschinot, who debated being a nurse when she was younger, said she loves how her job combines her love of art, beauty and medicine. "There's that creative side of me so it's come full circle where I have a job that encompasses the medical aspect along with the creative aspect. It is awesome that I can do that. Every person that I do, I still say, 'Wow, look what I did.' Every person is different. Their skin is different."

She gets excited to see her clients' reactions, getting varied reactions from joy to tears. "What they find amazing is that when you create that nipple areola area back, your eye goes to that color and the scars sort of fade out. It's amazing to them that they don't focus on their scars as much. Many of them are stunned about the difference it makes."

Maschinot had this tattoo tool specially designed for her work. For more information about her specialty, visit http://www.reneemaschinot.com.

Many breast cancer survivors refer to themselves as having the Barbie look on message boards. "Barbie doesn't have nipples or areolas so it makes them feel non-sexual. As soon as you add the nipples and areolas, you're complete and now they become breasts."

Cynde Brown, who had the procedure done, said she chose not to do nipple reconstruction because the 3-D nipple tattoo seemed a better choice for her.

"They look like an actual nipple – looking at it straight on. Looking at it sideways, it's just nice and smooth. You don't have to worry about what clothes you wear. When I got that done, I felt like I was complete. It was like everything is back like it's supposed to be. I'm good to go."

That's what Maschinot hopes for in her work.

The 3-D nipple option is for women who chose not to have their nipple reconstructed via tissue rearrangement, said Maschinot. "There is no protrusion so they don't have to wear a bra. The 3-D is an illusion created through shading technique that creates the look of a nipple. Even if patients have had nipple reconstruction and feel they are not symmetrical, the tattooing can help even it out."

She loves the challenge of matching color to skin tone to create an invisible repair, just like she used to do with her porcelain repairs. "To really do that, you have to see color. Being able to see skin tone and to know how to get the best results is intuitive."

Maschinot said she likes it that MUSC is empowering patients by giving them a choice. Not all doctors let women know the options that are available.

"Especially in women's health, women need to be proactive and really seek out their options and know what is available. The 3-D nipple tattooing is an awesome option."

Maschinot said she's amazed by the results in every procedure she does and feels she's helping in the healing process. She finds some women are ashamed of their bodies and hide from dressing in front of their spouses. It makes her sad, she said. "I hope that this changes that for them. I found my true calling in my life's work is to be able to restore what time or illness has taken away."