Restorative Tattoos

Topsail Insider - Restorative Tattoos with Jenean LaCorte

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:00:00] Christa: Welcome to Topsail Insider where you can hear all about the businesses and events in the beautiful coastal towns in the greater Topsail area of North Carolina. 

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Topsail Insider Podcast. My name is Christa, and I am your host. Today, we are interviewing Jenean LaCorte from Restorative Tattoos. So welcome, Jenean. Thank you for joining us today. I really appreciate it. 

[00:00:26] Jenean: Thank you for having me. 

[00:00:26] What is Restorative Tattoos?

[00:00:26] Christa: Let's talk about what Restorative Tattoos is, first of all.

[00:00:31] Jenean: So with Restorative Tattoos, there's two main components to what I do. The first is post-mastectomy 3D nipple tattoos, which is fairly self-explanatory. Um, and then the second is scar camouflage. Scar camouflage tattoo is for anyone who has a scar that's gone lighter in color, and that scar can be from surgery, an accident, burn, vitiligo, et cetera And then what I do is I match the pigment to your exact skin shade and tattoo that into that scar.

So then while the scar is still there, it's visibly diminished. Okay. Like, you, you no longer see it. It's camouflaged. 

[00:01:08] Christa: You said when the scar gets lighter, so there's a certain amount of healing that already has to take place before- Yes, I- ... you work on them? 

[00:01:14] Jenean: Yeah. I won't touch a scar if it's been less than six months of healing.

So the, most people know that from whether it's been surgery or whatnot. If it's been over six months of healing, then I can look at it, and we can help determine if now's a good time to work or if you need more time to heal. 

[00:01:28] Christa: Okay. 

[00:01:29] Jenean: But so I can help with scars that are a little bit pink, 'cause that can...

You can use some microneedling on that to help take out some of that trapped blood flow. But if you're someone whose scar is darker, hyperpigmentation, there's not much I can do for that. I usually refer someone with a darker scar to try and reach a dermatologist for a cream for lightening. 

[00:01:47] Jenean's Background & Move to Hampstead

[00:01:47] Christa: Before we get any deeper into the beautiful work that you do, I wanna go back a little bit into your history.

Yeah. So where are you from originally? 

[00:01:55] Jenean: I'm originally from Toledo, Ohio. I moved from Columbus, Ohio, which is where I had gone to school. I went to Columbus College of Art and Design. Okay. And before I had started this business, I had been an artist for over 20 years. 

[00:02:07] Christa: What kind of art did you like to do?

What was your favorite medium? 

[00:02:10] Jenean: I was a painter, so I did fine art in acrylic and watercolors. Long time ago, I used to use oils, but I had stopped doing that when I had my children, just because oils take a really long time to cure. 

[00:02:22] Christa: Mm-hmm. 

[00:02:23] Jenean: And some of them can be fatal to children, and children like to put everything in their mouth, so I just kinda stopped doing that.

[00:02:27] Christa: How old were you when you realized that you had a passion for art, and that's what you wanted to pursue? 

[00:02:33] Jenean: Oh my gosh, my whole life has been art. My dad was kind of a art collector, so we always had art in the house. And we would do, like, weekly trips to the art museum. Like, every Saturday, that was what my dad and I would do.

[00:02:44] Christa: Nice. 

[00:02:45] Jenean: And then I started taking art classes at the museum, classes in school. 

[00:02:49] Christa: How old were you at that point? 

[00:02:51] Jenean: I think I s- I took my first class when I was six at the museum. 

[00:02:53] Christa: Oh my gosh. Okay. Yeah, so your whole life. 

[00:02:56] Jenean: Yeah. So my whole life has been art, yeah. 

[00:02:59] Christa: And what led you to Hampstead? 

[00:03:02] Jenean: Okay, so what led me to Hampstead is before my husband and I had met, he had lived in Wilmington for about a year and loved the area.

And so when we would vacation, we would come to the Topsail/Wilmington area. And I just kept saying, "Why don't we move there?" You know, and then it took a winter with three weekends in a row of over a foot of snow- ... and I said, "Okay, we're moving there." 

[00:03:26] Christa: I think that's probably a conversation that a lot of people that live here now have had.

[00:03:30] Jenean: Yeah. Oh, yeah. 

[00:03:30] Christa: Yeah, yep. 

[00:03:32] Jenean: But I just, I loved the area. The weather's always been beautiful. There's, there is a lot to do, but I really loved the people. People here are so friendly, and I guess I didn't realize how unfriendly people can be in other areas until I moved here. 

[00:03:45] Christa: Oh, really? 

[00:03:46] Jenean: Oh, that's- But do you know what I mean?

Like, when I moved in, my neighbors came right over and they're like, "Hey, can we help you unload the truck?" And we're like, "No, 

[00:03:52] Christa: that's weird." Are they trying to case our stuff? 

[00:03:55] Jenean: Right, right. Um, and then the next day she came over with a cake, and I was just like, oh, she genuinely was just being friendly. 

[00:04:02] Christa: Yeah.

[00:04:03] Jenean: And it's, there's so many of those stories like that, just, I just love being here. 

[00:04:07] Christa: And I've- That's really cool to hear. Yeah, I've been here 

[00:04:08] Jenean: for about 19 years now.

[00:04:14] Creating the 3D Look & Training

[00:04:14] Christa: So we're talking about 3D images. Mm-hmm. And for the people who are not artistic like myself, when you say 3D nipples, it's on a very smooth surface that you're working on. There's nothing three-dimensional about it. It's about the artwork that you do, and I can tell you when I look at your images of the work that you've done, it's incredible, and it does look three-dimensional.

How do you create that 3D look on a flat surface? 

[00:04:43] Jenean: So yeah, so by 3D, it's not... I'm not actually adding texture or doing anything to the skin to, to make it physically protrude. It's all done with highlight and shadow so that it visibly looks like it's an optical illusion. It's a flat surface or slightly rounded surface, smooth, that when you add the colors and the highlights and the shadow, it looks like a three-dimensional protruding object.

[00:05:07] Christa: It really does. It's incredible. 

[00:05:09] Jenean: Thank you. 

[00:05:10] Christa: It's the first time that I tell my husband, "Look at these." Let's go back to w- what training... Did you already know how to do the 3D work, or did you have to get training to do the 3D work? Well- And did that come along with the training for the tattoos? 

[00:05:24] Jenean: Being an artist before this and having gone to an art school, you have that training on how to render three-dimensional images through painting and drawing and all of that, so I've got that already sitting in my back pocket.

[00:05:35] Christa: Mm-hmm. 

[00:05:36] Jenean: And then when I had entered into the medical tattoo training, they do cover an aspect of that as well in school- 

[00:05:45] Christa: Okay ... 

[00:05:46] Jenean: as well as how to properly tattoo, what the person has gone through as medically to get up to this point because it's not like a regular tattoo artist who is dealing with fresh skin.

[00:05:58] Christa: Mm-hmm. 

[00:05:58] Jenean: This is skin that has been through multiple surgeries- Mm-hmm ... so it's been traumatized, and our skin, our body holds trauma. It's skin that has sometimes severe scarring. It's skin that has possibly gone through chemo or radiation or both- 

[00:06:14] Christa: Right ... 

[00:06:14] Jenean: on top of all of those things. So you also learn all of that at school and how to adjust your machine and your needles and all of that for the skin that you're dealing with.

[00:06:24] Christa: How long did you go to school for the tattooing? 

[00:06:26] Jenean: So there was an online component before, and then, and then it was like 100 hours. Like, it was long days of doing things hands-on, and then the last couple days you were working on real live people. 

[00:06:38] Christa: There's- What did you practice on? 

[00:06:39] Jenean: Well, you practice on, uh, like an artificial skin.

It's made of latex. 

[00:06:42] Christa: Wow, okay. 

[00:06:43] Jenean: Which if you can make an image go well into the latex, going on to, moving to skin feels more like butter. It's very s- smooth. So it helps you hone it a little bit that way. But it is, for me at least, there was so much pressure to get it right- 

[00:06:57] Christa: Yeah ... 

[00:06:57] Jenean: once I had people, because I was like, "They've already been through so much."

[00:07:00] Christa: Yeah. 

[00:07:01] Jenean: I didn't wanna let them down. I was very focused on not screwing this up. 

[00:07:05] Christa: Yeah. I know. That must have been nerve-wracking- 

[00:07:08] Jenean: It was ... at first. It was, but I had the most amazing woman that let me start on her, and she was a nurse, and she looked at me, and she said, "Girl, you and I, we're in this together."

[00:07:19] Christa: Yeah. "

[00:07:20] Jenean: You got this." 

[00:07:20] Christa: I love that. 

[00:07:21] Jenean: So she was the best person for me possibly. 

[00:07:24] Christa: Yeah. 

[00:07:24] Jenean: In about- Maybe 45 seconds into my first tattoo, she looked over at me and she goes, "It feels right, doesn't it?" And I said, "It does." 'Cause she could just see the stress go right out of me. As soon as I started, I was like, "Okay, I've got this."

And from my very first one I knew this is exactly what I needed to be doing with my life. 

[00:07:46] Christa: I was talking to my husband last night preparing for this interview, and I said, "I feel like she spent all this time..." 'Cause I'd been reading some articles about you, about how long you did train just with your art alone.

[00:07:58] Jenean: Right. 

[00:07:58] Christa: And how back then you didn't know that it was gonna lead to these tattoos, but it feels like the universe just gave you all that preliminary stuff and led you right here to help so many people. 

[00:08:10] Jenean: Oh, for sure. 

[00:08:10] Christa: You know, what you're doing is amazing, and love that you have a woman there with you who's willing to sit there and give you the feedback that you need, and to observe and notice what you're going through in addition to what she's going through, and that speaks volumes about her as well.

[00:08:25] Jenean: Yeah, no, and we actually still keep in contact through Facebook. Really? Yeah. 

[00:08:29] Christa: I know that these people touch your life in big ways, and we'll get to that. 

[00:08:33] The Story Behind the Career Change

[00:08:33] Christa: I wanna go to the why you went from being an artist to wanting to step into the tattoo realm. So can you tell me a little bit about that backstory? 

[00:08:43] Jenean: Oh, sure.

Um, so I didn't even know this existed as something that could be done for people, and how I found out about it was my brother-in-law's sister, Molly, she's a little younger than me, but we were close, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer very early. Mm-hmm. And as she was going through all of her, her phases of the journey, like surgery and rehab, like she would, she was telling me what's going on.

And then as it got to the nipple tattoos, she was like, "Oh, so now I need to find someone for..." And I was like, "Nipple tattoo? What is that? Tell me all about that." 

[00:09:15] Christa: Yeah. '

[00:09:16] Jenean: Cause when my grandmother had breast cancer, that didn't exist. Implants didn't exist when my gran- Same ... there, there's been so many advancements, so I was like, "Oh, tell me about that."

So she was telling me, she says, "They tattoo what looks like a real nipple on your chest so that your breast feels more like it did before, or at least visually you've got that look." But she was having a really hard time finding someone near her who could make it look real. 

[00:09:38] Christa: Mm-hmm. 

[00:09:39] Jenean: And ended up having to go from northern Ohio all the way to Maryland to get hers done.

And so there was no follow-up after that because it was such a big trip- Right ... to get the first one. But so as she's talking to me about all this, I was just, "Oh, maybe she's not looking in the right places." So I'm like, I'm looking, pouring over the internet, and you can. You can find people just about everywhere who will do a nipple tattoo, whether it's in a doctor's office, in a PMU, and when I say PMU, I'm referring to like when you go and get your eyebrows tattooed or your lips done.

[00:10:11] Christa: Oh, okay. 

[00:10:11] Jenean: Gotcha. Eyeliner. Like, some of those people will do it as well. And sometimes doctor's offices, like they'll have a nurse or a doctor take a quick online course and offer it as a thing. Oh, 

[00:10:22] Christa: wow. 

[00:10:23] Jenean: Um- 

[00:10:24] Christa: That's why the artistry might be missing. 

[00:10:26] Jenean: Exactly. So what I was able to find was so discouraging, and I could see why she was getting so discouraged- Mm

and was willing to travel so far to get what she needed. Things, sometimes they looked like googly eyes. You know how like when, like a nipple will be down and a nipple will be up? 

[00:10:44] Christa: Yes. Or- Okay, I see what you mean ... 

[00:10:46] Jenean: and I'm just talking about like how they lay on the chest, and then also how the nipple within the areola would lay.

Some of them would just be a solid circle of color. None of them looked like nipples. 

[00:10:57] Christa: Yeah. 

[00:10:57] Jenean: Or they looked like a cartoon version of a nipple. And I thought to myself, "Okay, a tattoo gun is just learning a new tool." to an art form that I already know. So that's when I started really researching, what would it take to do this, to do better?

And so then when I landed on the place that I went for my training, which was the Saller Institute, which is run in conjunction with Penn Medicine, which to that, to me, I was like, "Okay, it's run with Penn Medicine." That, you know what I mean, that's, this is great. And they also gave you some of the medical, 'cause some of the other places you could train, they just briefly go over this is a tattoo machine, this is how you do it, and there's very little to it.

[00:11:34] Medical Tattooing & Men's Breast Cancer

[00:11:34] Jenean: I'm with a group of other fellow artists who feel the same way as I do, is that there needs to be better regulation about who can be particularly a nipple tattoo artist. Mm-hmm. Because these are people who have been through so much trauma. It's not like, "Hey, I'd like a Tweety Bird." 

[00:11:48] Christa: This is not just tattooing, and I did learn this when researching you.

This is medical tattoos. 

[00:11:53] Jenean: Exactly. 

[00:11:53] Christa: You have to have the training on the procedures that the person's been- You, you 

[00:11:57] Jenean: should have to have ... been through But right now it's- 

[00:11:59] Christa: Oh, you don't? 

[00:12:00] Jenean: No. Okay. Right now you don't. It's not just another service that you should be able to get when you get your eyebrows done.

Right. Which is a great service for people, don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking that. Right. But it is a totally different need. It's a totally different artistic component. Mm-hmm. And you have to, you need to have some of that medical background knowledge to just even understand what a woman's been through- 

[00:12:19] Christa: Right

[00:12:20] Jenean: you know, or a man's been through, 'cause I've done men as well. 

[00:12:22] Christa: Have you? 

[00:12:22] Jenean: Yes. I've done two men. They were both from breast cancer. Wow. That is one thing that is not talked about enough- Mm-hmm ... is that men can also get breast cancer, and they don't know to check themselves. Mm-hmm. So oftentimes when men are diagnosed with breast cancer, it's already stage four because they didn't catch it early, 'cause they didn't know to catch it early, 'cause they don't go in for any kind of screenings.

And men will tell themselves, "Oh, it's sore. I just worked my muscle weird." And they'll wait until it's obviously a lump- Mm-hmm ... like a visible lump through the skin. Mm-hmm. Um, which makes their fatality record much higher- 

[00:12:56] Christa: Oh, okay ... 

[00:12:56] Jenean: because you're not catching it early. Wow. So it needs to be something that's talked about more.

[00:13:01] Christa: Absolutely. 

[00:13:02] Jenean: When people go through b- breast cancer, or any kind of cancer but, when they go through that, it's, it's so devastating to their life. Not only are you worried, "Is this going to kill me?" But then you're worried- Will I ever look like a female again? Will I ever look like I'm a proper male again?

Will my partner still love me? Will they still physically be attracted to me? There's so many components, and then to go to someone that you think, and you're having all of this hope, like, that you'll feel like a regular person when you walk out again, and to have somebody put on a tattoo to you that is damaging, that doesn't look like how it should, you've just given them an extra level to their trauma.

Mm-hmm. You've just created more trauma for that person. I've fixed two or three dozen of what other- You're fixing 

[00:13:52] Christa: tattoos from- From o- ... previous artists? 

[00:13:54] Jenean: Yes. And I have fixed maybe two to three dozen of those from this local area, and that's just women who are willing to take a second chance on having someone help them.

[00:14:05] Christa: Yeah. 

[00:14:06] Jenean: So that I can only imagine how many women and men are out there Just dealing with the tattoo they got. 

[00:14:12] Christa: Mm-hmm. 

[00:14:13] Jenean: I mean, sometimes they've come to me and it looks like a, a really bad bruise where a nipple should be because that's what's remaining, and I'm just glad that I can help these women and that they've come to me.

[00:14:24] Christa: I am, too. I'm so glad that you're here and doing what you do. 

[00:14:28] Jenean: Thank you. 

[00:14:28] Christa: Okay, I didn't know about, I didn't know about that aspect of your business, that you were covering up tattoos that weren't what the patient wanted. I was trying to figure out the language that you would use, if it was patient or client, and then when I saw that it was medical tattoos, I'm like, "Oh, these are her patients."

[00:14:44] Jenean: These are my patients. 

[00:14:45] Christa: Yeah. 

[00:14:45] Jenean: I, I definitely refer to them to patients, and like, on my website you can see that my, my room, I wanted to put a picture of what my room looks like because everyone... 

[00:14:55] The Patient Experience & Office

[00:14:55] Jenean: What's the first thing you picture when you picture a tattoo shop? There's usually art on the walls. It's, it's usually an open seating and there's no privacy.

Yeah. Someone who's been through what my patients have been through, that's not what they're looking for. So my, my place, it feels more like a spa, like more like a doctor's office when you walk in. Unless you're bringing a family member or a friend, it is just you, and 'cause I want them to feel safe. I want them to feel like it's clean.

People who have been through cancer are very concerned about the environment that they put their body in because there are so many things that can damage it. Right. You've been immunocompromised for so long- Right ... that you're very concerned about these things. And while a regular tattoo shop is going to be just as clean as my office, hopefully-

mine, it sells you on that idea. It's clean. It's white. It gives you that medical feeling. Not that, uh, every person that walks in, they're like, "Oh, this is nice." They want something private. They want something clean, and they want it to f- feel like a med- because it is. It's medical tattoo. 

[00:15:57] Christa: How do your patients find you?

[00:16:00] Jenean: So the majority of my patients are finding me through doctor recommendations, breast cancer groups, and then I've luckily been interviewed by news stations- Several, yeah ... magazines, newspaper, and, and that is a great way for people to find out about me, and it legitimizes what I'm doing when people can see that.

Yeah. It's not just a friend of a friend says, "Oh, I know a girl who can do this for you." So that, that's really helped, but c- because it's hard. You can't advertise for me. 

[00:16:29] Christa: Right. 

[00:16:29] Jenean: I've had radio stations say, "Oh, I'd love to give you a spot," but then you talk to the person who's trying to sell you the spot, and then they come back and they go, "Oh, we can't use nipple.

We can't use this. We can't u-" Well, I can't advertise. I certainly can't do a billboard. 

[00:16:44] Christa: No, you can't, can you? 

[00:16:46] Jenean: I, I think it would probably cause a traffic accident. So yeah, so it's, it has been great that, that there are local doctors who have been sharing the word, and the breast cancer community can be a close-knit community.

They share with each other when they've had a good experience. Mm-hmm. They share with each other when they've had a bad experience. 

[00:17:02] Christa: Mm-hmm. 

[00:17:02] Jenean: But so when you've had a good experience with someone like me, you tell other people.

[00:17:10] Christa: So I want you to explain to me and the listeners what it's like from beginning to end for a woman, she's done the reconstructive part of this and she's ready for the tattoo. Are all of your patients local? 

[00:17:23] Jenean: No. 

[00:17:23] Christa: Where are your patients coming from primarily? 

[00:17:26] Jenean: My, my, primarily is the State of North Carolina, but I have people come in from all over the country.

[00:17:32] Christa: Okay. 

[00:17:33] Jenean: And- That's 

[00:17:33] Christa: great ... 

[00:17:33] Jenean: and actually this summer I had my person come in from the farthest location, and it was quite a shock. She flew in all the way from Abu Dhabi. 

[00:17:42] Christa: Really? 

[00:17:43] Jenean: Yes. 

[00:17:43] Christa: How did she hear about you? 

[00:17:44] Jenean: She's still got family, 'cause she's, she is American, but she's living over there. Her husband's like a contractor.

And she still has family here. And so a family member had caught a segment on the news- Mm ... and found the clip online and sent it to her, and so she called me up. 

[00:17:59] Christa: Scheduled the trip. 

[00:18:00] Jenean: And scheduled the trip, and she made sure that she stayed here long enough so that she could be here for the initial and for a follow-up to make sure- Okay

everything was good. 

[00:18:06] The Process: Consultation to Completion

[00:18:06] Christa: So let's talk about the process. I'm assuming there's a pre-consultation? 

[00:18:10] Jenean: Somet- if someone's on the fence, they're welcome to come for a consultation, and I never charge for consultations. I feel like if you need information, it, it only behooves you to get it, and I'm not gonna charge you for that.

[00:18:20] Christa: Do you do Zoom calls, phone calls for that initial consult? 

[00:18:23] Jenean: Yeah, I can, yeah, I can do Zoom calls, phone calls, or in-person consultations. Most people by the time they call me have a handful of questions, but they know for sure they want the procedure done. 

[00:18:33] Christa: Oh, okay. 

[00:18:34] Jenean: So it can usually be a quick conversation over the phone where they can ask a few things about what happens, and then they're ready to book.

[00:18:40] Christa: Okay. So nipples come in all different shapes and sizes and colors. 

[00:18:47] Jenean: They're like snowflakes that way. 

[00:18:49] Christa: Right. So how, how do you determine with your patient what they want it to look like? Do they bring in pictures? Do you offer up suggestions based on skin color, hair color? Like, how do you do that? 

[00:19:02] Jenean: Some people do bring in pictures of what they had before, 'cause they would really like to be s- very similar to what they had before.

Mm-hmm. Some people are happy to have new nipples 'cause they, they weren't necessarily- Didn't like them before ... happy with them before. Yes. But for as far as sizing goes, um, I, I have them... I've got like a little stencil of different circumferences. And I say, "Just to get a starting point, in your mind's eye, where do you see your new nipple size being?"

'Cause some people want a very small one, an average size, some people, you know, want a bigger one, 'cause that's what they had before. Mm-hmm. And it just gives me a good starting point. And then I go based off of their mound size that they're, they're left with after reconstruction, and I guide them from there depending on what they were looking at.

And I draw it on with surgical marker- Let them stand in front of the mirror. I tell them, "Look at it for a minute or two. Make sure you're happy with the size. Make sure you're happy with the location, 'cause we can wipe off and adjust anything." I try to give women and men as many options as possible because cancer doesn't give you many.

So I start by drawing them on with a surgical marker. Once they agree to placement and size, I get them all comfortable in the chair and, um, then we start mixing color. I first match your skin tone, so that way no matter what other colors we add into that to create your areola, it's going to heal naturally to you.

It's not gonna be like an off-putting color. I want it to heal naturally and look f- like it should be there. 

[00:20:25] Christa: Does the color change from when it's initially put on the skin? 

[00:20:28] Jenean: When I'm first seeing it and putting it into the skin, it is the color. But as I'm tattooing, you get all of that blood flow to the top of the skin because I'm aggravating the skin.

Mm. And so it's darker. It's more red when they first see it and I... And I let them know. I'm like, "This is going to be lighter. It's going to be like the color we agreed upon." Then we start adding and I ask them, "Do you want to be more pink? Do you want to be more red, more brown?" And I start subtly until we get to the color that they feel like, "Yes, that's the color I want."

And then once we agree on that, then I mix up about four or five other colors that will help me get those highlights and shadows to give- Mm-hmm ... it that three-dimensional look. 

[00:21:01] Christa: You said, "When they call me, it's to ask just a few questions, but they already know they wanna do it." Do patients ever walk into your office and they're apprehensive or they may have changed their mind, and how do you deal with that if so, or no, it's, "Let's get this done"?

[00:21:15] Jenean: No, th- they're... Very commonly there is a little apprehension. It's always mixed in with excitement. 'Cause for... And it's for many reasons. One, they've been through so much and their, their hopes are like, they're afraid to get their hopes up to what this might be at the end. 

[00:21:28] Christa: Oh, okay. 

[00:21:29] Jenean: Another reason is, for a lot of these women and men, this is their very first tattoo.

[00:21:34] Christa: I didn't think about that either. 

[00:21:35] Jenean: And everyone, in your head it's, "Oh, tattoos hurt so bad," and blah, blah, blah, which they can, for sure, but what they're not thinking about is the majority of these people because of the surgeries that they've had, they've lost the majority of their sensation. 

[00:21:48] Christa: Mm-hmm. 

[00:21:49] Jenean: So for them, these tattoos aren't very painful.

[00:21:53] Christa: Okay. 

[00:21:53] Jenean: Um, they mostly feel pressure and a little occasional zing of pain where they're like, "Oh, I didn't know I had a nerve still there." But for all of my people I tell them, "If we start going and you're experiencing pain that is distinctly pain, let me know because I do have topical numbers that I can apply."

[00:22:12] Christa: Gotcha. How long does it normally take from beginning to end, like when they walk into your office until they leave, and do they have to come back for a second trip? 

[00:22:23] Jenean: Okay. So from the minute someone walks in my door and they start filling out paperwork to the minute they leave with their little goodie bag out the door, it...

If it's a bilateral, meaning both breasts, then it takes roughly two hours. 

[00:22:37] Christa: That is not as long as I thought it would take. 

[00:22:39] Jenean: Yeah. 

[00:22:40] Christa: Okay. 

[00:22:41] Jenean: Roughly two hours, and that is literally filling out paperwork, asking any questions- 

[00:22:45] Christa: Determining the size, color, and 

[00:22:47] Jenean: shape ... determining size, color, and shape, mixing colors, getting them leaned back and comfortable.

[00:22:51] Christa: That's surprising- Yeah ... to me. What about the follow-up or touch-up work? 

[00:22:56] Jenean: Follow-up, I always require to see them two to three weeks after so that I can see how everything's healed, if it needs a touch-up, and I include that touch-up into the initial cost. Gotcha. Um, I'm never gonna put subpar nipples out into the world.

I wanna make sure that they heal how they should. And when you're dealing with skin that's been traumatized or heavily scarred, it doesn't always take pigment the same way a regular tattoo might. So it might- Oh, I see ... it might need additional work done. 

[00:23:22] Christa: Gotcha. 

[00:23:23] Jenean: So I always require to see them. If they're from far away, like Abu Dhabi, she stayed long enough in the country to make sure that she could be here for the follow-up visit before she flew back, and then any remaining follow-ups we can do through Zoom- You do

or photograph. 

[00:23:37] Christa: Okay.

[00:23:41] Scar Camouflage

[00:23:41] Christa: So I want to move on to the scar camouflage now, because when I learned about you, you were only doing the, the 3D nipple tattoos. But now I've seen some of your work online with the scar camouflage. I didn't know that was a thing that you could do, so it's very pleasing to see e- even more of your artwork, and it feels like you're helping another group of people in a whole different way.

What are the different types of scars you work with, and how do you determine the image that you're gonna use to cover up that scar? If it's them coming to you with an idea, or is it you saying, "Here's what we could do"? 

[00:24:16] Jenean: So the majority of scar camouflage, what I'm doing is I am... If it- Like I said in the beginning, if it's a lighter scar, like lighter than your regular pigment, then I, I match to your skin tone and tattoo that into the scar.

Some scars make that very hard to, even if you did that, n- still not have the scar itself be visible. For example, I had a, a couple different girls come to me that had been self-harming, and so it was lots of scars in a small area, some fairly distinct. One, someone had been repeatedly cutting into the same area, so it made a thicker scar that almost looked like a keloid, but it was just from built-up scar tissue- Right

over scar tissue. And so making that the skin color wouldn't have camouflaged. It, it would still be visible. 

[00:25:04] Christa: Right. 

[00:25:05] Jenean: So for those, it was just a conversation. What would you like? W- Are you open to having a regular tattoo cover that? This is what I think the best way would be, so what kind of images would work for you?

For one girl, we ended up doing, 'cause she had lots in a small area- Lots of lines going everywhere. So the best thing to cover that up would've been line work, and so we had done, um, like a bouquet of flowers. 

[00:25:32] Christa: Mm-hmm. '

[00:25:32] Jenean: Cause there's so many different lines that it di- 

[00:25:34] Christa: Interesting. 

[00:25:34] Jenean: Yeah ... it hides where the scars underneath were.

Mm-hmm. Another one where she had those really thick scars, what I had done was I said, "That body of that would work great being hidden within a larger image to almost make it look a little three-dimensional on its own just using your own tactile scar tissue." So just in talking with her about what things she liked and, and all of that, we ended up settling on butterflies.

And so that thick scar- I saw that 

[00:26:00] Christa: one ... 

[00:26:00] Jenean: that thick scar- Yeah ... became the body of the butterfly, and they turned out beautifully. And- 

[00:26:05] Christa: So it's a collaborative effort. You two are working together. What do you like, then here's some ideas, and it's a back and forth until you settle on an image. 

[00:26:13] Jenean: That will, will do both things: make them feel happy about the tattoo they're about to receive, but also hide the scar that they're trying to hide.

Right. And so that's ... It's another way, because it's like ... What people don't understand about scars, and women especially, but even men, we tell ourselves, "Oh, it's just a scar. It's vain for me to think about it." But if it is something that you wake up and every day you're like, "Ugh, that scar," or, "How do I hide that?

I don't want somebody to ask about that." Because that is one of those things, like as woke as a society we are right now, everyone will still go, "Hey, what happened to you?" Mm. "What's that from?" That may not be a story that you wanna share, right? Maybe it's a personal thing that either happened to you that you're not happy about, or whatever the reason.

So scars can hold a lot of weight over you because it's something you're constantly... You're putting your mental capacity towards that- 

[00:27:04] Christa: Yeah ... 

[00:27:04] Jenean: every day. So if you can help hide that, make it so it's not visible so that they can go on with their day, and somebody's not going, "Oh, what's that?" Or making a judgment.

You think they're making a judgment about you, about whatever's... If you can hide that, it takes that weight off their shoulders. 

[00:27:19] Christa: Right. 

[00:27:19] Jenean: And they're able to go forward with the rest of their day and move on, and it just builds confidence up- Mm-hmm ... that they've been lacking for a while for whatever reason.

[00:27:28] Christa: Do you see a change in them as far as their confidence level, maybe by the follow-up? 

[00:27:33] Jenean: Oh, for sure. Do you? And that's for all of the tattoos, the nipple tattoos as well. When I see them walk in a couple weeks later, they're a different person. There's a lightness in their step, a smile from usually ear to ear.

And they're telling me like, "Oh, this is great." And I... So many of these people remain in my life. Like, it's not just you see them and you're gone. I have people all the time hit me up on my text message, phone call, letter, all the various ways to reach someone, and just continually let me know, like, how much better their life has been since they've made this change.

[00:28:10] Christa: How does that make you feel? 

[00:28:12] Jenean: Oh, it makes me feel amazing. 

[00:28:13] Christa: Yeah. 

[00:28:13] Jenean: Absolutely amazing that I can be such a help to put that positivity out into the world. 

[00:28:18] Christa: Yeah. Yeah. It's a big deal. 

[00:28:20] Jenean: Yeah. 

[00:28:21] Pricing & Accessibility

[00:28:21] Christa: So I don't, I don't know what the pricing is, and I don't know if you wanna talk about the pricing here. Oh, 

[00:28:26] Jenean: yeah, I don't mind talking about pricing.

I'm very transparent about all of that. Like, if you go on my website, it will list everything that I do and every price point I give. 

[00:28:35] Christa: Okay. 

[00:28:35] Jenean: I do not understand- anyone hiding that. Like, why do I need to ask you what that is? Why aren't you openly putting that out there? I'm not charging each person differently.

This is what I charge. So for a bilateral, meaning both, that's a $600 flat fee, and like I said, that includes follow-up touch-ups. 

[00:28:54] Christa: Okay. Unilateral's 

[00:28:55] Jenean: 300. When I do scar camouflage, that's $300 an hour. When someone talks to me and shows me what their scar is, I can say, "Oh, looking at that scar, that's going to take me this long."

[00:29:06] Christa: Okay. 

[00:29:06] Jenean: Always give everyone an idea of what the price will be before they walk in the door- Gotcha ... so they can be fully prepared. 

[00:29:11] Christa: Have people, uh, they came to you, they talked to you, and then decided, "Oh, I really can't afford that," and...? 

[00:29:17] Jenean: There have been a few people who have mentioned that to me, and so then what I then tell them is, "I have a program."

It's not like a certified nonprofit or anything like that. It's just literally a fund that I have friends and companies, like for example, Desert Harvest does a fundraiser every year- Mm-hmm ... to donate into my fund to cover the cost for nipples and scars for people who can't afford them. No one should go without this service if they need it, and they- Yeah

it's detrimental. 

[00:29:46] Christa: How can people donate to this? 

[00:29:48] Jenean: You need to reach out to me. So I've got some people who say, "Hey, if there's a woman who comes in and your fund is low, call me." Or they'll just say, "Hey, I'd like to put this much towards your fund. You use it when you need it. I don't even need to know who's used it."

[00:30:04] Christa: Gotcha. 

[00:30:05] Jenean: A lot of people just wanna be anonymous about it and say, "Hey, this person's covered." 

[00:30:09] Christa: That's beautiful. "

[00:30:10] Jenean: Just let them know." 

[00:30:10] Christa: That's really beautiful. Okay. 

[00:30:12] Future Plans & Challenges

[00:30:12] Christa: What are your future plans? 

[00:30:13] Jenean: Future plans. I'm always trying to reach out to more and more doctors to let them know that I'm here. That's another thing that's hard to do, and I feel like the pharmaceutical companies- 

[00:30:23] Christa: Mm-hmm

[00:30:23] Jenean: have made that part of my job really hard. 

[00:30:26] Christa: Why is that? 

[00:30:27] Jenean: Okay, so when you call a doctor's office and you say, "Hey, I have this service, and I would love just five minutes with the doctor and staff to let them know what I do- Mm ... and let them know that I'm there," pharmaceutical companies, when they come in, they're like, "Hey, we're gonna cover lunch or dinner, whatever, for your entire office so that we can spend five minutes with you."

Mm. So when I call as a lone woman business who does not have the budget, 'cause- Right ... I keep my price point where people can afford it- 

[00:30:55] Christa: Right ... 

[00:30:56] Jenean: um, when they tell me, "Oh, yeah, no, sure. That's great. I'll give you five minutes. Our office is 50, so we need lunch or breakfast for 50 people." 

[00:31:05] Christa: Are you kidding me? 

[00:31:06] Jenean: I can't afford lunch or breakfast for 50 people.

Right. You just took away nipple tattoos for two people. So it can be an issue to try and get around that, so I do a l- as much medical networking as I can, 'cause when someone meets me and I can show them, then that's how I can work around coming into your office.

[00:31:27] Closing & Contact Info

[00:31:27] Christa: Before we close this out, is there anything else that you want the listeners to know about restorative tattoos or just Jenean LaCorte? 

[00:31:35] Jenean: I'm a, I'm an open book. I love to help people. I love my job. Uh, if there's a way that I can help you or someone you know, 'cause un- unfortunately, everyone knows someone who's gone through breast cancer.

[00:31:48] Christa: I have. 

[00:31:48] Jenean: And those numbers aren't getting smaller. 

[00:31:50] Christa: No. 

[00:31:51] Jenean: We're getting checked sooner and finding it out sooner before it gets to stage four, which is awesome. But there's more and more people, and they're younger. They're, I mean, I- we're not just a single demographic anymore when it comes to breast cancer.

And I just want people to know that I'm out there and I can help. And as, and with the scars, you don't have to have had breast cancer. You could have been in a fire. You could have fallen down. You c- whatever it is. Yeah. I, I can... If it's bothering you, I can help you. If you're proud of it, rock on. But if you, if it is bothering you, I can help you.

[00:32:20] Christa: I love it. Thank you for being here, Jenean, and letting us learn more about this process, and saying nipple as many times as you wanted.

[00:32:30] Jenean: Right. Yeah. I, so I have a little catch, catchphrase that's- Yeah ... on my T-shirts and soon to be stickers, but it says, "Ask me about my nipples." 

[00:32:37] Christa: Yeah. 

[00:32:38] Jenean: And my husband at first was like, "You can't put that on a shirt." And I said, "It starts a conversation." 

[00:32:44] Christa: Yeah. 

[00:32:44] Jenean: And I said, and at first you think, oh, you're gonna get men making all kinds of comments.

I said, "Men see it, and they look down at the floor." They don't ask me at all. Who do, who does ask me? Women. 

[00:32:55] Christa: Yeah. 

[00:32:55] Jenean: Grandmothers. Oh, really? I get so many older women who come up to me in the grocery store 'cause I'll forget I'm wearing it, and I'm just da, da, da, going d- down the aisle. And someone's, "So tell me about those nipples."

And, and then s- and it's a conversation, and they're like, "I never knew that existed." I love that. "It's great to know that. You're, oh, you're in the neighborhood. I will keep that in mind." So it's a conversation starter. 

[00:33:15] Christa: love it. 

So your phone number is 910-232-1117, and you're also on Facebook. Are you on Instagram- Yes, ma'am ... okay. Mm-hmm. So Facebook and Instagram.

Go there and check her out, and if you missed all that, come back to my podcast and look in the description, and I'll have all of her information there for you. So thank you for joining me, Jenean. Thank you for having me. 

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