A Kirkcudbright mum is helping breast cancer survivors “feel like women again”.
Nicole Hunter has joined forces with the Nipple Innovation Project (NiP) to offer free, realistic 3D nipple tattoos to women who have undergone a mastectomy.
And that’s helping re-empower them and giving them back their confidence.
Nicole, who runs VIP Brows, said: “It’s massive for them. Some of the women haven’t looked at their bodies for 10 years because they don’t feel like themselves any more.
“It’s the final piece of the puzzle for them. It makes them feel back to normal, empowered and back to feeling like a woman again.”
Nicole first began giving free eyebrow tattoos to people who had been through chemotherapy in 2017.
Two years later she moved on to offering free nipple tattoos but the financial burden saw her link up with NiP – the UK’s first mastectomy tattoo charity.
Nicole added: “Once we went into lockdown I was searching about on the internet for anything available and came across the charity.
“I had to do a series of mini trials to become involved with them but it now means I can offer a couple of free clinics a month in Dumfries and Galloway which is something we don’t have.”
NiP is creating a directory of tattoo artists around the UK who can carry out the work and can also provide funding if required.
Nicole, who runs clinics in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries, Castle Douglas and Stranraer, is the only person in Scotland offering the service through NiP which is also available to men after breast cancer treatment.
Charity founder Lucy Thomson said: “The Nipple Innovation Project is delighted to welcome Nicole to the team, adding another location to our growing directory.
“The idea is to provide a safe and trusted resource to the breast cancer community that offers a consistently high standard throughout the UK. Our goal is to have an artist in every city so this service is easily accessible to all.
“We acknowledge the psychological importance these medical tattoos hold and our skilled artists work hard to create permanent, empowering results that restore confidence and self esteem after cancer.
Nicole can be contacted on 07712677287 or by emailing enquiries@vipbrows.com
