At 40, she has just opened a new chapter in her life. She is Alexia Cassar, former researcher specializing in oncology , spent a time by the pharmaceutical industry and since converted into tattooing , an art that acted for her as "accelerated psychotherapy" in the difficult moments of her life whose daughter's disease, leukemia, diagnosed only 10 months.

A "test of life" that gives her the desire to live it in depth, "with empathy and sympathy", two human qualities that she places today at the heart of her 3D breast reconstruction tattoo recognition project. . A specific technique initiated by tattoo artist Vinnie Myers more than 15 years ago in the United States, which is still struggling to settle in Europe.

KissKissBankBank at The Teton Tattoo Shop

Supported by the medical community, including the cancer center Gustave Roussy and Institut Curie , Alexia has already tattooed a dozen breast cancer survivors. Not enough when we know that about 20,000 women undergo a mastectomy each year in France .

With this statement and her desire to make things happen, she then had the idea, last April, to launch a call for donations for The Teton Tattoo Project on KissKissBankBank. His ambition then? Open the first 3D tattoo parlor dedicated to breast reconstruction.
Mission accomplished 6 months later with the opening on September 11, 2017 of The Tétons Tattoo Shop, a wellness bubble of 20m2 installed in its own garden in Marly-la-Ville (Val d'Oise).

For MC, who has followed her since the beginning of the adventure *, she returns to the outcome of this project.

How did the idea of ​​a 100% tattoo parlor dedicated to breast reconstruction come about?

"It's a bit crazy bet, but it made sense to me after trying the breast reconstruction tattoo in the places where it is currently practiced. At the hospital first, where breast reconstruction patients are logically oriented. There, it is mainly nurses and interns trained in medical dermopigmentation who proceed to the drawing of the areolas . The disadvantage for the patients, it is precisely this return in a hospital environment which is also led to be repeated every two years or so since the medical tattoo fades little by little.

Some beauticians are also trained in these techniques but the beauty institute does not necessarily lend itself to such a "psychological" act. Ditto for classic tattoo parlors. I experienced it myself with my first reconstructions: there is not really any intimacy, it is not an act of which one is accustomed in these environments where one considers the tattoo first as an art.

You are today the only specialist trained in 3D reconstruction tattooing in Europe. What is the specificity of this technique?

"The main difference with the classic reconstruction tattoo or medical tattoo, lies in the pigments used. In the case of the 3D reconstruction tattoo, the same pigments as used in tattoo parlors are used. They are permanent pigments - safe and monitored - which, unlike the labile medical pigments used in the hospital, or pigments used for semi-permanent make-up institute, will not fade over time. It is therefore a definitive act that allows ex-patients to return to their lives.

The other specificity of this tattoo lies in the artistic approach: the technique of 3D drawing, which gives realism to tattooing , is learned. That's what I went for in the training I received from North American tattoo artist Stacie-Rae Weir. It is also thanks to this realism that women can for example do without the reconstruction of the nipple, which consists of a rather painful operation since skin flaps are taken from the intimate parts to graft them onto the breast. . "

With the 3D tattoo, we visually recreate the volumes.

How do you explain that it is still so rare among us?

"Tattoo artists are not necessarily interested in breast reconstruction. It is an observation without judgment. Simply, the tattoo is seen for the majority of them as an art, not as an act "aesthetic" that would complement a medical gesture. And then you have to be sensitive to the subject. Reconstruction drawing is often fraught with meaning and hope for healed women. They therefore need to be listened to.

It's a bit of the last step on the way back to femininity. "

How is a 3D tattoo session of breast reconstruction?

"Before the opening of the salon, I practiced the technique every Tuesday in a medical center. Now I can optimize my schedule, already well filled until the end of November. To not trivialize the gesture, however, I do not want to do nonstop. In parallel, I participate in medical conferences to make known the alternative.

What I want is to rebuild the woman behind the nipple.

For this, I receive them for a first appointment that lasts about 4 hours. Generally, we have previously exchanged by email or phone. I also ask them to send me pictures of their reconstructed breast (s).

At the moment, we still talk a lot, they tell me their journey. I offer them a drawing, we adjust it together. Then I proceed to the selection of pigments to get as close as possible to the initial color of the nipples. The act itself lasts about 30 minutes. I always ask them to come back to see me 3 months later to make alterations. Generally, there is a lightening of the drawing of 20 to 30%. So I change the contrast a bit and then it's over. For real. "

In concrete terms, how much does it cost?

"I charge 400 euros for the 3D tattoo of a breast, 600 euros for both breasts. This sum is not reimbursed by the Social Security which only compensates the medical tattoo, up to 125 euros.

However, I received some time ago the support of the mutual Malakoff Médéric, who not only helped me financially to the construction of the project but who now thinks to take over part of the act for its members. "

What happens when these women discover each other after the session?

"It's always a very moving moment. I have shivers every time I talk about it. You see them arrive often bent, they undress without even looking at each other. But when they find themselves in the mirror, they open up, literally. This moment is priceless. "

I have the impression each time to witness a rebirth.

With this show, do you plan to eventually teach the technique?

"Absolutely! There is a great need for tattoo artists and tattooers trained in reconstruction. I would be happy to be able to provide my expertise and my experience on the subject to people really interested. Especially since I am convinced that this gesture, far from being innocuous, must be done by people who want to do it.

For now, I invest as much as possible in the association Sisters Ink by Rose Tattoo, a collective that brings together tattooers sensitive to breast reconstruction and with which we try to formalize some good practices. We are supported by doctors and caregivers on this subject. If the medical profession could be dubitative, it is today very attentive and even in the accompaniment of our approach. Many surgeons send me directly to their patients. It is a satisfaction and a recognition. "

Contact: https://thepeonycompany.fr/ or www.facebook.com/tatouage3Dcancerdusein/
* Article originally published on April 7, 2017, updated on September 21, 2017.