Restored by Ink brings medical tattooing to community
Services include nipple restoration and scar camouflage
– Restored by Ink, a Templeton-based paramedical tattooing business, provides services to camouflage post-operation scars, areola and nipple restoration, and more to restore confidence in clients. Owner Monica Hollenbeck was inspired to start her business as a breast cancer survivor who has received 3D areola and nipple tattoo restoration.
“When I realized how life-changing my experience was after getting my own tattoos, I wished I could do that for other survivors. When I heard that I could get trained to do that, due to the fact that I have always been artistic, I couldn’t wait to go train,” said Hollenbeck, adding that “today I have expanded my work to people with scars, stretch marks and people missing body parts such as areolas, belly buttons, toenails, [and more]. Restorative tattooing is an amazing tool that can transform one’s life and I am very grateful to be able to help people in this capacity.”
Owner Monica Hollenbeck consulting with a client.
Hollenbeck was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and underwent bilateral mastectomies, chemotherapy, radiation, and six surgeries. She visited a paramedical tattoo artist in San Diego in 2016 for 3D areola and nipple restoration as a nipple reconstruction surgery had previously failed.
“After I had my own tattoos done, I noticed something very interesting. Before I had my tattoos done, every single time I came out of the shower and looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes kept looking for something and since there were no nipples, they stopped at my scars and that reminded me of cancer every single day. After the tattoos, I noticed that my brain wasn’t directing my eyes to look for nipples when I looked at myself in the mirror, and that eventually I didn’t even see my scars or think about cancer anymore,” Hollenbeck said.
Some of the services that Restored by Ink provides include 3D nipple and areola restoration and camouflage and lightening of scars, such as those from surgery, acne, self-harm, burns, and more. There are also two techniques offered to diminish stretch marks: stretch mark camouflage, where pigment is put into the tissue, and inkless stretch mark revision, where a tattoo machine creates “micro-channels in the skin, which stimulates the production of collagen and elastin,” according to the website.
A before and after from a Restored by Ink procedure.
Hollenbeck, along with the tattoo artist who did her tattoos and his wife, held “The First Central Coast 3D Nipple Tattoo Day” in 2016 for fellow breast cancer survivors. The experience from this event inspired Hollenbeck, and after encouragement from her friend Reeda McClellan in 2021, she began her paramedical tattooing training.
“The process of becoming a paramedical tattoo artist is a long one. I have trained with some of the best artists in the country to be able to offer the latest and greatest techniques available. I have spent years studying, practicing and perfecting my craft,” said Hollenbeck, who trained in Brazilian camouflage in 2023, a technique to match the pigment to the clients skin tone.
Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Hollenbeck worked as a clinical psychologist and later in the customer service industry when she moved to the U.S. She has lived on the Central Coast for close to 20 years and supports local cancer community groups, including leading the Atascadero Face2Face Young Survival Coalition. Her daughter is an astrophysicist and Hollenbeck enjoys road cycling, entertaining friends, and cooking.
Hollenbeck has trained as a paramedical tattoo artist with renowned artists nationwide.
Hollenbeck adds that “being a paramedical tattoo artist means I specialize in tattooing scar tissue and I do not do regular tattoos. I know from my own experience that mastectomy tattoos are life-changing and I am blessed to not think about cancer every day. Because I understand that, I get more excited than my patients on the day of their procedure…In America, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Not all of them will have mastectomies and not everyone that has a mastectomy will lose their nipples. However, the ones that do lose their nipples need to know about 3D nipple [and] areola tattooing. There’s nothing more rewarding and satisfying than being able to restore confidence to another human being.”
Restored by Ink is located at 292 Posada Lane STE C in Templeton. For more information, call (805) 801 – 9993 or visit the website here.
-By Sadie Mae Mace
