Illnesses, such as breast cancer, can take a lot away from women as many lose their confidence due to issues such as faded or irregular areolas. Some feel that they are no longer completely feminine after getting breast surgery or mastectomies.
Speaking to Lize Hofmeyr, a permanent make-up artist, the 3D areola procedure can help restore their confidence. This procedure forms part of the final process (for patients who choose to undergo it) after they’ve had reconstructive surgery, either for a single or a double mastectomy.
“We are able to tattoo a new areola with a 3D nipple that looks realistic due to shadows we create, despite it still being flat on the surface. For those with a single mastectomy, we do our best to imitate the clients existing areola, in the same shape, colour and texture and although we cannot re-create the texture, we do that using colour and shadows to create veins, little wrinkles. With double mastectomies we create both areolas, keeping the client’s skin colour and features in mind,” says Hofmeyr.
Disclaimer: The image is not for sensitive readers.
Breast Cancer is known to have an enormous psychological impact on women, especially because breasts give women the feeling of femininity.
“When survivors stand in front of the mirror, sometimes all they see is what they lost, so having the 3D areola restoration procedure done adds a tremendous improvement to the overall appearance of a reconstructed breast. Therefore we restore that image to a certain extent,” she continues.
“Due to cancer, you lose everything from your hair, health, and more. Undergoing this procedure made a huge difference for me emotionally and physically as it helped me feel more feminine. It helped me feel better about myself and gave me back my self-confidence. I believe feeling good about yourself plays a very important role in the healing process,” says Christa van Zyl, a breast cancer survivor.
Hofmeyr realised that there is a need to have locals get the procedure done in Bloemfontein without having to go far.
“If you have been through the cancer journey, you have been through so much and I think we have many excellent plastic surgeons and oncologists who walk this journey with you, so I feel if we can offer this to people locally, why the need to travel? Their whole support system is here with them and they have been through everything locally so this next step should be done locally too. We use world class products and had excellent training so there is no need to travel far to get it done.”
Hofmeyr, along with her partner, Jeakita Bodenstein, are planning to give away free treatment as it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. People can just look out for it on her Facebook Page. Follow her at Lize Hofmeyr for more information.
Bonolo Moloi
[email protected]
