'I tattoo nipples for breast cancer survivors for free'

A woman is helping change the lives of breast cancer survivors by giving them 3D nipple and areola tattoos free of charge.

Kirsty Jackson, 36, from Bury St Edmunds, runs Belle Rose Lashes and Beauty Academy and recently trained to be able to offer the service tailored to her client's needs and wants.

Ms Jackson said the tattoos helped cancer survivors regain their confidence after a challenging period in their lives.

"It's to give women back their confidence after they've been through a really tough time having a mastectomy and it's the final step for them after undergoing all that treatment," she explained. "It's a really rewarding thing to be able to give back to people."

Ms Jackson trained through The Tata Foundation - a charity set up to raise funds to cover the cost of products, equipment, and time to create these life-changing tattoos.

She said it was important for her to offer the service free of charge.

"It was never really about the money for me," she continued.

"There are people who do charge for this service, but it's such a rewarding thing to be able to give that back to women and that's the main reason why I wanted to do it.

"So, I can give a bit of something back and have that rewarding feeling at the end seeing their faces when they see the finished result.

"It's a lovely thing to be able to do and I just hope that I can help people."

Ms Jackson said often the moment when she had finished the tattoos was very emotional.

She explained she could immediately see it on her client's faces when they were finished.

"Some of these women haven't had nipples for years... once they see that they've got the finished result again it's overwhelming and it's such a rewarding feeling," she continued.

"That's why I've chosen to do this for free because for me that's good enough, seeing their faces and knowing that they'll have that tattoo on them for the rest of their lives.

"They can move forward with their lives and feel more confident in themselves."

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