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Media Feature — Interview on Mastectomy Scar-Cover Tattooing & Healing

Media Feature — Interview on Mastectomy Scar-Cover Tattooing & Healing

In June of 2025, Nikki Thompson had the honor of being interviewed for an Australian medical journal in recognition of her decades-long work in paramedical tattooing, with a focus on post-mastectomy areola restoration and patient-centered healing.

This in-depth conversation explores the intersection of art, medicine, and emotional recovery — highlighting the role of restorative tattooing not only in physical appearance, but in dignity, identity, and trust.

The full interview transcript appears below.

During the study, I was given the pseudonym Angerona — a figure associated with relieving pain, keeping sacred secrets, and the winter solstice: helping light return after darkness. I smiled when I heard that, because I was born in December — and I’ve recently expanded my studio’s healing focus with red light therapy devices that support recovery and restoration.

And honestly, tattooing can be a lot like being a hairdresser or bartender: clients often share things they’ve never said out loud before. I treat that trust with care, because this work is more than ink — it’s a safe space, a turning point, and a powerful step forward.

The transcript is here:

After breast cancer took her mother, this tattooist helps survivors heal by covering scars with artwork

With just a glance, a scar can resurface a painful past. That’s why thousands are traveling to a small town in North Carolina to pay Nikki Thompson a visit.

Credit: Nikki Thompson Tattoo Studio

MATTHEWS, N.C. — VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED: The following story contains sensitive imagery including nudity related to breast reconstruction.

Julie Markow and Teri Smith don’t know each other.

Yet, a dark commonality has led the women on a vulnerable journey.

Like hundreds of thousands of others, Markow and Smith have bared all in the surgery room, with both having undergone double mastectomies. But the two also have visited a different, empowering room: The backroom of Nikki’s Tattoo Studio.

READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW:

https://www.11alive.com/article/syndication/heartthreads/tattoo-artist-helps-breast-cancer-survivors-heal-with-artwork/507-5acb34c1-fdb7-4ea0-a3c0-aa54e7452877

September 27, 2022 - Paint the Pit Wall Pink @ Charlotter Motor Speedway

What a great experience this was and was worth every bit of time put into the artwork. In Oct 2022, Nikki was invited to create a design for the Roval Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and,

Kurt Busch's “Window of Hope” to raise awareness and funds to support breast cancer awareness in the Charlotte community.
Nikki Thompson was one of the 5 artists in NC asked to design artwork for the hood. Voting started on this day (see pictures below) Nikki's design was voted 2nd place. So her car and hood was on display in the vendors section of the speedway all weekend for race fans to admire. Such an honor!!

Car Design Reveal!

Nikki Thompson designed the artwork placed on the blue car. It was on display during the race and helped a worthy cause.

Kurt Busch speaking to news channels.

"It was an honor to spend the day with so many survivors and breast cancer awareness advocates. I can’t thank the NASCAR community enough for helping support #WindowOfHope and the fight against breast cancer." Kurt Busch

Original Artwork BEFORE on Hood of Car.

#NikkiThompson of #NikkisTattooStudio has a personal interest in the design of this artwork piece. After breast cancer took her mother, this tattooist helps survivors heal by covering scars with artwork"

Meet Danny Thompson

"This is my husband, Danny Thompson. He is a regular on TV Show Airplane Repo, on Discovery Channel. The show originally aired 2013-2015. Danny is in 30 episodes. And yes...I've done all of his tattoos!! I get asked that a lot-funny :) Of course, where else would he go?!

He can be seen on repeats and streaming at Discovery channel. It is super suspenseful!! What a cool experience in life.

#Airplanerepo Here is a link to check out a clip:
https://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/airplane-repo
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5822770/?ref_=nv_sr_3?ref_=nv_sr_3

More people are getting tattoos than ever before. But these Charlotte shop owners remember a shiftier, underground culture

Charlotte Axios interview.

Nikki Thompson specializes in cosmetic tattooing, such as permanent makeup. Thompson’s studio also offers scar coverage and mastectomy tattooing. “Erasing people’s traumas is my passion, whether it’s from breast cancer or surgery,” she said. Thompson says the growth is exciting, but she doesn’t want people to mistake accessibility for true training. “It used to take people a year or more just to learn how to use the equipment on the skin,” said Thompson. “You can learn much faster now.”

READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW:

https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2023/01/30/more-people-are-getting-tattoos-than-ever-before-but-these-charlotte-shop-owners-remember-a-shiftier-underground-culture-317054

IS IT OVER YET?: Kim Lawson endures the pain of her first tattoo. Credit: Angus Lamond

Getting Inked

One woman’s painful journey

Kimberly Lawson July 11, 2007

"When I heard that Jeff Hahne — Creative Loafing‘s music editor — was writing a story about tattoos, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. How fun it would be to talk to people who’d been brave enough to undergo the pierce of permanence. I’d always wanted a “tatt” myself, but I’d never been able to bring myself to do it. That’s always been my problem: fear of the unknown.

But when Jeff suggested that a nice addition to the story would be to have someone get a tattoo and write about it, I volunteered. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe it was the beer I was drinking at the time. Maybe a rebellious spirit took hold of me. Maybe I was just tired of being scared.

The day of my tattoo appointment, fellow Loafer and buddy Branna accompanied me to Nikki’s Tattoo Studio on Monroe Road.

READ MORE: Getting inked - https://clclt.com/news-2/getting-inked-2142919/

Picture Credit: Angus Lamond

Nikki Thompson
Local tattoo artist

Kimberly Lawson - March 28, 2007

Nikki’s Tattoo Studio, located on Monroe Road, is the only tattoo studio in Charlotte that is owned and operated by a woman. Nikki Thompson, the owner, doesn’t know why the field is so male-dominated. After all, she says “it’s just art.”

Fifteen years ago when she first started tattooing, there was one tattoo shop and one really well-known tattoo artist who worked out of his house in all of Charlotte. She worked at the one tattoo shop, and when that closed, she had to open up her own shop “out of necessity.” The first two years of her business, she rented space out of her friend’s clothing store.

“I do things from nature real well, like flowers, trees, animals. I probably do those better than other things,” says Thompson. “I really enjoy doing pet portraits as well.”

She also does permanent makeup, which is a form of tattooing — eyeliner, full lip color and eyebrows. “And I’m one of the few people who actually has been to school and been trained. I have over 100 hours of training.”

Thompson also specializes in scar camouflage and areola restoration, which is often performed when a woman gets her breast reconstructed after losing it to breast cancer. She does at least three procedures of this type a week.

READ MORE: Nikki Thompson - https://clclt.com/news-2/nikki-thompson-2142199/