Nurse Turns to Tattoo Job — KC Nursing News

Written by Arley Hoskin
KC Nursing News: Nurse Turns to Tattoo Job —
January 26, 2009
Kansas City Nursing News

Marcia Renner gave her nursing career a makeover about 10 years ago. Renner, who had served as a nurse in a variety of roles, decided to use her skills to launch a career in permanent makeup application.
Permanent makeup combines the art of cosmetics and tattoos to provide convenience to men and women tired of daily eyeliner and eyebrow rituals.
As a nurse, Renner assists people who have medical reasons to want tattooed eyebrows or eyeliner at her Westport studio.
“The medical part is what interested me most,” Renner said.
Renner provides discounts to breast cancer patients. Patients often lose their eyebrows during treatment, and Renner said many patients say they cry too much to wear eyeliner during treatment.
“The number one thing is getting the patient healed from the cancer. The makeup just helps with the feel good part,” Renner said.
Breast cancer survivor Chris Chopskie, Olathe, knows firsthand how important it is for cancer patients to feel good about themselves.
“Any little bit you can do to make yourself feel better helps,” Chopskie said. “When you are feeling like you are at the bottom of the barrel, anything that can make you feel better does help in your recovery.”
Chopskie has been cancer-free for more than three years. Her treatment included radiation.
“It was really tiresome,” Chopskie said.
Chopskie stays connected to area cancer patients, volunteering for Cancer Action, a nonprofit organization that provides support to cancer patients throughout the metro area.
“As a volunteer, I maintain and keep up the wig room,” Chopskie said.
Chopskie recently decided to get permanent makeup for eyeliner and eyebrows. Cancer treatment did not cause Chopskie to lose her eyebrows, but she knows other patients who were not as fortunate.
“If you lose the hair in your eyebrows, it’s really hard to grow back,” Chopskie said.
Along with eyebrows and eyeliner, Renner also tattoos on nipples for patients whose treatment included a mastectomy.
Renner said she plans to focus more on serving medical patients.
“My focus on the medical patients is probably the best business plan for the economy we have now,” Renner said.
Renner said people with Parkinson’s and other nerve-related diseases opt for permanent makeup when they are no longer able to apply their own makeup.
Renner also applies eyebrows to patients with alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss.
“Sometimes the pattern of alopecia doesn’t make sense,” Renner said.
Renner provides her customers with a consistent set of eyebrows through her tattoo ink.
The process Renner uses varies greatly from that of a traditional tattoo artist. Renner uses a nonelectrical device to inject the ink into the skin.
“It holds the (ink) kind of like a quill,” Renner said.
Renner also uses an infiltration technique to distribute anesthetic to her patients. The anesthetic makes the process painless.
“I can barely feel it,” Chopskie said as Renner tattooed on her eyeliner.
People who apply permanent makeup need a tattoo license, but they are not required to have any type of medical license.
Renner said her nursing background has helped her establish herself as a permanent makeup artist. She sees permanent makeup as an opportunity for nurses who want to work outside of hospitals.
“It’s probably one of the fastest growing fields in the United States,” Renner said.
Renner volunteers her services for cancer patients who need eyebrows, eyeliner, and areola/nipple tattooing. She said she expects the demand for permanent makeup to increase.
“It’s becoming more and more popular,” Renner said. Nurse turns to tattoo job