Feel whole again.
Paramedical tattoo studio · Santa Barbara, CA
Hi, I'm Ella, a paramedical tattoo artist in Santa Barbara. I put color back into skin where surgery, cancer, pregnancy or an accident took it. Most people have never heard of this job. That is usually the first thing we talk about.
Free 15-minute phone consult. Text me two photos and I will tell you honestly what is possible, and what is not.
The part nobody warns you about
The scar healed exactly the way scars heal. The reconstruction went the way it was supposed to. Everyone told you how lucky you were, and they were right, and you still stopped looking in the mirror.
That is the part I hear about all day. People tell me they stopped seeing their body and started seeing only the mark. They dress around it. They pick the swimsuit that covers it and then skip the pool day anyway. And then it has been eleven years.
You have already done the hard part. Liking what you see should not be the thing you are still waiting on.
Who you would be sitting with
Before this, my job was restorative dental artistry. Crowns, front teeth, color matched so closely that nobody could ever tell. Fractions of a millimeter, inside a moving, talking human being who was usually nervous when they sat down.
So calming people down is not a bedside manner I picked up for this work. It is what I have been doing for two decades. I do not hurry. You get breaks whenever you want them. Nothing starts until the color is right against your skin.
In 2022 I heard Sherah Juarez speak about areola restoration and I was blown away, mostly by the art, and by the idea that this can make somebody feel whole again. I came home and told my husband I was done with eyebrows. Same precision, same color science, much better ending.
Ella's not gonna let you go until it's right.
What I do
Every session starts the same way, with pigment mixed to your skin instead of picked off a chart. Your skin is not one color. It is a recipe.
Surgery, injury, burns
Custom pigment placed into the scar itself so the line stops announcing itself and starts reading as skin. Old scars camouflage beautifully. If yours is not a candidate, I will say so on the phone, for free.
How it works
After mastectomy
Shading, shadow and color built by hand until something that is flat reads as three-dimensional. Your surgeon closed the chapter. This is the part where you feel at home in your skin again.
What to expect
Pregnancy, weight change
For the pale silver lines that have quietly been deciding what you wear. Matured, lightened marks take pigment best, which is why the honest answer usually starts with a look at your photos.
Am I a candidate
Tummy tuck, hernia repair
A belly button drawn back by hand after a tummy tuck or hernia repair, shaded so it reads as a real one with depth. Rare work, and honestly my favorite thing to draw.
How it works
Raised or textured scars
Softens raised or textured scars, like a tummy tuck scar, so they sit closer to the skin around them. Sometimes it is the whole plan, and sometimes it is the first step before scar camouflage.
Which one do I need
How this actually goes
Send two photos of the area to 805-971-0097. Daylight, no filter, no makeup over it. You do not have to explain anything yet. That is the whole first step.
We talk it through, phone or FaceTime, whichever is easier. I tell you honestly what is possible, how many sessions it usually takes, and what it would cost. If your scar is not ready, I will tell you that too.
Unhurried, with breaks whenever you want them, Sade playing, color mixed to you and nobody else. Then the part I do this job for.
In their words
Word for word, from the people who sat in the chair.
I hesitated a while before getting a nipple tattoo after reconstructive surgery, but it was one of the best decisions I've made. Ella was skilled and empathetic, guiding me through every decision on size and color. I can't believe how realistic it looks! She made the experience feel safe and comfortable. The results are incredible- it's amazing how something so small can make you feel whole again.
Ella is very detail oriented and did not rush through the appointment. The appearance of the scar is noticeably reduced and my eye no longer goes straight to where it was. It is so well blended with my skin tone and texture now. Highly recommend Advanced Paramedical Aesthetics.
I am so grateful to Ella. After going through breast cancer, a single mastectomy & reconstruction she has helped me to feel like myself again! She does beautiful work & she is so comforting. What an amazing artist & wonderful person.
Results and healing vary from person to person, and not every scar is a candidate. That is exactly what the free consult is for.
Not ready to text yet
The honest guide to scar camouflage. What qualifies, what does not, how long you have to wait after surgery, and the questions worth asking anyone who offers this. Free, no email gymnastics.
Takes about four minutes to read.
Where people come from
The studio is on Hollister Avenue in Santa Barbara. Clients drive in from Goleta, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura, Oxnard, San Luis Obispo, and regularly from Los Angeles and the Valley.
My honest advice if you are driving up: take the morning session and spend the afternoon at the beach. I say that to everybody, and everybody listens.
Asked in the first text, usually
The rest of them, including cost, healing and insurance, live on the FAQ page.
Less than people expect, and it depends entirely on where we are working. After breast reconstruction most people have very little sensation there. Cut scars like a C-section or a tummy tuck tend to have fewer nerve endings too. An old surface scar or a burn can feel more. You can take a break whenever you want, there is a stress ball if you want something to squeeze, and I never rush you.
No. Old scars are often the best candidates, because they are fully matured and the color has settled. What I need is a scar that is done changing, which usually means at least a year past surgery. Send me photos and I will tell you where yours is.
No, and this is the thing people get wrong most. Camouflage work is exacting. Scars differ in texture, color and age, some of them are not candidates at all, and matching your tone is the whole game, so it does not end up looking like a white line on your stomach. Your skin is not one color. It is at least seven, blended into one.
Most work takes one session plus a touch-up, and some cases take two before that. Skin takes pigment differently from person to person, which is why the touch-up is part of the plan rather than an upsell. We agree on the whole thing before anything starts.
The last stop
Two photos, fifteen minutes on the phone, and an honest answer. Nobody has ever regretted asking, and I have never once made someone feel silly for wondering.