2005 was the beginning of a new phase in my life. That year, I got my very first diploma in permanent make-up practice. But the path to that choice was anything but obvious.
A long time ago, that sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale, I started training at HBO Fontys Hogeschool teacher training programme Health Science Omgangskunde (formerly Higher Education South Netherlands), it was going to be my dream job. Unfortunately, there was little to no supply of new jobs.
I found a job, not the dream job I had studied for. I ended up in marketing, where I discovered other creative sides of myself. Late, I noticed that combining work and young children (my son and daughter are now in their twenties) was a huge challenge for me. Finding the balance between work and family was difficult and I knew something had to change.
During that time, I was suffering from eczema and I had developed a compulsion, pulling out my own hair. This increased during that uncertain period and it even got so bad that I had to have a hairpiece fitted. I masked the bald spots on my head with that hairpiece. Just two years ago, I was interviewed by the NRC about this compulsion and how I got into my profession. This condition is called Trichotillomania (trichotillomania).
What I did discover during that time was that I could draw well. My talent for drawing remained dormant in the background until I decided to change course. I started focusing entirely on a permanent make-up practice. A profession in which my love for creativity and precision came together with my desire to help people.
The deciding factor came when I watched a documentary. What I went ‘ON’ to was the work of plastic surgeon Professor Monstré, breast reconstruction after breast cancer. It showed what a doctor cannot do, the reconstruction of the nipple and areola that make the woman complete in her womanhood again.
It touched me deeply. The idea that you can help a woman feel complete again after something as drastic as breast cancer gave me the final push towards my new mission. Medical tattooing.
Since then, I have focused not only on permanent make-up, but also on medical tattoos. Nipple tattoos make a difference – not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. It is work that is meaningful and for which I am grateful every day.
2005 marked the beginning of Permanent Beautiful, and I am still happy with the choice I made then. It is more than a profession; it is my passion to help women regain their self-confidence.
I take my own experiences into my work on a daily basis. Many women, as well as men, visit my practice with similar challenges. I know from my own experience what it is like to feel ‘different’, and therefore I fully understand my clients when they come in with a hair problem. Whether it is alopecia (hair loss), vitiligo (depigmentation), eczema, or people struggling with hair pull-out disorder; my life experience allows me to support them in a personal and understanding way. Using permanent make-up and medical tattooing, I not only offer a solution, but also bring back a piece of self-confidence.
How exciting I found that. Well, you do start doing something completely different. By drawing a lot and doing a lot of permanent make-up, I gained more and more confidence in my work. And so I was finally able to start medical tattooing. It’s a long road. Because before I was able to do this form of permanent make-up in practice, I practised a lot.
Back then, I started with a handpiece WITH a cord!!! Fortunately, I now have more modern equipment, cordless.
You can read more about me here.
