This Tattoo App Isn't Like One You've Seen Before

Breast Cancer Awareness Month places a lot of much-needed focus on educating people on various early detection practices, but a just-released iPhone app is now placing more emphasis on how to recover after you’ve beaten the disease. A new app for breast cancer survivors, Inkspiration helps women who are self-conscious about their bodies post-treatment turn their mastectomy scars into meaningful tattoos.

Created by advertising agency exec Noel Franus, the app gives users the ability to pick various tattoos from an image gallery and “try them on” using either an uploaded photo of themselves or a built-in body prototype. It also helps them connect with qualified tattoo artists in their area.

The app was reportedly inspired by Franus’ own sister-in-law, who struggled to find a creative way to cover up her mastectomy scars after undergoing the surgery. Motivated to take action, Franus decided to start a non-profit called Personal Ink (P.INK). P.INK uses Pinterest to help users find tattoo ideas for covering their undesired scars. Now, he is taking the concept one step further, with the launch of Inkspiration.

“For all the great awareness and money raised to promote breast cancer awareness, very little of that conversation each October is focused on surviving with it. But even after you’ve ‘beaten’ the disease, it’s often left its mark in the form of unwanted scars,” Franus told the Daily Dot of the idea.

While mastectomy tattoos may not be the right choice for everyone, it’s a pretty cool concept for those who are looking to transform scars they would have otherwise kept hidden. Not to mention, it's becoming an increasingly popular trend among breast cancer survivors. As The Guardian reported last year, there is an increasing number of women these days who are choosing to cover their scars with tattoos rather than undergo breast reconstruction, an expensive option which can require multiple surgeries and isn't always successful.

Should survivors choose to go the tattoo route, this app could help them choose the right ink. In the future, the app may also add other resources, such as the ability to order temporary tattoos.

Currently, Inkspiration is only available on iPhone, but an Android version is also in development.

Image: YouTube