When: March 4-6, 2026

Where: Detroit Marriot at the Renaissance Center

This course is part of a shared initiative with Spot On Survivor a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, advancing ethical restorative tattoo education and expanded access to care for breast cancer survivors.

Kara Gutierrez, an areola reconstructive tattoo instructor and student wearing masks and glasses tattooing a reconstructive areola tattoo in a class setting.
Sean Brown, an areola reconstructive tattoo artist designing a woman's left breast reconstructive areola tattoo, woman wearing a purple floral top, artist has tattoos on his arms, close-up view.
Kara Gutierrez, an areola reconstructive tattoo coach, giving a demonstration to two women with masks, in a treatment setting.
An overhead view of Sean Brown, an Areola Reconstructive Tattoo artist, working on a client's breast in a class tattoo station, with tattoo equipment and supplies visible.
A close-up photo of Liz Cook Tattoo leaning in to demonstrate a tattoo during a class, wearing a black glove on her right hand and holding a Bishop Fantom rotary tattoo machine.

What to Expect

A close-up photo of Sean Brown performing an areola reconstructive tattoo procedure on a patient's breast, with the use of gloves and tattoo machine.

  • This training is designed for experienced artists. You’ll be learning alongside peers who already have technical competence and are ready to refine judgment, restraint, and decision-making. The pace is focused, respectful, and intentional—no fluff, no rushing, no ego.

  • You will observe and participate in hands-on training that reflects the realities of working with scarred, radiated, grafted, or reconstructed tissue. Every demonstration and exercise is framed through long-term skin health, healed outcomes, and ethical responsibility—not shortcuts or surface-level results.

  • This course honors the emotional weight of areola and scar tattooing without turning it into spectacle. Survivors are treated with dignity and care. Language, pacing, consent, and boundaries are modeled throughout—so you leave knowing how to hold space without overstepping it.

  • This is not a stage-and-slide presentation. You’ll have meaningful access to all four educators through live instruction, demonstrations, critique, and discussion. Questions are encouraged. Nuance is welcomed. Learning happens in real time, not in theory.

  • You are not here to be rushed through material or handed confidence you haven’t earned. You should expect thoughtful feedback, honest guidance, and an emphasis on judgment over speed. The goal is not perfection—it’s preparedness, clarity, and respect for the work you’re choosing to do.

This training isn’t about proving how much you can do. It’s about knowing when to stop—and why that’s mastery.

Meet Your Instructors
Half-length portrait of Kara Gutierrez, an Areola Reconstructive Tattoo coach with long dark hair, smiling, wearing a black leather top and matching blazer against a plain white background.

Kara Gutierrez

Kara Gutierrez is a licensed tattoo artist and survivor advocate specializing in advanced scar-aware and areola restoration for breast cancer survivors. Her work focuses on restoring agency, dignity, and psychological safety through trauma-informed restorative tattooing.

Half-length portrait photo of Dr. Arian Culp MD, wearing black scrubs with a name tag, smiling, and standing against a white background.

Arian Culp MD

Dr. Culp is a board-certified physician specializing in the long-term physical and psychological impacts of illness and trauma. He advocates for trauma-informed, medically grounded restorative care that supports survivor safety, dignity, and embodied healing beyond treatment.

Portrait photo of Liz Cook Tattoo, smiling with dark brown and pink hair with pink tips, wearing a black top with a visible teal strap, standing against a stone wall.

Liz Cook

Liz Cook is a master tattoo artist and educator specializing in color theory, pigment science, and hyperrealism. With decades of experience, she bridges art and science to teach intuitive, responsible tattooing—especially in restorative contexts where judgment, restraint, and emotional intelligence matter most.

Sean Brown sitting among a group of people. Some are standing around him, and one hand is resting on his shoulder. The background has various people dressed in casual and business attire.

Sean Brown

Entrepreneur, tattooer, educator, and regulatory compliance expert with extensive experience in tattooing, FDA affairs, ISO systems, and brand development. Former General Manager of Eternal Ink, Director of Product Regulatory Compliance for Nexus Brands Group, and Founder of the Tattoo Industry Manufacturers Alliance, Ever After Pigments, and Republic Tattoo Supply.

Workshop Itinerary Overview

What topics are covered in the Advanced Areola & Scar-Aware Tattoo Intensive course? The AASAT Intensive covers medical awareness, scar behavior, ethical practice, pigment theory, and advanced hyper realistic techniques for post-surgical skin. See the following dropdown menu for more details.

  • Establish standards, responsibilities, and boundaries for restorative tattooing, including safety considerations and informed decision-making on altered tissue.

  • Reviewing key realities of breast cancer care and survivorship to align restorative work with timing, respect, and survivor-centered care.

  • Identifying common surgical procedures and resulting tissue presentations, with focus on how these conditions influence planning and expectations.

  • Applying principles of color, value, and visual realism in ways that support believable, long-term results on compromised skin.

  • Establishing consultation approaches that prioritize consent, clarity, emotional safety, and appropriate expectation setting.

  • Implementing charting and documentation standards that support continuity of care, compliance, and professional accountability.

  • Preparing designs and visual guides that respect anatomy, symmetry, and healed outcomes.

  • Providing aftercare direction specific to reconstructed and sensitive tissue to support healing and pigment retention.

  • Addressing complex scenarios such as vitiligo and previous corrective work, with emphasis on risk assessment and ethical decision-making.

Kara Gutierrez, the areola reconstructive tattoo artist, dressed in blue scrubs and glasses performs a tattoo procedure on a patient while another person observes, both wearing masks.

  • “Art gives us vision. Science gives us clarity. Human connection gives the work meaning.”

    Liz Cook

  • I teach and tattoo because restoring what trauma took is sacred work, and I’m driven by the transformation that happens when artists are truly educated, supported, and trusted with the skill, ethics, and confidence to give people their bodies and confidence back through restorative tattooing.

    Kara Gutierrez

  • I teach and tattoo because for many survivors this work is the final step in reclaiming wholeness, where identity, dignity and the nervous system finally received permission to close the trauma loop and feel complete again.

    Sean Brown

  • “Healing doesn’t end when treatment stops. When care acknowledges both the body and the nervous system, survivors are given the chance to feel whole again.”

    Arian Culp, MD

This work requires intention. So does your training.

Select the tier that reflects the depth of access and mentorship you’re ready for.

A pink rose with green leaves resting on dark blue velvet fabric.

ESSENTIAL CORE

Tier 1

The Foundation

Essential Core is for artists who want complete, responsible education without ongoing mentorship or private execution. This tier delivers the full three-day immersive, live instruction from all four educators, hands-on practice, and professional materials—giving you the knowledge, frameworks, and clarity needed to understand advanced areola restoration safely and ethically.

Best for artists who want depth, structure, and a strong starting point—without extended support.

Learn more
A close-up of a light pink rose with green leaves against a dark purple textured background.

ELEVATE SIGNATURE

Tier 2

The Integration Path (Most Selected)

Elevate Signature is for artists who want support beyond the classroom. In addition to the full three-day intensive, this tier adds guided execution, extended access, and real-world case support. Private shadowing, follow-up mentorship, and extended practice tools help bridge the gap between learning and application.

Best for artists who want feedback, accountability, and confidence as they integrate this work into practice.

Learn more
Close-up of a pink rose with a dark red background.

ICON ELITE

Tier 3

The Full Immersion

Icon Elite is for artists seeking maximum access, strategic guidance, and long-term positioning. This tier includes everything from Essential and Elevate, plus premium tools, exclusive VIP experiences, private portfolio strategy, priority workstation during the intensive, and lifetime alumni access with referral visibility.

Best for artists who want deep mentorship, industry connection, and a long-term role in restorative tattooing—not just training.

Learn more
A hand holding a flesh-colored silicone object with a dark, heart-shaped areola design tattooed at the center. The background shows a class table with various items including bottles, papers, and tattoo supplies.
Hands wearing blue medical gloves forming a heart shape against a plain background.

Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime. If you’re feeling ready, go ahead and register for a tier.

Your Questions, Answered
Register

  • Professional 3D areola tattoo training is available through specialized programs focused on post-surgical skin, scar behavior, ethics, and long-term outcomes. BreastCancerTattoo.com offers an Advanced Areola & Scar-Aware Tattoo Intensive, along with year-round opportunities for full areola reconstruction training led by Kara Gutierrez, with Liz Cook and Sean Brown available when enrollment is open.

    This powerhouse education team—joined by Dr. Arian Culp—has helped raise standards across the tattoo and areola reconstruction industry through medically informed, ethically grounded training designed for artists committed to responsible restorative work.

  • This is not a shortcut course or a certification mill. This workshop was built around responsibility, depth, and transparency, integrating artistic mastery, pigment science, medical context, trauma awareness, and ethical decision-making into one cohesive experience.

    You are taught why decisions are made—not just how to perform techniques. Instructors openly share methods and considerations without gatekeeping, hype, or pressure to perform beyond readiness. Learning happens through live demonstrations, guided practice, and honest discussion.

    Most importantly, this workshop treats areola restoration as survivorship care, not a trend or add-on service. It is designed for artists who want to do this work well, responsibly, and long-term.

  • No—and we are intentionally transparent about that. Three days is not long enough to create mastery. This is a boot camp–style intensive designed to build strong foundations, informed judgment, and clarity. What you put into the workshop is what you get out of it.

  • Readiness isn’t about perfection. It’s about awareness, humility, and willingness to apply yourself. Artists who benefit most are those committed to growth, reflection, and ethical decision-making.

  • We guarantee transparent instruction, access to techniques, and dedicated educator support. We cannot guarantee outcomes for artists who do not actively engage, practice, or apply what they learn.

  • No. All student hands-on work is completed on professional-grade fake skin using real pigment. This allows for focused learning, repetition, and correction without risk to survivors.

  • Yes. Instructors will perform live demonstrations, including working on real survivors, so students can observe real-time decision-making, communication, pacing, and technique in medically altered tissue. These demonstrations are instructor-led and observational only.

  • Because this work requires individual feedback, focused instruction, and emotional responsibility. Limiting the group ensures higher-quality education, meaningful mentorship, and a safer learning environment for everyone involved.

  • Follow-up education and mentorship opportunities are available, with extended access included at higher tiers. This workshop is designed to open a responsible pathway forward—not leave you unsupported once it ends.

  • Yes. All participants receive a Certificate of Completion recognizing advanced educational training and attendance. This reflects professional development—not medical licensure or clinical certification.

  • Due to the extensive preparation, specialized materials, and advance coordination required for this workshop, all registrations are non-refundable. Each seat triggers the preparation of printed workbooks, professional-grade practice materials, pigments, equipment allocations, and instructor scheduling well in advance.

    This training also involves limited cohort size, live demonstrations, and survivor participation, all of which require fixed commitments that cannot be reallocated once reserved.

    We encourage artists to review all workshop details carefully and register only when they are confident they can fully attend and participate. This policy allows us to maintain the integrity, safety, and quality of the learning experience for everyone involved.

  • Enrollment is currently open for March 4-6, 2026, and space is intentionally limited. You can apply directly through this website. Accepted applicants will receive the updated itinerary, classroom location details and next steps by email.

  • The Detroit Marriot at the Renaissance Center in Michigan.