# Mariska de Jong, world champion of medical tattoos: ‘A hyper-realistic nipple and areola helps the patient recover self-esteem’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/mariska-de-jong-world-champion-of-medical-tattoos-a-hyper-realistic-nipple-and-areola-helps-the-patient-recover-self-esteem/
- Published: 2026-11-09T12:55:35+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T13:27:30+00:00
- Original publisher: El País (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://english.elpais.com/lifestyle/2026-11-09/mariska-de-jong-world-champion-of-medical-tattoos-a-hyper-realistic-nipple-and-areola-helps-the-patient-recover-self-esteem.html
- Topics: Entertainment, Health, Medicine, Music, World

## Key points

- Dutch artist Mariska de Jong won the world title in breast micropigmentation.
- Her tattoos recreate nipples and areolas after breast surgery.
- She says the work can help patients regain confidence.

## Summary

Mariska de Jong, a Dutch tattoo artist, won the world championship in breast micropigmentation at the WULOP competition in Antalya on 25 October. Her work recreates nipples and areolas on reconstructed breasts after cancer-related surgery, and she says the realistic tattoos can help people feel whole again and regain confidence.

De Jong has worked in the field for 15 years and first won the Benelux title in September. At the world competition, artists from 85 countries had 75 minutes to create their work from memory on latex. In her clinic, she uses photographs, sketches and colour tests to tailor each design, noting that skin absorbs pigment differently and that men can also develop breast cancer.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.