Las Vegas businesswomen help to restore confidence in cancer survivors with special services

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – For women battling breast cancer, there are dozens of questions to ask and decisions to make.

For those who pull through, they’re never quite the same. However, a new procedure on their breasts may help them feel whole again. A pair of local women who spoke to 8 News Now are doing what they can to help.

“My confidence came back, I feel so much better,” cancer survivor Natalia Mesa expressed.

She told 8 News Now she is approaching five years of her cancer fight which eventually led her to Bladed Art Studio.

Bladed Art Studio Owner Calisi Garavito specializes in a 3D realistic technique however, she told 8 News Now she now goes beyond working on the face.

“I do a little bit of everything,” Garavito said. “Brows, lips, and areola is my last stop.”

She has crafted countless eyebrows even recreating them for cancer patients. That’s when she discovered many of those survivors wanted their breasts finished too.

“You just looking at the mirror and you’re just like, this is not this is not me,” Mesa said. “So having the whole complete breasts done and having your, you know, your nipples done, it’s like, okay, now I feel complete.”

Mixing the pigments to match skin tone and texture. Studying shapes and photographs if available helps craft a realistic result.

“Aerola is a little bit more intimate with me and my clients because it’s trauma behind it. I’m also very sensitive when it comes to my clients because they’ve been through so much already,” Garavito said. “It’s a rewarding feeling when I’m done doing the service and they start crying because they’re so happy and I understand that feeling.”

That rewarding feeling started with her first aerola client which was her friend and shop owner Jamie River who works right next door at The Wig Nook.

“I was her first real client and it was such an amazing experience. We’re both so emotional and it turned out to be so amazing, I will take that for the rest of my life,” River said. “My way of paying it forward at the moment is, I give out a free wig for a woman who cannot afford one for the month.”

While the friendship between neighbors blossomed so did their desire to give back. Each month, they choose a woman to gift their services to. Garavito with permanent makeup and Jamie with wigs.

Losing hair on your face and body can be like losing part of your identity at a time when you’re fighting for your life.

“It’s a way of saying, ‘You know what? I am not cancer. I’m still me. I’m still going to keep this look that I already have, and I’m still going to keep up with myself,'” River added.

“It’s that confidence having something that was taken from you, you know? For me, giving this is a gift for both of us, for me and my client, Garavito told 8 News Now.

For Mesa, she understands that every survivor is on their journey. But for her, the final step in her recovery is everything she hoped for.

“I think it’s just a female woman thing to make you feel more complete. Getting out of a shower and say, ‘Hey, these are my breasts,'” Mesa said.

If you or someone you know is interested in permanent makeup or a wig reach out to the businesses on their social media pages at Bladed Art or The Wig Nook. They’re located near Rainbow and Charleston boulevards and are always looking for deserving women.

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