Local Paramedical Tattoo Artist Joining Humanitarian Mission To Egypt

A Middletown Township permanent makeup and paramedical tattoo artist is preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt, as part of a humanitarian team.

Susan Collins, who operates Luxe Ink Cosmetics in Langhorne Borough and Luxe Ink Restorative in Middletown Township, will depart in late July for the weeklong Giveback Immersion Egypt program.

Collins said she is one of only a handful of specialists selected globally to work alongside Operation Smile Egypt.

The humanitarian mission will be targeted at helping pediatric patients born with cleft lips who have already undergone initial surgical repairs.

Collins explained that she and her fellow artists will use advanced scar camouflage and lip tattooing techniques to fix asymmetry, recreate missing lip definition, and blend scar tissue left behind from the repair surgery by doctors.

“We’re going to fix their lips so they look good,” Collins said. “We’re going to improve their smile and the way they feel about themselves. We’re going to try to make them feel whole again with their smile.”

Mandy Sauler, a world-renowned medical tattoo artist who previously worked with Operation Smile in Egypt, is mentoring the program.

Collins, who trained under Sauler, said she could not pass up the opportunity despite the logistical challenges and international travel expenses.

“I cannot look at it like that,” Collins said of the cost. “To me, this is a no brainer. This is giving back. Personally, it’s going to be so rewarding, and professionally too.”

The team will have full days of clinical work that will stretch late into the night. Collins said Sauler explicitly warned the participants to expect long hours.

“She said, you’re going to be exhausted. This is not a pleasure travel trip. You’re going to be working,” Collins said. “I’m cool with that. I love hard work.”

The visiting team will train local dental students in paramedical tattoo techniques during clinical days and donate professional-grade supplies so Egyptian practitioners can sustain the work long-term.

“We’re not just treating patients. We’re building something that stays,” Collins said.

The international program includes medical and dental professionals traveling to Cairo from several countries. They will help patients from around the Middle East, including Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.

Paramedical tattooing remains largely unknown to the public, despite its ability to ease the physical and emotional effects of illness, trauma, and surgery, Collins noted.

Her standard restorative work includes 3D nipple tattooing for breast cancer survivors post-mastectomy, flesh-tone scar camouflage for burns or injuries, and collagen-stimulating micro-needling.

“You’re just making people feel whole,” Collins said. “It’s just really life changing for people.”

The upcoming mission ties into Collins’ work to open the new Luxe Ink Restorative location that dedicated to paramedical services.

“Most of my clients, when I talk to them about paramedical tattooing, they usually don’t know what it is or much about it,” she said. “And when I tell them about the cleft lip work — they just don’t know.”

Collins is funding her own travel and donating supplies.

To help offset expenses, which include a $650 travel insurance policy and international airfare, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched at gofundme.com/f/medical-tattoo-mission-restoring-smiles-in-cairo.

She is also seeking local businesses, physicians, and dentists to serve as mission partners. Local sponsors will receive photographs, updates, social media acknowledgments, and a commemorative plaque or framed display for their offices upon her return. For more information, Collins can be contacted via email.

“I always think about the future,” Collins said. “I’m like, what regrets will I have? What would I wish I could have done that I did not take? I have to do this.”

For Collins, the trip will be a milestone in her focus on restorative care.

“My approach is restorative,” Collins said. “We’re restoring what you lost. That’s what I want to focus on.”