The electric tattoo needle humming along the edge of Linda Lee Franklin\u2019s eyes sounds like a bumblebee. But Franklin isn\u2019t worried. The retired schoolteacher is happy to lie still as Chapman alumna Kimberly Armstrong (M.A. \u201998) gently inks in feathery arcs of pale brown color along the rims of her eyelids.<\/p>\n
Because after years of coping with hair loss caused by alopecia, Franklin is happy to summon patience and time for Armstrong\u2019s skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was humiliated, upset and saddened when I lost my hair,\u201d Franklin says. \u201cNow to get up in the morning and look in the mirror and see eyebrows and lashes, it\u2019s like a brand-new world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moments and stories like these are not new for Armstrong. Over the past 10 years, the permanent-makeup tattoo artist has expanded her business to serve an increasing number of clients who come to her for artful restorations that also restore confidence and change lives. But whether the task is re-creating areolas and nipples for a breast cancer survivor or camouflaging a dog bite scar for a young woman, Armstrong says she is transformed, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable. Every day is filled with new possibilities and opportunities to help people feel normal again. It\u2019s an unbelievable experience,\u201d she says, sitting in her spa-like studio in Laguna Hills.<\/p>\n
She tears up as she tells these stories, then laughs as she brushes away tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always laughing and crying in here,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Armstrong didn\u2019t anticipate this path when she earned a master\u2019s degree in rhetoric and composition from Chapman. But she\u2019s never shied away from shifting gears.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife is full of surprises and you never, never know where your path will take you,\u201d she says. \u201cYou just have to trust the journey.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The electric tattoo needle humming along the edge of Linda Lee Franklin\u2019s eyes sounds like a bumblebee. But Franklin isn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2658,"featured_media":1525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"custom_author_name":"","chapman_pin_hero_slider":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[153,118],"tags":[258,259],"class_list":["post-1503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-neighbor-to-neighbor","tag-alumni","tag-kimberly-armstrong"],"yoast_head":"\n