Today we’d like to introduce you to Viktoriia Tesalova.
Hi Viktoriia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Once I found my footing, I focused on what I care about most in this work: paramedical tattooing, and specifically scar and stretch mark camouflage — a niche that isn’t taught nearly as thoroughly as it should be. I developed my own methods for it, TSCP and TCMS, built from years of hands-on experience with clients whose skin and history are never quite textbook.
From there, I built my own studio and my own brand, TESALOVA. Alongside my client work, I train other PMU artists across the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia, and I’ve competed and judged in international PMU competitions. It’s a lot to run at once, but nothing about it has felt impossible.
What I want people to understand is how genuinely grateful I am to this country. Starting over somewhere new, in a different culture, is hard — but America gave me something I didn’t expect: real fairness, clear rules, and people who are honestly kind. I never imagined I’d build my own brand, and now I’m growing it, one step at a time, and I’m genuinely happy doing it. This country has become a second home to me, and I don’t take that for granted.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
hasn’t been a smooth road, but the hardest part wasn’t the artistry itself — I already had years of experience and was confident in my skills as a professional. The real challenge was that I didn’t know any of the rules here. I had to learn everything from scratch and track down all the information myself to build my business legally. Getting that system right mattered a lot to me, because I didn’t want to be worrying about paperwork down the road.
The other big shift was marketing — figuring out how to introduce myself as a specialist and reach clients here required a completely different approach than what I was used to. I had to rebuild that side of things almost from zero, and it took time to find what actually worked. It’s been a real process, and honestly, I’m still refining it — but I feel much more confident now than when I started.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Eventually I wrote it all down and published it as a training manual, Scar & Stretch Mark Camouflage — it’s copyright registered in the US and available in both digital and print. Now I get to teach other PMU artists this method, and I travel and train across the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia, which still feels a little surreal some days.
I also compete and judge in international PMU competitions — I placed first at the Golden Hand Championship in Greece and at the Worldwide Beauty Championship in Amsterdam. I’m a Professional Member of SPCP, a member of IBPA in the Educators and Trainers category, and I was invited by Placer County as an expert contributor when they were updating California’s Body Art Act regulations. I’ve also had some articles published in sociological journals along the way.
I think what I’m most proud of isn’t any single award — it’s that I turned something I taught myself out of necessity into an actual, teachable system that other artists can learn from. That’s what I hope people take away from my work: that this niche deserves to be taken seriously, and that it can be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://viktoriiatesalovapmu.glossgenius.com/?fbclid=PARlRTSATLzkdwZG9mAmV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABpzZilVGVQsmaNJlojhUvvrQr7RkHcvS4AJKnOSXDvqBhJKPYMTmpFqp0Y1u1_aem_D0pGOee_ahdG__ofH02A9g
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tesalova_viktoriya_permanent?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
