Tattoo culture has travelled a long way from the studio to the store shelf. Ink Nurse, founded in Australia, has taken a symbol of rebellion and recast it as self-care, creating space for tattoo aftercare beside first aid and skincare in Chemist Warehouse and beyond. Tattooing, once the visual grammar of rebellion, has been reimagined as a form of permanence and self-expression. The ritual has found new meaning in a retail world that is constantly driven by health, identity and care. Ink N
Ink Nurse is part of that shift, comprising a brand that turns tattoos into skin stories and positions their recovery as an act of self-respect.
When Jason Taylor launched Ink Nurse in 2016, he wasn’t chasing beauty shelves or influencer campaigns; Taylor wanted legitimacy and to prove that tattoo aftercare could stand alongside pharmacy staples.
Nearly a decade later, his brand is stocked nationwide in Chemist Warehouse and has secured seven-figure funding led by investor and biotech innovator Michael H. Cho, preparing for a North American rollout through Walmart and Spencer’s.
Creating a new category
“It’s been about proving there’s a genuine, scalable category that retailers can trust,” Taylor told Inside Retail.
When first approaching Chemist Warehouse, he made a data-driven case that tattoo aftercare wasn’t a niche, but an untapped extension of skin-barrier care.
“I demonstrated to them that tattoo aftercare wasn’t a fad or a niche that was too small,” he recalled. “I showed them it’s a legitimate skin barrier and that their enormous sales of Bepanthen showcased that people were buying something for tattoo aftercare, and that they needed an actual purpose-made tattoo aftercare range of Australian products.”
The proposition was successful, and in September of last year, Ink Nurse became the first tattoo care brand in the world to secure its own in-store category within a major pharmacy chain. Chemist Warehouse gave Ink Nurse three exclusive SKUs and a multi-year agreement across more than 600 stores.
“Chemist Warehouse took a leap because we showed them real data: the sheer scale of the tattooed population in Australia, the insane rise of the tattoo aftercare niche globally, and the gap in proper aftercare,” Taylor said.
“Their decision to give us a dedicated shelf space signals something bigger: tattoo culture is no longer niche. It’s mainstream, and it’s reshaping skincare retail.”
The strategy treated Australia as proof of concept and a contained ecosystem to test the thesis that subculture could not only sit comfortably in mass retail but also expand on it.
“Globally, I’ve kept flexibility and have treated Australia as the proof of concept for our large US rollout and splash,” he added. “It’s exactly what our new investor loved seeing: Australian success to prove this had legs for the bigger global markets.”
Tattoos meet the wellness economy
Ink Nurse blurs the line between tattoo care and skin care. Its multipurpose balm, designed for tattoo healing, also serves as a skin-barrier remedy used for eczema, burns, and sun exposure. The result is a brand that sells recovery as both ritual and remedy.
“Tattoo aftercare is our entry point, but what makes Ink Nurse different is that it doubles as a skin barrier remedy cream,” said Taylor.
“Customers use it for eczema flare-ups, burns, sun exposure, and more. For us, it’s about framing tattoo care as skin care with broader benefits.”
By speaking the language of healing, Ink Nurse’s cross-functional approach is strategic and appeals to a broader audience while staying true to its origins.
The model also mirrors the larger evolution of wellness retail. Once a niche space, wellness has become populist, a marketplace where authenticity sells faster than aspiration.
The authenticity economy
Taylor proclaimed that Ink Nurse’s success was earned through credibility. A long-time member of the Australian Tattooist Guild, he built the brand with tattoo artists rather than above them.
“It’s been a long, hard, ten-year slog to get to this stage… but I believe that time has earned respect and credibility as there were no shortcuts taken and we did things the right way by the industry,” he said.
That authenticity is now its competitive advantage. Ink Nurse’s story is a rare example of patience paying off, an authenticity that resonates dually with consumers and retailers searching for brands that bridge culture and commerce.
“Our grassroots credibility is what built Ink Nurse, and we protect that by continuing to work with tattoo artists, creatives and our tattoo community,” Taylor explained. “We aim to give back in meaningful ways and work within the industry itself.”
As Ink Nurse prepares for its North American launch, Taylor explained the brand’s direct-to-consumer channel will remain essential.
“Education is critical with tattoo care,” he said. “Almost every single tattoo studio or regional demographic shows that artists give different, and at times conflicting, advice for aftercare – and I want to change that.”
He believes that consistency will be key to building long-term trust. “There needs to be a uniform and overarching education and professional advice channel to go to.”
That focus on education has always been part of Ink Nurse’s story. The brand started as a community-led movement, built through word of mouth among artists and tattooists long before it reached the shelves of Chemist Warehouse.
Taylor’s next goal is to bring that same credibility to new markets. “I believe in the five years we’ll see the first billion-dollar valuation for a tattoo care brand,” he said. “And I’m working to make that happen.”
Ink Nurse’s rise traces the slow domestication of rebellion. Tattoos once represented defiance; now they speak in a softer language of self-expression. Taylor’s next act may prove that credibility and care are the new form of edge.
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