Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara Williamson. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Tara Williamson is a 10-year Breast Cancer Survivor, Nurse, Kidney Donor, Business owner, and Certified Areola Tattoo Artist. Tara is the owner and artist of the internationally recognized award-winning business Pink Ink Tattoo, which she founded as a response to her own experiences with breast cancer. At the age of 39, Tara was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. She had a lumpectomy followed by a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction, which included tissue expanders. Many appointments and “fill ups” later, Tara had her exchange surgery in December of 2012. Next came the nipple reconstruction and fat grafting in March of 2013. During her many appointments with her plastic surgeon, she inquired about consulting with an areola tattoo specialist, but her plastic surgeon had no one to refer her to. Tara had searched for that “expert” and was unable to find a specialist. Feeling helpless, she had her areola tattoos performed by a nurse who did the best that she could, but it just wasn’t what Tara thought all survivors deserved. Tara was offered three options; bubble gum pink, chocolate brown, or nude. Feeling that these options were unacceptable for her as well as other survivors, she knew at that moment her life was about to change.
She trained to become the best in the country to offer expert areola 3D tattooing to all survivors. She vowed to give them exactly what they desire; whatever color or size they request, she would always provide a realistic appearance. Tara knew that this was her calling. She knew she could take her medical knowledge, breast cancer experience, and certified specialized services and use it to come back and help other survivors complete their breast cancer journey. During the month of April in the year 2014, Tara founded Pink Ink Tattoo. Since then, Tara has grown this local one-woman business into an award-winning, internationally recognized business with clients traveling from all across the globe for her services. Her expertise and pioneering of these services have helped so many survivors feel whole again. Tara and her business Pink Ink Tattoo works alongside top plastic surgeons and medical centers to offer her services to clients while traveling across the U.S.
Tara would also expand Pink Ink Tattoo by opening a medical office facility in Louisburg, North Carolina in 2021. The new office would also include a permanent makeup (PMU) room for services in permanent eyebrows, eyeliner, and lip blush. The decision to add PMU was inspired by requests from clients who had lost hair due to chemotherapy or alopecia. While the addition of PMU was important the primary focus of Tara is and always will be Pink Ink Tattoo’s medical tattooing services for 3D Areola complex and Scar Camouflage for breast cancer survivors. This is represented by her business mantra of purpose over profit, a phrase dedicated to Pink Ink Tattoo’s commitment to helping local communities, spreading awareness, and hosting their Day of Hope events.
Tara’s story with Pink Ink Tattoo and dedication to helping her communities has inspired features in Oprah’s O magazine, Allure Magazine, NASCAR, Minor League Baseball’s Fayetteville Woodpeckers & Carolina Mudcats, American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen, CNN, ABC news, and many more. Tara said, “It’s such an honor to be featured in so many publications, news articles, blogs, podcasts, summits, and televised networks!” As a breast cancer community influencer, she has utilized her platforms to pioneer important discussions about post-reconstructive options, medical tattooing, helping survivors, and giving back to the communities. She’s served as a keynote speaker to many medical summits, expos, webinars, symposiums, and conferences and has reached more than 147 countries with the most recent taking place in India. Tara stated, “as long as I have a voice and a platform no matter how small or large, I will use it to bring breast cancer awareness, to inform survivors they do have options after reconstruction, and to encourage women and men to be their best advocate, to research; to follow their gut and to ask questions.”
As an advocate for early detection and prevention, she has helped raise funds and spread awareness through the many events she has hosted or participated in like Charlotte Motor Speedway, Blue Cross NC, and Susan G. Komen’s Drive for the Cure 250. She has also made historical impacts on Susan G. Komen’s annual Race for the Cure by creating a never done before symbolic race start. Among many other notable events, Tara of Pink Ink Tattoo has also hosted her own symbolic Day of Hope event to celebrate, honor, and support breast cancer survivors. The 2023 Day of Hope event will be taking place on May 4th at the Segra Stadium in collaboration with Minor League Baseball’s Fayetteville Woodpeckers and will be free to the public. At these events, Tara invites survivors like herself to share their stories to help spread awareness and make a difference in the community. Day of Hope events also invite local organizations, non-profits, and community leaders to participate in education, awareness, advocacy, and for accessibility to people interested in them.
Tara has said, “This is my calling. This is my passion. I’m here to help others feel whole again. To provide them with the finishing touch in their journeys.” Tara of Pink Ink Tattoo celebrates the year of 2022 as a ten-year breast cancer survivor that has helped tens of thousands while inspiring countless others. Tara continues to share her story to help inspire, motivate, and educate others about breast cancer, early detection, self-advocacy, and related.
To learn more about Tara Williamson of Pink Ink Tattoo or her services, please visit her website www.pinkinktattoo.com. If you’re interested in contacting Tara Williamson of Pink Ink Tattoo, you can call the medical office at (919) 729-1002 or send her an email at tara.pinkinktattoo@gmail.com. To stay updated on Tara and Pink Ink Tattoo, we encourage you to follow her on social media:
Facebook: @pinkinktattoollc
Instagram: @pink_ink_tattoo
Twitter: @pinkinktattoo1
YouTube: Pink Ink Tattoo
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?
While I strongly believe in the saying “the best is yet to come,” I acknowledge that life is filled with adversities. To start, I donated a kidney to my sister in my twenties because her health was failing her. It also made it less likely for me to have more children, which is a sacrifice I was willing to take to still have a sister. Then I had a breast cancer diagnosis with no family history or medical indicators at the age of 39. It felt like my whole world was flipped upside down. During my treatment planning and surgeries, I had to find my voice to self-advocate for my medical decisions because what I felt was the right path for me wasn’t always supported by the medical professionals assisting me at that time. It felt like my voice wasn’t being heard or listened to by them. It’s why I share the story about it and why I advocate for others to find their voice and have self-advocacy in your health decisions. It was also during this time I went through numerous painful surgeries and transitions in life that affected me, my family, and friends, emotionally, mentally, and physically. It was also during this time that my father’s health declined and unfortunately passed away. So, in the middle of fighting for my own life, I had to travel to Ohio and help him through his final days while arranging everything else like his funeral. It felt like everything was being thrown at me at once, and at the end of this journey, I finally had something to look forward to, which was areola tattooing. I thought to myself that I was at the end of this journey, and I wanted to celebrate it. Unfortunately, instead of the experience I had hoped for, I had another difficult experience that would inspire me to start my business Pink Ink Tattoo. I felt survivors deserved better than the experience and service I had received. I felt that they deserved the best experience to be the finishing touch in feeling whole again. Of course, starting a business is not easy, but I felt that this was my calling, and I worked very hard to build myself and my business into what it is today. Along the way, there’ve been challenges and obstacles that I’ve had to overcome. I’ve also had wonderful initiatives shadowed by others who pretend to care about the community. It’s why I’m selective in the organizations I support and invite to events like my Day of Hope. The most recent challenges I’ve had to face were losing my sister and my other one facing health issues shortly after. It was in the middle of all the great initiatives I was recently working with that I, unfortunately, lost my sister. I also had my other sister have a heart attack and require emergency help shortly after it. So, there’s been challenges in my personal and professional life, but despite all of it, I still firmly believe that “the best is yet to come.” I set out to give survivors what they deserved, and I wanted to make a difference for others. I’ve had to help pioneer this industry, set a standard for it, and share my story that has helped inspire others, countless others. It’s why the struggles along the way haven’t stopped me. It’s because I feel the best is yet to come, and instead of just being a survivor, I encourage others to be thrivers!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Pink Ink Tattoo is an internationally recognized award-winning business that works across the U.S. with the top medical centers and professionals. We have clients travel from all over the world and have helped pioneer 3D Areola Medical Tattooing. Our owner & artist is a ten-year breast cancer survivor who founded this company to help other survivors. Pink Ink Tattoo is very involved in the community and has held annual Day of Hope events dedicated to giving back to our communities and spreading awareness. Pink Ink Tattoo offers 3D Areola Nipple Complex, Scar Camouflage, and medical tattooing services from our certified specialists. We additionally offer permanent makeup services for eyebrows, eyeliner, and lips while focusing on clients with alopecia or chemotherapy hair loss. Our business is owned and operated by a breast cancer survivor, medical professionals in a medical facility using specific medical machinery and inks formulated specifically for our services. Pink Ink Tattoo is not a traditional tattoo shop, does not use traditional ink or machinery, and does not have traditional artists. We are unique and dedicated to providing the best experiences to others. We are best known for our world-renowned services and our founder Tara Williamson who continues to pioneer this industry globally.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My family, friends, and faith have played a critical role in the success of my business. They have helped me through my journey and supported my business while it’s grown into what it is now. My faith has helped me to heal and is part of the reason I felt what I describe as a calling to start my company. I’d also like to thank my son, Alex Williamson, for officially joining Pink Ink Tattoo full-time as the business manager & marketing director to help continue to grow the business and make a difference in the community. I’m grateful for my family and friends who have helped make this all possible and my faith to give me the strength to do it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pinkinktattoo.com
- Instagram: @pink_ink_tattoo
- Facebook: @pinkinktattoollc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pinkinktattoo/
- Twitter: @pinkinktattoo1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh0EY34UjMia6oOE2HgrrjQ
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pink-ink-tattoo-louisburg
- Other: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/376066931c.html
Image Credits
Pink Ink Tattoo
Tara Williamson
Alex Williamson
