Tattoo artist and new Stories & Ink partner Tanya Buxton on the healing power of tattoos.

Tanya Buxton (@tanyabuxton) is no ordinary tattoo artist. She was the first ever hired by the NHS to provide areola tattoos for mastectomy patients—using ink not just as art, but as a powerful tool for healing. As the founder of the Mastectomy Tattooing Alliance (MTA), she’s on a mission to make these tattoos more widely available for the breast cancer, BRCA and transgender / non-binary communities. She also educates both tattoo artists and medical professionals, bridging the gap between traditional tattooing and medical restoration.  

“I feel if you have a skill that can help people then you should use it,” Tanya says. “Even though this wasn’t part of my big, grand tattoo plan I thought I had for myself, it was how the chips fell if you like; it snowballed and grew into something and I’ve just kind of rolled with it.”  

Tanya started the MTA in 2021 on International Women’s Day, having first offered tattoos to mastectomy patients for free. “It’s about being able to do something that gives a person back a piece of themselves or a piece of their identity,” she says. But as demand grew, it became impossible to balance with her day job—running Paradise Tattoo Studio in Cheltenham. Creating the charity allowed her to keep doing what she loved while reaching more people in need. And for Tanya, this work is personal. 

“I have some personal connections to breast cancer, some very close family and friends have been affected by it, and I’ve done their areola tattoos. Cancer affects all of us in some way, shape or form.”

'I’ve always been aware of the healing power of tattoos'

Since launching, the MTA has continued to grow and although, as Tanya says, “we’re only a small charity, still very much a small team of trustees, mostly a one-man band,” it has a committed group of artists and is signposted and trusted by some big organisations, including the NHS.  

“When you’ve been through breast cancer and gender affirming surgery, or risk-reducing surgery, it can be a minefield knowing where to start with things like that. So that was the real big vision for the MTA. Yes, we want to provide funding through our gift voucher scheme to provide financial support, but we wanted to become a go-to resource,” she says.  

“You know if you see an MTA artist you know they’ve been approved by us, everyone is experienced, they’re skilled, they’re on the same page, so there’s a level of reassurance that you’re going to someone who knows what they’re on about. But also if you do have questions, if you do need support with things like the tattoo process, you can turn to the charity who can help support with things like that - because it’s a real life-changing moment for people.”

Tanya’s belief in the power of tattoos goes beyond medical tattooing. “I’ve always been very aware of the healing power of tattoos,” she says. “And there are so many levels to that. Whether you’ve broken up with a partner and you want something to cheer yourself up, or you and your bestie are having a little tattoo, or it’s a memorial tattoo, or you’ve overcome a toxic relationship and they never wanted you to get a tattoo and now you’re going to have one.”  

Tanya has witnessed firsthand how transformative tattooing can be—both physically and emotionally. “You’re literally changing someone’s life. It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” she says.  

“There was a client of mine recently, her name was Catherine. She had a double mastectomy but she decided not to have any reconstructive surgery, so she was flat. She was left with quite severe scarring from the surgery, so we did a big peacock feather chest piece on her. Just seeing the transformation in her with each session, as more and more of the tattoo was built, was incredible. Initially, she didn’t want to get undressed and was keeping herself covered, and definitely didn’t want anyone to come in. But by the end she was walking out into the reception area and shouting at people to come and have a look at her tattoo.” 

Beyond the emotional impact, this work has pushed Tanya’s technical skills to new heights. “From a career point of view, it keeps my skills really sharp,” she says. “I’ve had to learn more about skin, in-depth colour theory, understand how tattooing and the body work together, medical treatments and healing and scar tissues.  

“I’m often tattooing people that have been through radiation or chemotherapy. All these things affect the skin, and maybe even the tattoo process and how it heals, which is where I’ve gone off and taught myself all these things. It’s taken my tattooing to a different level, to a different place.”  

In 2024, the MTA extended its funded clinics for areola-nipple tattoos to the transgender and non-binary community, providing assistance for people that have undergone gender affirming mastectomy surgery. 

“If I’m doing a decorative mastectomy tattoo, or top surgery tattoo, I still approach it in my very traditional tattoo manner when it comes to the design composition. I will make sure it compliments the body and it flows with all the curves and body parts.  

“You can be clever in how you compose the design as well. For example, I’ve done a few mastectomy tattoos that balance asymmetry within the breasts. So you’ll put a bit of a design creeping up and then maybe on the other side a design creeping down, so you’re creating the illusion of symmetry.  

'Everybody is equal. We’re all there to have a tattoo. I treat everybody the same'

“And with gender affirming surgery, where you place the design can really emphasize how you want that chest to look. If you’re clever and mindful of that person’s body you can design something that really compliments them and really belongs there.”  

For Tanya, expanding the remit of The MTA to the transgender and non-binary communities was simply a natural extension of her existing work. “I’ve been working with the transgender and gender diverse community for a really long time, whether it’s traditional tattoos or cosmetic tattoos—eyebrows, lips, eyeliner—where you create the aesthetic that person is looking for.  

“A person is free to express themselves and be who they want to be and it’s not for me to judge,” Tanya says. “With my tattoo studio and MTA charity, it’s about being welcoming, warm and creating a safe space for people.  Everybody is equal. We’re all there to have a tattoo. I treat everybody the same.”