Tattoo Mender

Tattoo Mender is a Swedish skincare brand specialising in aftercare for tattooed skin. It is owned by Mender Sweden AB, a company describing itself as working within health and care for both people and animals [1]. The brand was co-founded by Sara Jäderholm, who serves as chief executive of Mender Sweden AB, and Paulo Garcia Carrasco, a tattoo artist connected to the Studio Merentis tattoo studio [2].

The line grew out of a collaboration between a skincare-focused entrepreneur and an experienced tattoo artist who, the company says, saw that existing products were not designed specifically for tattooed skin. Tattoo Mender describes itself as a merger of the aftercare traditions long familiar to the tattoo industry with modern skincare science [3]. Its first two products were launched in January 2022 [4].

Tattoo Mender is positioned as a complete post-tattoo aftercare range. Its two core products are the POLISH: Instant Recovery Cream and the PREP: Hand Sanitizer Mousse, and the range spans body and skincare categories. The company frames its approach around what goes into the products rather than what is left out, stating a preference for high-quality and, where possible, natural ingredients. Named ingredients include shea butter, calendula, lavender, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil and vitamin E, and the brand states its formulas are allergen-free.

The brand carries vegan and cruelty-free positioning: according to the company, its products contain no animal-derived ingredients or production steps, and no part of its development or evaluation has involved animal testing [5]. It also describes its products as dermatologically tested and developed together with tattoo artists. Tattoo Mender states that manufacturing takes place in Europe, in partnership with pharmacists from European skincare companies, and that its factories hold GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and GDP (Good Distribution Practice) certifications [6].

The brand's stated mission is "Care for your tattoo as you would for your heart," and it uses the tagline "It's always a good day for a new tattoo and if you take care of it, it will last forever" [7].

Tattoo Mender operates a multi-channel distribution model combining its own webshop, Swedish pharmacy chains and professional tattoo studios. The products are stocked by the pharmacy chains Apoteket, Apotek Hjärtat and Apotea, and the brand lists roughly 25 tattoo studios as stockists, among them Studio Merentis, the studio linked to co-founder Paulo Garcia Carrasco [8].

In 2021, Tattoo Mender won gold in the "Best Packaging" (Bästa Förpackning) category at Svenska Designpriset, the Swedish Design Prize, with the award received at a ceremony held at Berns in Stockholm on 14 October 2021 [9]. The brand also lists a number of further nominations and honours on its own site, including STHLM Beauty Week nominations and the Löwengrip Female Entrepreneur Award 2023; these are stated by the company but not independently corroborated in the available sources.

Tattoo Mender is an active, single-market brand focused on Sweden. It maintains an operating webshop and continues to be sold through major Swedish pharmacy chains, with brand-stated activity recorded through 2023.