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10 Best Tattoo Aftercare Products to Purchase in 2024

Getting a tattoo can be scary. While there are quite a few physically intensive feats to surmount, not every individual might be able to make peace with the tingling sensation. Scares apart, tattoo making can be a frustrating profession to pursue if you aren’t good at assigning, applying, and even recommending the best tattoo aftercare products to clients.

Best Tattoo Aftercare Products — Quick Summary

In a hurry! Here is our quick summary of the best tattoo aftercare products recommended by experts

Last update on 2024-03-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Let’s be honest about something. A new tattoo, albeit a permanent one, is basically a wound that needs to be cared for. Unlike a regular blemish, tattoo making is quite an invasive process where tattoo artists rupture the dermal layer and inject the ink. Therefore, tattooing exposes the open skin with blood splatters bearing proof.

This is why it is necessary to invest in a good tattoo aftercare product, especially if you are planning to pursue tattoo-making, as a trained artist.

Why Are Tattoo Aftercare Products Necessary

While the introduction barely scratched the surface, we shall now look at the reasons why it is absolutely essential to invest in the best tattoo aftercare product.

For starters, a tattoo can lead to skin inflammation; precisely experienced a few days after getting inked. As it is a scar, customers need to follow a dedicated skincare regimen, at least for a few days to avoid infection and skin irritation. In case the clients end up missing the aftercare routine, they often experience a host of issues, which include the following:

  • Boils
  • Itching and dryness
  • Bacterial proliferation
  • Sustained inflammation
  • Grave skin rupturing and infection

However, if you are lucky enough, your customers might not end up experiencing any of the mentioned issues. Regardless, it is still important to recommend certain credible and calming aftercare products, precisely Vitamin-infused ointments, to ensure zero issues after the design is inked into the skin surface.

Lastly, a good quality tattoo aftercare product can also facilitate long-term skincare, allowing you to keep the area moisturized and bacteria-free.

Note: Tattoo aftercare products will work only if the concerned clients incorporate a lifestyle change, including allergy-free diet plans.

Best Tattoo Aftercare Products [Experts’ Choice]

Now that we have established the importance of tattoo aftercare products, it is appropriate to enlist the best selections available in the market.

1. Tattoo Goo – Best Overall

Best Tattoo Aftercare Products

Highlights

  • Cleansing soap
  • Portable functionality
  • Class-leading fragrance
  • Aftercare instructions enlisted
  • Good at skin rejuvenation and preservation

Review

The tattoo goo lotion is not a basic aftercare product but a conglomerate of all the essential products, preferred by professionals. Firstly, this product is precisely formulated keeping the skincare properties in mind. Therefore, even if you stop using the composition for the tattooed region, it still makes a good case as a moisturizing kit.

It is evident that the skin requires rejuvenation after being subjected to lining and shading. The tattoo goo lotion, fittingly, stacks every component that facilitates skin renewal in every given capacity. This includes olive oil as the pre-bathing support followed by oil beeswax, sunflower oil, lavender oil, and even mineral oil extracts.

Not just that, this product also boasts Shea and cocoa butter for a glazing feel followed by rosemary oil extract to minimize skin irritation. Besides, this aftercare product is fit for diverse skin types as the ingredients are curated across diverse parameters.

Despite the numerous bells and whistles, the tattoo goo lotion kit is quite portable and easy to carry. Moreover, the company gives out detailed instructions relevant to the application. Therefore, if you are seeking a top-of-the-line aftercare product for your tattoo parlor that comprises essential oils and facilitates a fast skin recovery process, the tattoo goo lotion kit is the one to consider.

Pros
  • Versatile
  • Easy on the pocket
  • Advanced formulation for the fussy customers
  • 4-in-1 skincare coverage
Cons
  • Area moisturizing properties could have been better

2. Herbal Tattoo Salve from Ora – Best for Healing

Herbal Tattoo Salve from Ora

Highlights

  • Fragrance-free
  • Free of chemicals
  • Includes Vitamin E extracts
  • Includes organic herbs to speed up the skin healing process
  • The formulation comprises non-petroleum jelly ingredients

Review

For some of the more intricate designs involving inaccessible and softer areas of the body, tattoo artists require targeted aftercare products. This is where the Herbal Salve from Ora comes into the mix as the best option for skin healing.

As a tattoo artist, if you are planning a new tattoo that involves a significant amount of work, you should keep this aftercare product handy. Firstly, it doesn’t stick to the skin like petroleum jelly and is best known for its lightness. Besides, there aren’t any aromatic components involved, despite the lotion featuring tea tree, grape seed, and even rosemary oil extracts.

If you are more concerned about the results, this moisturizing lotion is great for healing the tattooed area and speeding up the overall recovery process. Besides, if you own a tattoo parlor and are looking for a product that has been recommended by tattoo experts, this herbal concoction is the way to go.

Simplifying further, unlike the Tattoo Goo lotion, this product doesn’t try to be a tattoo product but only focuses on healing. Not just that, the herbal and organic formula is completely free from chemicals and cuts out the presence of mineral oil, allergens, gluten, and even parabens.

Finally, this is one of the few products to feature the elusive Hyaluronic Acid, which is probably the best supplement for skin healing and rejuvenation. Overall, this aftercare salve comes forth as one of the best products for healing, especially if the fresh ink has penetrated the dermal layer at several places.

Pros
  • Affordable
  • Easy to apply
  • Doesn’t smell like a beauty cream
  • Best for fresh ink application
Cons
  • Not easy to procure
  • Not meant for holistic skincare

3. Hustle Butter Deluxe – Best for New Tattoos

Hustle Butter Deluxe

Highlights

  • Versatile applications
  • Perfect healing ointments
  • Comes with several skin benefits
  • Vegan formulation
  • Includes mango butter

Review

The Hustle butter deluxe is one of the more sought-after products in the market, especially if you run an elite tattoo parlor and manage enthusiastic clients. For starters, it is the superior composition that steals the show, making it one of the better lotions on the market.

The Hustle butter deluxe is one of the best occlusive creams in the market, boasting diverse skin benefits. However, it is cruelty-free; with a vegan composition that makes it one of the more appealing aftercare products in the market.

As far as the ingredient list is concerned, Hustle, fragrance-free healing ointment comprises the potent Shea butter along with sunflower and mineral oil extracts. These ingredients are great at moisturizing the skin’s surface and are perfectly supported by papaya and coconut extracts. Therefore, using this aftercare product for long-term usage is also possible as it achieves a lot more than just healing.

Most importantly, the vegan formulation is backed by ample portions of Vitamins, known for excellent skin-related benefits. Plus, the skincare formulation is one of the best choices for minimizing redness and overall dryness. Lastly, if you are invested in color packing, there aren’t many better products in the market than the Hustle Butter, owing to its advanced tube unclogging ability.

This means you can even apply the same before the procedure to adequately moisturize the surface. Overall, if you are looking for a decent aftercare product that accelerates the skin healing process and even minimizes bleeding when applied before the procedure, the Hustle Butter Deluxe is the best available option in the retail space.

Pros
  • Easy to use and apply
  • Vegan formulation
  • Free of petroleum-derived parabens
  • Multi-faceted usage
  • The perfect cream to apply before getting a new tattoo
Cons
  • Mineral oil can be a potential allergen

4. Viking Revolution – Best Tattoo Balm

Best Tattoo Aftercare Product

Highlights

  • Enriched with Vitamin-E
  • Doubles down as a sunscreen protector
  • The composition comprises non-petroleum jelly
  • One of the few products to feature chamomile

Review

The Viking revolution is one of the few tattoo balms in the market, boasting exceptional skin-soothing abilities. As a tattoo balm, Viking revolution scales beyond the rest, courtesy of a composition rich in Vitamin E. Therefore, apart from skin soothing, this product also facilitates the highest possible levels of skin healing.

Coming to the composition, this tattoo balm features petroleum-free ingredients. This means you need not worry about the same sticking onto the skin surface for an extended period. Plus, as it is a tattoo balm, you can even apply the same multiple times a day, to accommodate complex designs.

Not to mention the organic formula capable of speeding up skin healing. Moreover, the Viking skin balm is also good for minimizing skin itching, provided you get a new tattoo during the scorching summer. However, it is the sunscreen properties that make it one of the best tattoo aftercare products on the market.

Overall, the Viking revolution tattoo balm is an extraordinary resource, not just as a tattoo aftercare product but also for taking care of basic cuts, low-level skin burns, and dried-up dermal layers.

Pros
  • Petroleum-free composition
  • Non-irritant tattoo balm
  • One of the few brands to offer a money-back promise
  • Enhances skin healing
  • Best for diverse skin types
Cons
  • Availability can be an issue

5. H2Ocean Blue Green Soap – Best Foam-based Healing Product

H2Ocean Blue Green Soap

Highlights

  • Liquid cleaning soap
  • Best used after a new tattoo
  • Vegan-friendly composition
  • Boasts skin rejuvenation
  • Antibacterial formulation

Review

As a professional tattoo artist, you cannot go wrong with the H2Ocean foam soap. Firstly, it isn’t a regular aftercare product and strives to be an antibacterial soap, more than anything else. However, the formulation is literally chemical-free, which in turn cuts out the froth development. This Blue-Green soap aims at offering the perfect nourishment to the skin after a new tattoo.

The paraben-free composition is led by the inclusion of high-end options, including but not limited to, Aloe butter and jojoba oil. These skincare ingredients not only nourish the skin but also minimize bacterial proliferation, common immediately after getting inked.

As far as popularity is concerned, this Blue-Green product has a global fan base. However, its ability to double down as an aftercare lotion and a tattoo moisturizer makes it the perfect choice for professional tattoo artists.

Lastly, this product also lets go of synthetic fragrance, making it one of the best options to speed up the recovery process.

Pros
  • Fragrance-free composition
  • Vegan-friendly tattoo product
  • Works as a daily moisturizing lotion
  • Good enough for speeding up the skin healing process
Cons
  • Not the best healing ointment around
  • Not fit for everyone, based on the skin type

6. After Inked – Best Tattoo Care Moisturizer

After Inked Tattoo Moisturizer and Aftercare Lotion

Highlights

  • Heals fresh ink faster than most
  • Works as a reliable moisturizing lotion
  • Paraben-free composition
  • Petroleum-free, vegan composition

Review

The After Inked tattoo moisturizer is one of the best products for professional usage. However, this best tattoo care product isn’t a typical balm but a lotion, which can be applied to the skin as a part of the long-term regime.

According to our experts, this product is integral to the aftercare process, precisely as a tattoo ointment that heals and moisturizes, with perfection. Besides, this product also comes fortified with several potent ingredients including grape seed and coconut oil extracts. These ingredients ensure more balanced skincare results, especially if you are looking for something to work with the thin layer of the dermis.

Overall, this cruelty-free product allows you to nourish and heal the screen to its fullest capacity, after getting inked. Moreover, you can recommend the same to almost every client as the allergen-free composition is backed by years of manufacturing brilliance.

Pros
  • Pocket-friendly
  • Fit for other skincare purposes
  • Made of natural ingredients including coconut oil
  • The vegan composition is fit for diverse skin variants
Cons
  • Might lead to scabs
  • Misses out on Vitamin B5 that supports holistic healthcare

7. Aquaphor Moisturizing Lotion – Best Healing Ointment for Dry Skin

Aquaphor Moisturizing Lotion

Highlights

  • Budget-friendly
  • Features Hyaluronic acid
  • Also suitable for chapped lips and cracked feet
  • Comes fortified with Vitamin 5 and grapeseed oil

This product from Aquaphor exceeds expectations and doubles down as a fully-equipped moisturizing lotion. While most tattoo artists still prefer the Aquaphor healing ointment, precisely for its targeted composition, our experts found this to be an extremely versatile product, also suitable for smaller cuts, chapped lips, and even cracked hands.

In case you are still looking to purchase the best tattoo lotion, we would ask you to give the Aquaphor healing ointment a try. As a lotion, this aftercare product is good for almost every skin-based condition, barring bacterial infections. Moreover, this multipurpose product also comes equipped with ample portions of Vitamin B5.

This vitamin is best known for keeping the skin healthier for a long, despite the same being subjected to subsequent levels of wear and tear. Better termed as Pantothenic acid, this vitamin and its inclusion in the Aquaphor lotion is what makes it one of the more sought-after options.

Overall, if you seek a skin-healing lotion containing elusive ingredients like Hyaluronic acid, precisely used for alleviating skin dryness, and grapeseed oil for its anti-microbial properties, the tattoo aftercare product from Aquaphor is the one to purchase.

Pros
  • Affordable
  • Loaded with hyaluronic acid
  • Good enough for generic usage
  • Fit for diverse skin-related ailments, including excessive dryness
Cons
  • Not a complete skin cream
  • Not as good for retouched tattoos

8. Fisticuffs Tattoo Balm – Best Product for Itching

Fisticuffs Tattoo Balm: Best Product for Itching

Highlights

  • Versatile usage
  • Peppermint aroma
  • Excellent for healing
  • Handles skin itching like a pro

Review

The Fisticuffs tattoo balm is one of the best products that any tattoo shop can showcase. While the company has been selling the same as a tattoo balm, it basically comes forth with holistic skin healing properties. This means, the fisticuffs tattoo balm exceeds expectations and offers the best value for money.

Coming to the formulation, this product doesn’t include any form of petroleum jelly but opts for an all-natural profile. Moreover, this product comprises almost every essential oil there is, whilst offering instant relief from swelling and itching.

Moreover, if you aren’t invested in non-aromatic products, the Fisticuffs tattoo balm is the perfect product for you, courtesy of the peppermint scent. Overall, if countering skin itching and bacterial proliferation are some of your priorities, this aftercare product is the one to purchase.

Pros
  • Competitive pricing
  • Natural ingredient list
  • Good for skin healing
  • Perfect product for countering bacterial growth and cracks
Cons
  • Mildly grainy
  • Not fit for sensitive skin

9. Urban ReLeaf – Best for Gentle Skincare

Tattoo aftercare product

Highlights

  • Best for diverse skin types
  • Equipped with exfoliating properties
  • Doubles down as a generic after-tattoo lotion
  • 100 percent natural composition

Review

The Urban ReLeaf lotion works perfectly regardless of skin type. However, as a tattoo artist, you can specifically refer the same to clients with dry skin as it prevents the surface from becoming way too flaky.

The Urban ReLeaf skin lotion-cum-balm is more than capable of exfoliating the surface and removing dead cells with ease. While this eliminates itching, the featured product is also good enough for facilitating faster skin growth.

Overall, this product readily finds a place in the skincare routine of the client, courtesy of affordability and natural composition.

Pros
  • Boasts moisturizing properties
  • A good option for fast healing
  • Facilitates faster skin growth
  • Easy on the pocket
Cons
  • Not the best option for retouched tattoos

10. Redemption Lubricant – Best Aftercare

redemption tattoo lubricant and aftercare

Highlights

  • Equipped with castor oil
  • Loaded with organic beeswax
  • Also contains organic glycerin
  • A natural formula that prevents fading

Review

The last product on our list is specifically crafted for professional artists and collectors. People who have used this tattoo care product would understand why we saved the best for the last. Not taking anything away from the tattoo goo lotion, the Redemption tattoo cream serves multiple purposes. While you can use the same for aftercare, this is one of the few options in the market capable of doubling down as a barrier and even a lubricant.

As far as the product composition is concerned, the 100 percent natural profile adds to the credibility. Despite the smoothest possible feel, this tattoo care product doesn’t include even one petroleum-based ingredient. The organic profile is bolstered further by the relaxing chamomile extract, organic rosemary, organic glycerin, Beeswax, and whatnot. However, we were also expecting olive oil extracts but that’s a topic for another day.

Coming to the miraculous effects of this cream, you can expect the same to revitalize and rejuvenate the skin whilst even moisturizing the same before and after the process. Moreover, this product is precisely meant for those clients who are worried about the tattoo fading with time as Redemption specifically guarantees longevity.

Overall, this is one of the best products in the market that takes tattoo fading seriously and brings forth a formulation for combating the same.

Pros
  • Helps minimize pain
  • Best suited for sensitive skin
  • Speeds up healing
  • Takes care of skin scabs
Cons
  • Quantity is quite less
  • Frequent reapplications are required

Factors to consider before Selecting

Instead of cluttering the section, we shall enlist the preferences of professional tattoo artists, when it comes to purchasing a new aftercare product:

  • Price
  • Composition
  • Skin sensitivity
  • Aftercare abilities
  • Vegan composition
  • Additional capabilities
  • Presence of allergens

FAQs

Why is it important to invest in a tattoo care product?

As mentioned, a tattoo is like a wound that needs to be attended, to as soon as possible. Therefore, as a tattoo artist, you need to keep tattoo care products handy, which need to be applied, after, and even before the process.


Which ingredients do you need to look for?

If you are a professional and have the budget to purchase the product of choice, prefer the one having coconut oil, Shea butter, and even tea tree oil. While you can always opt for tattoo butter with other ingredients present, the likes of coconut oil and Shea butter are probably the best moisturizing options around.


Can you get infected even after using stuff that protects the skin?

If your tattoo care product comprises tea tree and grape seed oil, you can steer clear of microbial and bacterial proliferation. Therefore, if you use the right product, you need not worry about any infection as the area is properly taken care of.

Top Rated Tattoo Aftercare Products

Last update on 2024-03-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Conclusion

Every tattoo artist needs to be mindful of one important thing, i.e. client experience. While everyone basically concentrates on the type of ink and the machine, it is important to focus on the best tattoo aftercare products as you wouldn’t want your client to get affected by any infection.

Therefore, as an artist, it is important to focus on aftercare products that keep infections at bay and allow clients to better care for their skin. While the product list is pretty extensive, a confused artist can quickly get hold of the tattoo goo lotion, to avoid getting overwhelmed.

Related

Robert Green

Robert Green, the brain and brawn behind TattooLous is a tattoo enthusiast and a raging bullbat. After getting 20 tattoos made and even working as a professional tattoo artist for almost 5 years at a stretch, Robert chose to contribute towards the tattooing community in a different yet rewarding manner. Robert believes that the tattoo-making industry is rife with possibilities and, therefore, strives towards educating budding tattoo artists about the choice of kits, machines, aftercare products, and more. Moreover, each of Robert’s drafts is even relevant to the professional tattoo experts who are seeking additional insights into exclusive products and accessories.

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