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What is the best thing to put on a new tattoo?
Depending on who you ask, you’ll hear a different recommendation regarding the best ointment for tattoos.
Each time you wash your skin, you’ll need to moisturize it gently for fast tattoo healing.
But what you should know is that one thing which helps one person heal faster possibly may not work for the next.
That’s why we selected the best tattoo ointments with rich natural properties to help you find what you need.
If you don’t want to read the full article then check out our favorite products in the table below.
Hustle Butter Deluxe is all-around useful.
Artists use it as a lubricant because it doesn’t interfere with stencils or clog tubes.
Collectors use it as a great tattoo ointment during the tattoo healing process and afterward to keep the tattoo’s color bright and is anti-inflammatory
Its formula contains natural healing ingredients like shea, aloe, and mango butter, coconut and sunflower oils, Vitamin E, and rosemary. As a result, it calms redness and irritation and prevents itching and infection in the long term.
Make sure you apply nicely on the tattooed area and also it works on all skin types. Every tattoo would say that this is the best tattoo aftercare moisturizing ointment.
Also, it is paraben-free and petroleum-free
Ora’s Tattoo Salve is based on grape seed and coconut oils plus beeswax, calendula, and comfrey. It’s free of petroleum, artificial fragrances, mineral oil, gluten, and lanolin.
Each batch is slow-infused with herbs, hand-crafted by an environmentally responsible family business, and is anti-inflammatory.
Dab it on and get the delicious scent while it sinks into the skin. It has an all-natural ingredient you need to speed up the healing process and avoid scabs.
Tattoo Goo’s aftercare salve isn’t just great for healing tattoos. It’s also useful for chapped lips and sunburn.
This product doesn’t have lanolin, mineral oil, or petroleum that can clog pores and suffocate your skin. It won’t stain your clothes.
Instead, it’s based on natural ingredients like beeswax, olive oil, cocoa butter, wheat germ oil, Vitamin E, rosemary, and lavender. Just a little goes a long way.
Melao Tattoo Butter relies on the finest vegan ingredients and coconut oils to condition sensitive skin. These exotic components are certified Fair Trade ingredients and are anti-inflammatory.
It also contains antioxidants and Vitamin E to promote faster healing.
Viking Revolution doesn’t just make beard growth products. They’ve branched out into tattoo aftercare. Like everything they sell, this ointment comes with a money-back guarantee.
Their goal is two-fold. First, they help your new tattoo to heal fast with minimal scabbing and itching. And second, they want you to continue to use the balm to make your ink tattoo beautiful and have a soothing effect.
This tattoo balm is made of natural ingredients like grape seed oil, shea butter, beeswax, Vitamin E, and chamomile. The texture is lightweight and melts into the skin. Just a little goes a long way.
Skinfix tattoo balm has recommendations from dermatologists and tattoo artists because it doesn’t leach ink or change its color. It’s also free of irritants like perfumes, petrolatum, lanolin, parabens, phthalates, gluten, and soy.
Unlike Vaseline or Aquaphor, Skinfix absorbs well. That’s because it uses a vegetable-based occlusive to stop the ink from lifting and help with scabbing.
This tattoo balm has many rich ingredients such as coconut oil, allantoin, and orange peel extract to prevent infection and help in the skin healing process as fast as possible. This is one of the best tattoo balms out there.
This ointment isn’t just for the healing process. You can use it as a moisturizer long-term.
Why spend extra money when one product does it all? INK-EEZE’s Glide Ointment is a lubricant and an aftercare ointment that smells best like bubblegum. (You can also buy it in a Green version with a different scent.)
Two other benefits are that it comes in a six-ounce container and it’s made in the USA.
But we probably recommend Hustle Butter over this one. That’s because it has an artificial fragrance. It also claims to be a vegan product but contains Royal Jelly Extract from honey bees.
After Inked’s Non-Petroleum Jelly helps you prepare for your tattoo by keeping your skin optimally moisturized.
Then, it lubricates your skin while the artist works and keeps your skin healthy while it heals.
Instead of petrolatum, it has shea butter, grape seed oil, castor, jojoba, and coconut oils to prevent dryness and itching. At the same time, rosemary, thyme, and goldenseal ward off infection.
It is paraben-free and fragrance-free. All ingredients are vegan.
Barker’s tattoo Balm is certified USDA organic, right down to the Vitamin E that’s from non-GMO sources.
It comes with a feature of a thirty-day satisfaction guarantee which gives you plenty of time to try it while your tattoo is in the healing process. We consider this to be one of the best tattoo balms out there.
Besides taking care of your new ink, it can serve as a lip balm, heal chapped skin, and protect new cosmetic tattoos.
Some of the main ingredients are extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, beeswax, carnauba wax, and jojoba wax.
Fisticuffs Balm includes holistic remedies like frankincense, lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus, peppermint, and coconut oils. It’s good at stopping the itch and it helps reduce the swelling of a new tattoo in the healing process.
Recovery Aftercare Butter was developed in the United Kingdom and fully tested by dermatologists. It’s designed to reduce redness while the artist is working on your body.
Next, the smooth texture is easy to apply to sore skin, and it won’t stain your clothes because it sinks in quickly.
Once it’s absorbed, the butter brightens up old ink, too.
Although the primary ingredients are coconut oil and shea butter. It is completely vegan-friendly product.
Urban ReLeaf creates Skin Silk from raw shea butter and essential oils. The oils are naturally antiseptic, and they relieve pain and itching.
The vegan formula features tea tree, lavender, and rosemary to soothe irritation and avoid infection while lipids and amino acids in the shea butter encourage healing. Of course, there are no petrochemicals or parabens in the bottle.
You might decide that the tattoo ink oil is easier for you to use than a balm. It’s oily instead of waxy, so it’s less painful to apply to irritated skin. You don’t have to melt it in your hands before you use it.
The gentle formula includes grape seed, shea, red raspberry seed oil and coconut oils. It’s 100% vegan and free of parabens.
Redemption Tattoo’s ointment sure looks like petroleum jelly, but it’s not. It’s a lubricant for use during tattooing as well as an aftercare moisturizer to keep the skin hydrated.
Nearly all the ingredients are certified organic, and the product is made in the USA.
Ziggy’s tattoo salve is “handmade with love in a climber’s kitchen in Nashville, Tennessee.” It’s a plant-based formula that includes virgin sunflower oil, mango butter, argan oil, calendula, comfrey, and more natural body healing process ingredients.
Tat Wax is something you’re likely to see in a tattoo studio. It was designed by artists to heal new work by letting the skin breathe and providing it with necessary vitamins and minerals.
It is fragrance-free and it does not contain any artificial dyes, no alcohols, no petroleum, and no lanolin. Instead, the label lists moisturized like glycerin and canola oil plus natural extracts like aloe, rosemary, and shea butter.
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Susie Q’s Ink Salve contains essential oils like rose geranium, lemongrass, helichrysum, turmeric, and blue tansy. Each of these has a purpose, like decreasing inflammation or preventing scars.
There is no petroleum, preservatives, or GMO ingredients here.
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Susie Q Skin Tattoo balm product has been around for more than a decade. It comes with a satisfaction guarantee. Try it and see if you’re one of the lucky few that experience peeling and the healing tattoo process within only four days.
Each batch is infused with traditional remedies like organic coconut, castor oil, hemp seed oil, organic arnica, and turmeric essential oil. While the base is organic galbanum essential oil, the formula also has unrefined propolis beeswax that’s scientifically proven to boost body healing.
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This tattoo care ointment uses hemp seed, cocoa butter, and other ingredients from Fair Trade sources. It’s vegan-friendly and made in the USA.
Use it before you visit the studio to prepare your skin for new ink. Then enjoy it as often as you need while your body heals. It won’t pull out ink, but it will diminish itching and scabbing.
Better Beauty Products Tattoo Butter is made in the USA from beeswax, coconut oil, sunflower oil, and Vitamin E. It comes in a convenient case to prevent contamination. It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Sanibalm’s Aftercare ointment is ideal as the first tattoo ointment use on your skin after you remove the bandage. Keep using it three to five times a day for up to five days.
The primary active ingredient is sea buckthorn. It regenerates the skin with antioxidants and fatty acids.
The formula is vegan and is labeled cruelty-free, kosher, and free of petroleum-based products and parabens.
Aquaphor healing ointment works great for curing cracked heels. But is it the one good for new ink of tattoos?
After all, Aquaphor healing ointment is often recommended by artists and collectors alike and it’s super effective at soothing and moisturizing fresh ink.
The main ingredients of this healing ointment are around 41% petrolatum, glycerin, and panthenol. Glycerin attracts moisture, panthenol stimulates healing, and petrolatum forms a protective barrier.
Furthermore, this healing ointment has been clinically tested by dermatologists. Not every tattoo salve has been examined like this one.
But detractors say that Aquaphor is greasy and may cause problems with the ink.
A&D ointment products consist of around 93% USP-grade white petrolatum, liquid paraffin, lavender oil, and vitamins A and D. Dynarex makes it especially for treating tattoos.
It’s also a good one for curing chapped and dry skin and minor cuts.
In general, search for the right ointment that’s safe for sensitive skin. After all, you’re using it to heal a wound and it should be super effective at soothing and moisturizing fresh ink.
Your goal is to keep your tattoo infection-free, prevent scarring, and helps reduce itchiness.
Therefore, Avoid buy anything with artificial fragrances or ingredients that can clog your pores or cause an allergic reaction.
Think about how greasy the ointment is. Will it up stain your clothing?
At first, you only need the right amount of thin layer, but if it doesn’t absorb into your skin, it may cause problems.
For example, we usually don’t recommend petroleum jelly as it keeps the skin moisturizing and doesn’t help in healing. It causes a barrier on top instead.
Finally, remember to buy plenty of ointment as you’ll need to use it at least twice a day for at least five days or longer. Then you might switch to an aftercare tattoo lotion if you wish.
A few hours after you leave the studio, remove the bandage, and clean your skin with antibacterial soaps and lukewarm water.
Let it dry and gently apply a thin layer of tattoo ointment.
Your tattoo is probably going to ooze ink for the first couple of days. It still may be a little swollen and red.
Keep washing it morning and night, and throughout the day if you get sweaty or dirty. Each time, put on a little ointment.
Within three to five days, your tattoo will have formed a scab and may start to peel. Avoid picking it. Just keep the washing and moisturizing it. As long as you use moisturizer, you’ll keep the skin from bleeding and cracking.
Now, hang in there as the scabs fall off on their own. It may take a couple of weeks for the surface to heal.
Underneath, the lower layers of your skin are still sensitive and recovering for up to five weeks.
Even after your skin looks like it’s fresh and back to normal, it needs to be well moist. Why moisturizer?
If your skin is dry and ashy, your tattoo will look dull.
Most of the top tattoo ointments we review below are perfect for keeping the ink vibrant throughout the years to come.
If you’re still not sure which tattoo ointment to purchase, ask the tattoo artist what they would recommend.
Also, It is important to take into account any allergies and sensitivities you have.
Keep in mind that most of these balms and salves aren’t a short-term solution. You can continue to use them as a moisturizer in the future, so you’re not wasting your money.
Let us know if you find a perfect tattoo ointment. Leave us a comment below.
Sources:
1. https://www.aad.org/public/skin-hair-nails/injured-skin/wound-care
2. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/taking-care-of-your-tattoo#1
Last update on 2024-12-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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