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Reviewed by Dr. Diana Rangaves, PharmD
You may think that your work is done once you’ve grimaced through all the needling, but that’s just the beginning when you get a tattoo! You’ll want to use one of these best lotions for tattoo aftercare to ensure that your ink stays fresh and your skin heals properly.
What is Tattoo Aftercare All About?
Since tattooing is getting your skin pricked over and over by needles, it can be unsettling for your skin and leaves it vulnerable to infection, scarring, and other issues. That’s why it’s so important to go to a reputable artist and make sure that they use clean equipment. Tattoo aftercare is also a necessary part of the process to promote quick healing and preserve your ink over time.
Most tattoo artists will give you aftercare instructions once they’re finished. That typically includes keeping the tattoo covered for at least a few hours. Many tattoo artists will apply an ointment over the finished tattoo and then cover it in plastic wrap or a bandage to help the ink set and your skin to stay calm. Then, you’ll have to start washing your tattoo each day with soap and water before applying a lotion to keep your skin moisturized and healthy. Other instructions include not swimming with the tattoo for a few weeks, wearing sunscreen on your tattoo, and refraining from scratching as the skin heals.
Best Tattoo Aftercare Ingredients
As you scroll through the options below, be on the lookout for these important tattoo aftercare ingredients:
- Shea Butter. This is one of the best ingredients for fresh tattoos, as it contains fatty acids and nutrients necessary to heal skin while also boasting soothing and smoothing properties. Shea butter is extremely hydrating and is an ideal tattoo aftercare lotion ingredient.
- Vitamin E. Vitamin E is a natural anti-inflammatory agent, making it an important ingredient to help your skin feel more comfortable in the wake of a tattoo appointment. It also has moisturizing properties to keep skin from flaking and can reduce damage from UV rays.
- Natural Oils. There are lots of helpful natural oils out there that will hydrate your parched post-tattoo skin and also deliver nutrients to encourage your skin to heal and strengthen. Some examples include olive, jojoba, avocado, and sweet almond oils. Many of these also have the power to soothe inflammation, which is key.
- Aloe Vera. Aloe is a hero when it comes to most skincare formulas, as it’s built to combat irritation and swelling but also conditions skin. In this case, it will help keep skin moisturized and accelerate healing, meaning your tattoo will stay vibrant.
1. Blu Atlas Body Lotion
If you’re looking for a product that won’t only keep your ink fresh but also support your skin’s healing and transform the texture of every inch of your skin you put it on, Blu Atlas Body Lotion will be your saving grace. Its naturally derived formula has all the important skin-soothing and softening ingredients, like nutrient-dense shea butter, lightweight jojoba oil, and squalane. As an added bonus, your freshly tattooed skin will also get some extra vibrance and protection in the form of seaweed extract. Opt for this best lotion for tattoo aftercare unscented, or go all-in on sweet Coconut Apricot or Classic.
What We Like Best: How clean the ingredient list is, plus all the benefits you’ll see in addition to tattoo healing—you’ll want to use this far beyond the aftercare period!
2. Aquaphor Healing Ointment
The reason this is one of the best lotions for tattoo aftercare is that it protects the skin by forming a shield over it, stopping pollutants from entering and moisture from leaving. Petrolatum is the key ingredient here, forming an occlusive layer over the skin, but there’s also panthenol to draw moisture into the skin and other deeply hydrating ingredients. The only thing about this is that it can be a little too good at trapping moisture in your vulnerable skin, so you may only want to use it in the very beginning and let your skin breathe after a day or two.
What We Like Best: How well this protects the skin.
3. Mad Rabbit Repair Soothing Gel
Those with sensitive skin who want relief from their post-tattoo soreness will appreciate this soothing gel from Mad Rabbit. It stops itching and burning, provides anti-inflammatory and cooling properties, and helps skin recover quickly. For help keeping fresh designs bright, there’s vitamin C in here, and for a reinforced moisture barrier there’s argan oil. Bisabolol soothes, glycerin keeps moisture in, and allantoin and aloe vera provide relief from irritation.
What We Like Best: The many soothing ingredients that help skin feel better.
4. Woo After/Care Moisturizer
Woo After/Care Moisturizer was engineered specifically for just-needled skin, calming it down, protecting it from harm, and balancing its moisture levels for optimal healing. Shea butter is a key ingredient in the mix, while vitamin E fights off free radical damage while ensuring skin is well hydrated. There’s sesame oil for its antibacterial properties (helpful in preventing infection), chamomile to help skin recover faster, and the brand’s water-breaking technology, which makes sure the skin’s moisture levels are at perfect equilibrium.
What We Like Best: The combination of ingredients that are both soothing and moisturizing.
5. After Inked Tattoo Moisturizer and Aftercare Lotion
It’s great to have a lotion that helps skin feel good after a new tattoo, but it’s even better to find one that preserves the tattoo’s colors as well. That’s the idea behind After Inked, a clean and innovative formula packed with lightweight moisturizers and ingredients that help keep your ink bright over time. Grapeseed oil is one of those important ingredients, protecting skin from sun damage that can fade your ink. Glycerin and shea butter keep skin soft, jojoba provides the nutrients necessary for healthy skin, and orange oil comes with antioxidant and brightening benefits.
What We Like Best: The lotion’s brightening power keeps tattoos vibrant.
6. Atelier Eva Soothing Tattoo Aftercare Gel
This soothing gel is the work of both Mad Rabbit and Atelier Eva, bringing you a luxurious formula that bans irritation and aids in your skin’s recovery. It’s been shown to heal tattoos in just two weeks, helping your skin to heal around them for designs that will last. You may be so impressed with how well this works you’ll make your next tattoo appointment! It’s all thanks to brightening vitamin C, soothing allantoin and aloe, plus hydrating glycerin and panthenol.
What We Like Best: The addition of plant collagen, which makes skin more elastic, helping to preserve your ink over time.
7. Kronwel Tattoo Balm
It’s just natural that tattoos will fade over time, especially as your body and skin change in different ways. That’s why it’s important to have a tattoo balm you can count on to enhance the look of your tattoos, whether immediately after inking or years down the road. The balm contains a mix of natural ingredients that are hydrating but not greasy, like shea butter, skin-softening beeswax, and jojoba oil that vanishes instantly into skin. There’s nourishing macadamia oil to help skin glow, vitamin E to seal moisture in and help ink look fresh, and coconut oil for a little extra luminosity.
What We Like Best: This tattoo balm goes beyond aftercare and can be used any time your ink needs a little refresher.
8. Tattoo Goo Care Lotion
One of the most annoying parts of tattoo aftercare is the itching. Luckily, this lotion takes care of that sensation while also making the coloring of both old and new tattoos look more pronounced. It does so with hydrating and nourishing olive and soybean oils, plus vitamins A, E, and B5 to help skin appear brighter and plumper.
What We Like Best: This lotion’s ability to revive old tattoos as well.
9. Inkredible Glow Salve
People with all skin types and all kinds of tattoos will get a lot out of this best lotion for tattoo aftercare. It contains anti-inflammatory ingredients, moisturizers, and all the good stuff that keeps ink in your skin, plus it was designed by tattoo artists to meet their specific needs. Whether you got a small design traced on your ankle or an entire sleeve, this stuff will counteract bleeding and irritation, keeping skin calm and healthy.
What We Like Best: This really helps tattoos pop!
10. Jergens Daily Dry Skin Moisture
While this lotion isn’t designed specifically for tattoo aftercare, it’s a great option if you’re looking for a product to use beyond the tattoo healing period. This moisturizer is designed to repair dry skin, supplying the skin with moisture that lasts in order to keep it healthy, calm, and smooth.
Perhaps the most interesting ingredients are the fruit juices in this formula, which bring powerful antioxidants and lots of vitamins to keep skin luminous, even, and protected from sun damage. There’s also hydrolyzed silk in here, which allows the skin to bounce back quickly and stay firm and flexible over time.
What We Like Best: The combination of ingredients that provide healing and brightening benefits while keeping skin elastic.
11. Lubriderm Daily Moisture Lotion
If you’re scouring the shelves of your local drugstore looking for the best lotions for tattoo aftercare, give this one a shot. It targets normal-to-dry skin with a fragrance-free formula built to provide the skin with 24 hours of moisture. With ingredients like mineral oil, glycerin, panthenol, and dimethicone, this is sure to stop tattooed skin from cracking and keep it smooth and itch-free.
What We Like Best: Great for cracked skin.
12. Alastin Regenerating Skin Nectar
This Regenerating Skin Nectar is very expensive, but bear with us on this one. Since it’s designed to enhance the results of cosmetic treatments (which often involve needles), this product is ideal for freshly tattooed skin. By calming your skin in the wake of trauma (again—those tattoo needles), this skin nectar speeds up recovery and makes skin more resilient in the future.
In fact, it’s not a bad idea to start using it on your skin a few days before your tat session. The key ingredients include proprietary tri-hex technology, which helps get rid of damaged collagen, and elastin to boost production of new skin protein. There’s arnica for its top-notch calming effects and antioxidants from algae that reduce sun damage.
What We Like Best: This makes your tattoo recovery period so much more bearable!
13. Ink Tattoo Brightener
If you want a quick brightening fix along with your skin healing and moisturizing, try this balm. It’s light enough that it won’t stain your clothes if you dress right after application, but is moisturizing enough to help the skin around your tattoo stay nice and smooth. Shea butter is essential both for moisture and soothing, olive and coconut oils seep in to replenish the moisture barrier, vitamin C keeps skin (and therefore your tattoos) glowy, and green tea fights inflammation while protecting skin from damage.
What We Like Best: The inclusion of green tea, which serves several different purposes in this formula.
14. Badger Tattoo Balm
All it takes is 10 natural ingredients to make this tattoo balm, which treats skin to blissful moisture while calming post-tattoo irritation. With antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, this balm encourages the skin to get and stay healthy, keeping your tattoo in good shape as the years go by. Sunflower oil is an important moisturizing and soothing ingredient, vitamin E provides protection from oxidative stress, castor oil promotes healing, and tamanu oil staves off infection with its antibacterial properties. Myrrh gets rid of itching, and calendula eases inflammation.
What We Like Best: This is a brand you can really get behind—their ingredients are certified organic, the business is solar-powered, and Badger is a Certified B Corporation.
15. Verb’s Body Lotion
Some hydrating products out there coat skin in a greasy film, which is almost more uncomfortable than skin dryness. Luckily there are lotions like this one from Verb that offer a lightweight solution. This particular lotion also happens to be loaded with ingredients that make skin calm and happy, which is just what you need after a tattoo appointment.
Ingredients like aloe vera, a world-class skin soother. Or fatty acid-rich moringa oil to reinforce the skin’s moisture barrier, coconut oil for moisture, Matricaria that stimulates healing, and meadowfoam seed oil that stops free radical damage from wreaking havoc on the skin.
What We Like Best: The combination of oils that mimic sebum, meaning they dissolve into the skin upon contact.
16. CeraVe Healing Ointment
Ointments are typically thicker and greasier than creams or lotions, meaning they form an occlusive layer on top of the skin to keep moisture in. Many ointments also have serious healing benefits and protect skin that is sensitive and vulnerable, like post-tattoo skin. The only thing about ointments for tattoo aftercare is that they can trap bacteria in the skin if used for too long, so you’re better off applying an ointment for the first few days and then switching to something more lightweight.
This ointment from CeraVe is a great choice for immediate aftercare of a tattoo, as it contains petrolatum for that moisturizing layer, ceramides to back up the skin’s natural moisture barrier, plus panthenol and tocopherol that provide additional protective benefits while binding moisture to the skin.
What We Like Best: This ointment is ideal for right after you’ve gotten a tattoo, when your skin needs the most protection possible.
17. Stories & Ink Aftercare Cream
The best lotions for tattoo aftercare inundate your skin with moisture while also letting it breathe. This particular one has a formula that supports the skin in its natural healing process and helps to calm inflammation. Since it’s hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, and doesn’t contain any parabens, this cream is ideal even for the most sensitive skin.
Raspberry seed oil is a multifaceted skin hero, included in this formula for antioxidant protection and moisture barrier reinforcement. Black currant oil helps skin heal, candelilla cera reduces scarring, and coconut oil works with aloe, sunflower seed oil, glycerin, and panthenol to keep skin hydrated.
What We Like Best: The natural fruit oils, which provide lots of protection from sun damage.
18. Calf Love Tattoo Butter
This Tattoo Butter comes in stick form for easy application and contains ingredients that skin loves. By reducing swelling, itching, dryness, flaking, and discomfort in the wake of tattooing, this butter makes the whole tattoo experience much more pleasant! It contains shea butter, jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil, and macadamia oil, some of the top skin moisturizers and nourishers. There’s also tocopheryl acetate, a form of vitamin E that protects skin from pollution and environmental harm.
What We Like Best: The formula is super clean and contains all the most recommended aftercare ingredients.
19. Saniderm Daily Lotion
This is one of Amazon’s most highly rated aftercare lotions thanks to its curative formula that cultivates healthy skin. It’s packed with ingredients that counter all the harsh stuff your skin comes into contact with all day, allowing your tattoo to heal and your skin to flourish.
One of the most important ingredients featured in this daily lotion is sea buckthorn, a plant that grows in Europe and Asia and contains antioxidants, fatty acids, and vitamin C—some of the best stuff for your skin. For moisture and soothing, this formula also contains aloe, shea butter, meadowfoam seed oil, and panthenol.
What We Like Best: The natural formula and inclusion of sea buckthorn.
20. SkinFix Tattoo Aftercare Balm
This highly concentrated formula offers instant protection and brightening while it works to minimize scabbing for a smooth tattoo healing process. The formula is hypoallergenic, steering clear of ingredients that may trigger irritation in some, like lanolin, which is commonly found in a lot of aftercare lotions. To help skin stay calm after a tattoo, this balm uses allantoin, which is high in anti-irritant properties. Coconut oil serves as an emollient, vegetable oil works as an occlusive, and rice bran oil provides antioxidants. There’s shea butter and jojoba seed oil for nourishment and moisture as well.
What We Like Best: How this balm uses a petrolatum alternative that’s less harmful to the environment.
21. Sorry Mom Tattoo Lotion
Whether your mom knows about (and loves) your tattoo or not, Sorry Mom’s Tattoo Lotion is a great aftercare option. It keeps skin fresh, healed, and moisturized so that your tattoos can stand out. This formula isn’t just great for the first few days after a tattoo appointment, but it also works on fully healed tattoos and skin that is tattoo-free (for now). It contains soothing aloe vera, mineral-rich almond oil, antioxidant vitamin E, and humectant panthenol. There’s petrolatum in here as well, acting like a shield over your tattoo when it needs safeguarding the most.
What We Like Best: How, despite the inclusion of petrolatum, this lotion is lightweight and absorbs fast.
22. Malibu Hemp Tattoo Enhancing Body Moisturizer
You may think that once a tattoo is in your skin it’s indelible, but the reality is that how well your tattoo lasts mostly comes down to what you do during the initial healing period. If you forgo skin aftercare, your skin will become really itchy, and all that scratching and rubbing can actually remove some ink from your skin. Moisturizers, like this one, lubricate the skin to keep that from happening, while also helping address your discomfort. This one features aloe and shea butter, plus soothing hemp to cut out inflammation, and vitamins to bind moisture to the skin and protect skin from damage that can fade your tats.
What We Like Best: This moisturizer smells great, plus the bottle looks cool!
23. Ancient Greek Remedy Oil
If you’re someone who prefers an oil to a lotion or cream-textured product, try this pure moisturizer. It contains all the moisturizing and healing oils that come most highly recommended for aftercare and soaks into the skin, leaving your tattoo gleaming so you can really show it off.
The cold-pressed oils include jojoba, that vitamin-rich oil that is known for its ability to sink effortlessly into the skin. Sweet almond oil smooths the texture of your skin, getting rid of dry patches and rough texture that can pop up after tattooing. Grapeseed and sunflower oils also lend their many nutrients to the mix, and vitamin E tops it off by protecting the skin.
What We Like Best: That this product is unscented and includes the highest quality oils.
24. Hempz White Gardenia and Coconut Palm
A number of carefully selected plant extracts are what make this formula stand out, calming skin, flooding it with moisture, and helping skin recover from a tattoo. Plus, with the light gardenia and coconut scent, you’ll be motivated to use this product day after day! Shea butter is important here, as it smooths out skin from above and helps the stinging go away.
Hemp seed oil brings its THC-free calming properties to the skin, coconut oil supports the moisture barrier with fatty acids, and rice extract keeps the skin healthy with amino acids and antioxidants. There’s calming aloe, skin barrier-friendly coconut fruit extract, and dimethicone to ensure conditioned skin.
What We Like Best: Hemp seed oil may calm irritated skin in no time!
25. Brooklyn Grooming Tattoo Balm
You never really know how your skin will react to getting a tattoo until you take the plunge. While most are able to recover quickly, some struggle with skin infections or other frustrating issues that get in the way of healing and come with nasty symptoms. The good news is that most tattoo aftercare products have ingredients that help prevent infection, like this tattoo balm from Brooklyn Grooming.
Its formula is simple and to the point, giving you all you need to keep your skin healthy and hydrated without any of the overbearing ingredients other products contain. There’s sesame seed oil with its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, calming hemp oil, shea butter, beeswax, and protective vitamin E.
What We Like Best: How clean, simple, and organic the ingredient list is!
26. Ora’s Amazing Herbal Tattoo Salve
This natural tattoo salve harnesses the healing power of common herbs, addressing tattoo-related issues like itching, irritation, and even color leaching! Let’s start by talking about all the stuff that’s not in here: petroleum, parabens, lanolin, gluten, corn, or synthetics. That alone may save you a whole lot of pain in the long run. What you get instead is non-GMO grapeseed oil to keep sun damage from blurring your ink, calming calendula, tea tree to prevent infection, comfrey to encourage your skin to heal its wounds, and St. John’s wort that tamps down inflammation. Thyme oil, meanwhile, increases circulation to speed up the healing process.
What We Like Best: The clean, botanical ingredient list on this one is impressive!
27. Method.Body Pure Peace Lotion
If you’re looking for an affordable lotion you’ll use on the rest of your body and not just your tattoos, try Method.Body’s Pure Peace lotion. Its goal is to bring peace to your skin, soothe inflammation, and apply all kinds of micronutrients designed to mend broken skin. Like sunflower seed oil, which is high in protective linoleic acid, or calming aloe barbadensis leaf juice. Jojoba oil gives skin non-comedogenic moisture, and murumuru butter adds a little shine and anti-aging power to help your tattoos look good. Plus, with a light, floral scent, you’ll enjoy the whole Pure Peace experience.
What We Like Best: The inclusion of murumuru butter, which turns up the hydration dial while providing anti-aging benefits, too.
