Best Lotion For Tattoo: Our Top Choices In 2024

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If you have a tattoo appointment coming up, this is a friendly reminder to get a tattoo aftercare lotion right away. Your skin is very vulnerable after a tattoo, and it is up to you to choose the best lotion for tattoos to help keep it moisturized and speed up the healing process. Of course, the market is flooded with tattoo aftercare lotions and it’s not easy to know which is considered the best lotion for tattoo healing. 

That’s where we come in. You’re looking for the best lotion for tattoos and in this article, we share with you our top choices in 2024. 

But before we reveal the best of the best, we want to answer a question many people new to tattoos ask: why apply lotion?

Moisturizing Versus Drying Out Your Tattoo 

A lot of people will tell you how you should let your tattoo breathe and dry out after getting it. Scientists have, however, proven this to be a myth—one that can result in a lacklustre tattoo. 

The best thing you can do for your skin to help it heal after a tattoo is to keep it moisturized.

There are various reasons why applying a good quality tattoo lotion as aftercare is good for your new ink. 

Firstly, you don’t want your tattoo to dry out. When it’s dry, cellular activity slows down and this means your tattoo will take much longer to heal than necessary. The scabs that form over your fresh tattoo is an indication that the cells aren’t working as they should and the skin is dying off. Unfortunately, as the scabs fall off, so too does some of the ink, which means it won’t look as vibrant as it could have with the right aftercare.

But that’s not the main thing you should worry about. A lot happens on a microscopic level—bacteria feasting on your drying skin for one. In other words, you’re more prone to getting an infection if you don’t apply lotion to your tattoo. 

When you treat your skin as recommended by your artist during the tattoo healing process, you’ll feel better—no annoying itching—and your tattoo will heal brighter. 

It’s actually incredibly easy to do right by your tattoo. The hardest thing you’ll have to do is decide which is the best aftercare tattoo lotion. No, wait! Even that will be easy since we put together a collection of the top choices of the best lotion for new tattoos in 2024. 

best lotion for tattoo

5 Best Tattoo Aftercare Lotion Overview

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5 Best Tattoo Aftercare Lotion Reviews

1. Aquaphor Healing Ointment: Best Overall Pick

Aquaphor Healing Ointment

This healing ointment isn’t specifically labelled as a tattoo aftercare lotion but many tattoo artists recommend it. It is petrolatum based which means it creates a layer on top of the tattoo that locks in your skin’s own moisture while blocking out any nasties in the air that could cause infection. 

By locking in moisture, your tattoo will heal faster and with less itching. What’s more, it will heal looking as fresh as the day you first got it. 

Why choose Aquaphor?

  • It is easy to find. 
  • It won’t break the bank.
  • It helps tattoos heal faster. 

2. Hustle Butter Tattoo Care & Maintenance Cream: Best High-End Product 

Hustle Butter Tattoo Care & Maintenance Cream

Choosing vegan products aren’t necessarily reserved for vegans. The fact is that products made from all-natural ingredients tend to be gentler on the skin. A lot of the chemicals used in other products can trigger allergic reactions or aggravate just-tattooed skin. 

Hustle Butter is a high-end product, but it’s moisturizing effect and healing properties make it worth the splurge. You can use it on anything from small tattoos to big patches of heavy blackwork.

What makes it one of the best lotions for tattoo healing is how easily it is absorbed—your skin will feel soft and supple long after it has healed. 

Why pick Hustle Butter as the best lotion for tattoos?

  • It’s vegan. 
  • It’s gentle on the skin.
  • It’s easily absorbed. 

3. Stories & Ink Tattoo Care Aftercare Cream: Best for Sensitive Skin

Stories & Ink Tattoo Care Aftercare Cream

If you have sensitive skin, to begin with, you will have to apply the best lotion for tattoos geared toward sensitive skin. Stories & Ink is perfect since its formula is extra gentle. It’s paraben-free, hypoallergenic, and fragrance-free. 

But what makes this one of the best after tattoo lotions is the soothing ingredients. You’ll be spoiling your tatted skin with a fatty acid-rich blend of bisabolol, panthenol, and vitamin E to help reduce inflammation. These super ingredients will also deeply moisturize your skin. 

As if that isn’t enough, it is vegan and cruelty-free too.

Why buy Stories & Ink?

  • It’s made for sensitive skin.
  • It contains ingredients that reduce inflammation. 
  • It’s hypoallergenic and fragrance-free. 

4. Tattoo Goo Balm: Best Color-Enhancer

Tattoo Goo Balm

Tattoo Goo has been on the market for years and is a much-loved aftercare product that many professional tattoo artists recommend to their clients. It contains Vitamin B5, also known as Panthenol, which prevents scabbing and speeds up the healing process. It will do all this without clogging your pores. And it’s been dermatologically tested to give you the assurance that you’re putting only the best lotion for tattoos on your skin. 

There’s however one benefit that makes this lotion stand out from the rest: it makes the colors of your tattoo heal more vividly.  

What makes Tattoo Goo so great?

  • It has a brilliant reputation. 
  • It prevents scabbing. 
  • It’s been dermatologically tested. 

5. After Inked Tattoo Moisturizer and Aftercare Lotion: Best Natural Formula

After Inked Tattoo Moisturizer and Aftercare Lotion

This tattoo aftercare lotion contains grape seed oil which is extremely moisturizing without clogging your pores. Even though it contains oil, it doesn’t feel oily at all and won’t stick to your clothes. It is a non-petroleum based, fragrance-free, paraben-free, gluten-free, and vegan-friendly tattoo lotion that you can continue using long after your tattoo has healed. 

This is one of the best lotions for tattoos because apart from its super natural formula, it will help your tattoos—new and old—look healthy and vibrant.

What makes After Inked stand apart?

  • It isn’t petroleum based. 
  • It’s gluten-free. 
  • It doesn’t have an oily consistency.

Final Thoughts

There is a massive difference between tattoos that were treated with the best tattoo aftercare lotions and those that weren’t. Applying a lotion will keep your tattoo’s colors bright and vivid and your skin looking young and healthy. 

For optimum results, you want to start applying tattoo aftercare three days after getting your tattoo and continue to do so for at least a month. If you choose the best lotion for tattoos from this list you can be sure that you’ll be applying something that has been tried and tested by tattoo professionals the world over. 

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