The Best Tattoo Lotions to Keep Your Ink Looking Fresh

If lotions aren’t really your thing, this balm is a great alternative. Don’t confuse it with an aftercare balm though; it’s designed for older tattoos to really help them pop. You won’t find any petroleum in this formula, which can clog pores and inhibit air flow to the skin. Instead, it’s packed with coconut oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter to moisturize skin and a shot of Vitamin C to help brighten and gently exfoliate. We especially like that you can easily use it as a spot treatment on smaller tattoos.

This thick cream is packed with natural ingredients—shea, mango, aloe, coconut, and more!—which help to deeply moisturize and protect your skin. Don’t worry about buying a ton of different products for each stage in the tattoo healing process, either. This balm is designed to every part of the process. Use it before that tattoo to help soften your skin, after it’s done to help it heal, and in the future to help your tattoo stay looking its best.

For immediate aftercare, Ghinko likes this aloe vera and argan oil-packed soothing gel to “reduce itching, scarring, and tissue damage.” It’s ideal for those two weeks post-inking when your skin feels irritated and needs extra TLC. And for older tattoos, don’t sleep on the brand’s Tattoo Balm, which helps moisturize the skin and bring older tattoos back to life.

This light lotion is designed to be used on fresh tattoos to help them heal, but can also transition to just a lotion to use every time you want to make your ink pop—even for years to come. The formula is packed with grapeseed oil, which helps nourish and protect inked skin and is non-irritating and sensitive skin-friendly, so much so that it can even be used on your face if you run out of moisturizer (or you’re living that Post Malone life).

After the initial aftercare phase is over and your tattoo is healed, you still want to treat it with care. That means, as Dr. Woo says, looking for fragrance-free options that are less likely to irritate the skin. You can’t go wrong with this classic lotion, which for the record is also a favorite of tattooers to keep skin and tattoos healthy—no matter how old they are.

Not only does this tattoo lotion take care of your tattoos, but it enhances them as time goes on, too. That means no fading, no itching, no peeling. With vitamin E in this unscented lotion, tattoos old or new can look and feel fresh as ever.

This is a tattoo lotion unlike others, in that it isn't really a lotion. It's a gel-like oil that glides on your skin smoothly, and removes dead skin cells and dirt from your skin. Say hello to a deep clean that'll leave your tattoos looking and feeling fully healed.

If you have a tattoo sleeve, this is the moisturizer for you. It dispenses from an easy-to-use bottle, but moreover, you get true bang for your buck—for less than six bucks, you get 18 fluid ounces of an ultra-nourishing, full-body lotion.

This is a tattoo lotion that covers all the bases. Seriously—you can use it before you get a tattoo as well as after, to prep and clean your skin and then soothe your tattoo once you have it. The formula creates a protective moisture barrier to seal nutrients in your skin, so don't worry about scabbing or peeling.

This travel-size tattoo lotion is from the brand that you're definitely familiar with if you're not a newbie to tattoos. Saniderm does it best when it comes to aftercare, and their lotion is no different than their bandages. This nourishing formula is ultra-protective, and makes tattoos look fresh and clean.

We’ve already established that sun protection is essential in keeping tattoos looking their best, right? But if you’re not into the idea of applying a lotion and a sunscreen every time you go outside, then you’re in luck. This two-in-one lotion moisturizes the skin on your body and includes a healthy dose of sunscreen for overall skin protection.

Like the aforementioned A&D, this healing ointment is a go-to tattooer recommendation for aftercare. The rich healing salve helps heal extremely dry skin and tattoos the same way: by providing a protective barrier that allows the skin to do it’s thing (heal itself). A word of caution though. “People tend to overapply Aquaphor,” says Ghinko. “Apply just a thin layer every time so your skin can still breathe.” Using too much can actually do more harm than good.