What is the Best Cream or Ointment for Tattoo Aftercare

Most people underestimate taking care of their tattoos and there is a lot of misinformation when it comes to tattoo aftercare, especially with what products to use to completely heal them. Even though tattoos are seemingly permanent, your skin is not. So, to prevent your new tattoo from fading or being damaged, we recommend you follow some simple guidelines that will help you make sure that your beautiful new tattoo will always be in good aesthetic condition.
Most people know that after a tattoo session is finished, a type of ointment should be applied to it in order to accelerate its healing and prevent infection. There are a lot of different types of tattoo aftercare products, including petroleum based products, moisturizing lotion, and A&D healing ointment or Aquaphor, but there is only one ointment that is pharmaceutical grade, FDA approved, and more importantly, made specifically for the proper healing of your tattoos, H2Ocean’s Aquatat. Other ointments such as A&D and Aquaphor are not pharmaceutical grade, but rather food grade. So not only are they NOT intended for tattoo healing, they can also cause a multitude of other issues including excessive scabbing and fading of your tattoo.
Most of the time, after applying the ointment, your tattoo artist will cover new tattoos with either gauze or saran wrap. Saran wrap allows the fresh wound to be completely isolated from any external contaminates.
Take care to leave the covering on for 1-2 hours or whatever time your tattoo artist suggests depending on the placement and size of the tattoo. Once the correct time passes, remove the covering carefully and throw it away. Use lukewarm water and fragrance free, mild, liquid antibacterial or antimicrobial soap like H2Ocean’s blue green soap to wash your tattoo. When you wash the tattoo, it will tend to be slippery and slimy due to plasma oozing out of it. Remove most of it as gently as possible or when it dries on your skin, a lot of scabs will form.
Continue to clean the tattoo as mentioned above for 1-2 weeks or as needed, and continue applying the ointment throughout the healing process.
Remember, do not use lotions, especially ones with fragrance! They can get into the open pores of a healing tattoo, just like a cream would, and can dull out the colors of a tattoo.
Also, showering is fine as long as you don’t saturate your tattoo, but make sure you properly clean it with antimicrobial soap as you normally would. If you get soap or shampoo on your tattoo, just remove it quickly with water. Swimming should be avoided for at least 2 weeks or until the tattoo heals, to allow the wound to properly heal without contaminants.
Instead of lotions or any other ointments or creams, you can use fragrance free H2Ocean’s Aquatat for the entirety of the tattoo healing process, no other product can do the same. A thin layer applied daily on new ink until the tattoo has healed will help to keep your tattoo moisturized and bright for years to come.