- Written ByDan Hunteron July 5, 2021
Last Updated: October 12, 2023
The number one thing you must do after getting inked is to ensure your tattoo heals as best as it possibly can to prevent future damage. Therefore, it’s imperative that your tattoo is treated with the best and most effective aftercare products available, as using something unsuitable can cause permanent issues with your ink.
In this article, we review the best antibacterial soaps to use on tattoos during the healing process.
Don’t ruin your tattoo by using wrong or low-quality products.
Why Choosing the Best Tattoo Soap is Important For Your New Tattoo
When your tattoo is brand new, it is essentially anopen woundand will be extremely sensitive to anything that comes into contact with it. Therefore you need to be extremely careful when choosing what to apply to it when cleaning the area.
Many soaps available in shops and supermarkets contain very harsh ingredients that can really irritate a new tattoo if rubbed onto the area. Some ingredients can delay the healing process of your tattoo and cause unwanted side effects and reactions such as itching, redness, rashing and dryness.
Best Antibacterial Tattoo Soap Reviews
1. After Inked Tattoo Aftercare Foam Cleanser Soap
With After Inked being one of the market leaders when it comes to tattoo aftercare products, it was obvious that their aftercare soap was going to be a hit. If you’re looking for a high-quality, fragrance and ethanol-free soap that’s sure to keep your ink looking in top condition, then this is the product to use.
After Ink Tattoo Foam Soap Cleanser gently nourishes the sensitive and healing skin to help remove dirt and harmful bacteria; all while ensuring the area doesn’t dry out.
This soap comes highly recommended by world-renowned tattoo artists and is vegan-friendly, paraben-free, sulfates-free and cruelty-free, along with being free of Silicones, dyes and phthalates.
Ingredients: Water, Decyl Glucoside, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Sorbic Acid. May contain Sodium Hydroxide.
After Inked: Our Top Pick
- Fantastic cleansing qualities
- Vegan, paraben-free, cruelty-free
- Backed by world-renowned artists
This tattoo soap is our pick of the bunch due to its gentle formulation and ability to kill a variety of harmful germs and bacteria. It’s so important that a soap used on tattoos doesn’t contain any artificial fragrences to ensure the sensitive area doesn’t become irritated. It’s also just as important for a product to contain properties that prevent a tattoo from drying out. This soap does it all.
2. Tattoo Goo Deep Cleansing Soap
Tattoo Goo is one of the best tattoo soaps that I’ve tried on any of my new ink. This soap can be used on tattoos and also on dermal piercings.
This tattoo soap can also continue to be used after the healing process of your tattoo is complete should you really like using it.
This specific soap has been designed to provide a broad-spectrum germicidal solution, which in layman’s terms means that the soap has been formulated to kill as many types ofbacteriaas possible.
Even though the soap is great at killing germs, it’s still incredibly gentle on the skin, which is so important when using it on a new tattoo where the skin is going to be extremely sensitive.
The soap has recently been re-formulated to help remove more dead skin cells and dirt than before, so it’s in no doubt even better than when I last used it.
Asdry skinis more prone to harboring various types of bacteria, Tattoo Goo Tattoo Soap has been created to ensure that no high PH ingredients such as ammonia have been added to the product to ensure that the soap never excessively dries your skin out.
Ingredients
Chloroxylenol (PCMX).1%, Water (Aqua), Sodium PEG-7 Olive Oil Carboxylate, Propanediol, Olive Oil PEG-7 Esters, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Polyquaternium-10, Cocamide MEA, Cocamidopropl Betaine, Diazolindinyl Urea
3. H2Ocean Tattoo Foam Soap
Another good quality antibacterial tattoo soap that serves its purpose very well. The soap’s protection qualities are designed to ensure that your tattoo heals vibrantly, so you’re left with a bright and sharp tattoo after the initial aftercare period has finished.
The soap is enriched with natural soothing ingredients such as aloe vera to ensure that it’s extremely gentle on sensitive skin.
Excess drying and scabbing can be prevented using this soap as it’s much more moisturizing than other harsher antibacterial products.
As mentioned, the tattoo soap is packed with mostly natural ingredients and is paraben-free and vegan-friendly – so you can be assured that your skin is being cared for properly by using this product.
High in natural, skin-friendly ingredients along with being vegan-friendly, H2Ocean Tattoo Foam Soap has all the qualities required to properly clean your new tattoo and ensure that it heals as best as possible while at the same time making sure your tattoo remains moisturized and hydrated to help prevent any adverse skin reactions from appearing.
Ingredients
Benzalkonium Chloride, Purified Water, Poloamer 188, Aloe barbadensis Leaf Juice, Disodium EDTA, Salt.
4. H2Ocean Tattoo Liquid Soap
This soap is not much different than the foam soap listed above. While some people prefer to add soap as a foamy lather to their tattoo, others prefer the more conventional liquid soap application, which is where this comes in.
While slightly more expensive than the H2Ocean foam soap, this one is enriched with aloe vera, helping to moisturize the area and prevent dryness and cracking as the tattoo continues to heal.
Another great choice that helps to combat infection and extreme dryness. This soap has an impressive list of properties, such as being: antibacterial, paraben-free, fragrance-free, moisturizing, antimicrobial and vegan friendly.
How To Use Your Tattoo Soap Correctly
- Wet the tattooed area with lukewarm water using your clean hands
- Gently rub a generous amount of soap over the tattoo, focusing on areas that may have a buildup of excess and dried-up ink/blood/plasma
- After cleaning, wash off any excess soap with more lukewarm water
- Dry your tattoo with a clean paper cloth (dab, do not scrub) or alternatively allow to air-dry
- Apply a moisturizing lotion to the area to prevent it from drying out and causing skin cracking and irritation. We review our favourite tattoo lotions here.
- Wash your tattoo 2-3 times a day for about 2-3 weeks, or until the tattoo has completely finished scabbing and peeling.
Check out thisarticleif you would like to see a more in-depth guide to properly cleaning your new tattoo.
What to Look For When Buying Soap For Your Tattoo
When searching for a good quality antibacterial tattoo soap for your new ink, you need to be looking for something as organic as possible. Many artificial ingredients are actually the main reason why lots of soaps sold in shops are too harsh for your tattoo.
You’ll want to look for a tattoo soap that contains no artificial fragrances as lots of these additives are known to cause irritation for many new tattoo owners. Remember though that everybody is different and reactions will vary from person to person (some people’s tattoos will not react to various additivesat all).
Artificial coloring can be another reason for skin irritation caused by soap. However, it depends on the specific ingredientadded, and also on the person.
Finally, avoid any soaps that containalcohol. Alcohol will be very harsh on your new tattoo and will most definitely cause it to dry out too much, potentially leading to itchiness, dry/cracked skin, rashing and delayed healing.
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