It can be a tricky balancing act between keeping new tattoos as clean as possible, while also keeping any contact to a minimum!

Anything that touches the healing skin needs not to disturb the healing process; you don’t want the area inflamed or irritated by rubbing it or by what you use to clean it. So soaps or washes need to be as mild as possible.

Here are some tips to consider when choosing your soap!

• Don’t lather a bar of soap on the skin: use a liquid wash and pour it into your hand first.
• Pick a wash that is unfragranced - no perfume or parfum, natural or synthetic is needed to clean the area!
• Go SLS/SLES-free: sodium lauryl sulphate can cause itchiness and irritation.
• Antimicrobial washes can be useful, so long as they don’t use harsh ingredients
• A good natural body wash plus warm water should remove any bacteria or other microbes

We’d recommend using Balmonds Natural Shampoo & Body Wash to wash a new tattoo. This extremly mild all-purpose cleanser was formulated for use on very sensitive and eczema-prone skin, so it’s plenty gentle enough for newly healing tattoos.

Pat dry with a paper towel after washing, and finish up with a thin layer of Balmonds Skin Salvation balm.