Mad Rabbit Tattoo Care: The Balm, The Gel And What To Pair With Them

In 1991, a German married couple named Simon were hiking at the Tisenjoch pass in the Ötztal Alps when they came across a body in the ice. He turned out to be a Copper Age man who had lain there for more than 5,300 years, and he is now kept at the South Tyrolean Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano. The part that matters here is that 61 tattoos decorate his body. People have been marking their skin for a very long time, and looking after those marks is an older question than it feels.

Mad Rabbit is the modern answer. By its own Our Story page, it was founded in 2019 by two friends, Oliver Zak and Selom Agbitor, who were passionate about ink and saw a gap in tattoo aftercare. Trade press says they met at Miami University in Ohio, that Zak's first tattoo inspired the balm, and that it began as a side hustle with a single product. Later, Mark Cuban became the brand's largest investor after a Shark Tank appearance, per one of its team. The brand stresses clean, vegan ingredients and what it calls a no nonsense approach, and I read that as its own positioning.

The trick is to see the first grid as one routine. The Tattoo Balm came first, in 2019, and it is the one to begin with. The Tattoo Repair Soothing Gel followed in January 2021, and the Tattoo Defend SPF 30 Sunscreen in March of that year, which the brand calls 100% mineral. The Tattoo Replenish Daily Body Lotion Unscented is for the long game, once the tattoo has healed, and the Tangerine Vanilla Tattoo Balm Salve is the scented one. The Brightening Tattoo Balm Stick is the tidy, pocketable version, and Papatui's Protect and Brighten Vitamin E Tattoo Balm and Body Lotion are the lower-key neighbours.

Ask your tattoo artist what they want you to use, and follow that over any label, including mine. Most tattoos take about two weeks to heal, according to the Mayo Clinic, which suggests washing gently twice a day and using a mild moisturizer.

This grid is a shelf of healing products, and there is one caveat that belongs with it. The American Academy of Dermatology says dry tattooed skin needs a water-based lotion or cream, and that petroleum products such as petroleum jelly can cause ink to fade. That is worth knowing before you reach for CeraVe's Healing Ointment with petrolatum, Aveeno's Skin Relief Healing Ointment or either of the Vaseline jellies. They are good for chapped hands, lips, cracked heels and dry elbows. On a tattoo, follow your artist.

The rest are a different kind of product, though I would still read each label for petroleum before it goes near ink. Dr. Rogers Restore Healing Balm, Erborian's Centella Barrier Cream Cica Repair Balm and First Aid Beauty's Ultra Repair Rescue Skin Barrier Balm + Mask with Dimethicone are all aimed at repairing a stressed skin barrier, and Weleda's Skin Food Ultra-Rich Moisturizer Cream is the heaviest of the group, better for winter dryness around a healed tattoo than for day one.

A pairing I like: a thin layer of Erborian or First Aid Beauty over a healed tattoo at night, and a lighter lotion in the morning.

What I would skip: a thick ointment on a brand new tattoo, unless the person who made it told you to.

Apply sunscreen fifteen minutes before you go out. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends broad-spectrum, water-resistant SPF 30 or higher for tattooed skin, and sun is the quickest way to blur a good line.

Mad Rabbit's Tattoo Defend is the obvious one, and the stick format is the practical answer for a tattoo on a shoulder, wrist or ankle. Cell Fusion C's Airy Stick Sunscreen SPF 50 and innisfree's Daily UV Invisible Korean Sunscreen Stick SPF 50+ PA++++ are the two I would try for bare skin on a bright day. Dr. Jart+'s Every Sun Day Invisible Korean Sunscreen Stick SPF 40 and CAY SKIN's Isle Invisible Sunstick SPF 35 are also invisible sticks, for people who do not want a white cast over black ink.

Supergoop's Glow Stick in SPF 50 and Glowscreen Sunlighter Glow & Protect Stick SPF 45 add a glow, as the names promise, which is nice on an arm. For bigger areas like a back or thigh piece, Vacation's Classic Lotion SPF 50 is easier to spread than a stick.

What I would skip: a sunscreen on a tattoo that is still peeling or scabbed. Keep it covered with clothing until it heals, and save the stick for afterward.

Wash a tattoo like it is skin, because it is. Lukewarm water, a gentle cleanser and a clean towel beat anything exotic, and fragrance is the first thing I cut.

Nécessaire's The Body Wash Fragrance-Free and The Body Lotion Fragrance-Free, which adds 5 peptides and 2.5% niacinamide, are the most polished pair here. Tower 28's SOS Rescue + Relief Body Wash Treatment is for skin that feels irritated, and Vanicream's Moisturizing Lotion with Pump for Sensitive Skin is the plain, practical pick for daily use.

Cetaphil's Oil-Infused Body Lotion and its Body Cream with Vitamin E, Dove's Sensitive Skin Body Wash Pump and Aveeno's Daily Moisturizing Lotion are the dependable, drugstore end of the shelf. Any of them will do the daily job once a tattoo has healed. The best body lotion is the one you will actually put on every day, and a pump on the bathroom counter beats a beautiful jar in a drawer.

What I would skip: a new product on a new tattoo. Change one thing at a time, so you know what caused a reaction. If a wash or lotion stings, stop using it and ask your artist or a dermatologist, rather than trying three more.

For most people, I would buy the Tattoo Balm and the Tattoo Defend SPF 30 Sunscreen and stop there, at least until your artist says the tattoo has healed. Everything else can wait until you have a reason, and a daily lotion and a gentle wash are easy to add once the healing is done.

If anything looks infected, or a reaction appears, including one months later, call a doctor or a board-certified dermatologist instead of trying another product. Ötzi carried his 61 tattoos for more than five thousand years. Yours only need a balm and some sun protection. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Aquaphor Lip Balm and the Thick Repair Balms to Pair With It and Ole Henriksen Lip Balm.