We make Hold Fast. So you already know which one we're going to be biased toward, and we're not going to insult you by pretending otherwise.
Instead, here are the full ingredient lists for all three balms, exactly as published by each manufacturer, and what each one actually tells you. Read them yourself and make your own call. If you finish this and buy a competitor's product, fair enough. At least you'll have bought it for the right reasons.
The Three Products
- Hold Fast Tattoo Balm - 100ml, anhydrous balm, made in Australia.
- Dr Pickles Tattoo Balm - 75g, water-based emulsion, made in Australia.
- Mad Rabbit Tattoo Balm - 48.2g, anhydrous balm, made in the USA.
A quick note on sizes: two of these are sold by weight and one by volume, so they aren't directly comparable. As a rough guide, a balm sits at around 0.9g per ml, so 100ml of Hold Fast lands somewhere near 90g. That still makes it close to double the Mad Rabbit tin.
The First Thing The Ingredient Lists Tell You: Dr Pickles Isn't Actually a Balm
Here's the full list as published:
Almond Oil, Aqua, Beeswax, D-Panthenol (5%), Paw Paw, Sorbitan Isostearate, Glycerin, Maize Starch, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Allantoin, Phenoxyethanol.
Second ingredient: Aqua. Water.
A balm is anhydrous, which is the technical way of saying there's no water in it at all. Butters, oils and a wax, and nothing else. Dr Pickles is a water-based emulsion, which makes it a cream that happens to be sold in the balm category. That's also why it needs phenoxyethanol, a preservative, while the two anhydrous products don't. Water grows things. Oil and wax don't.
This isn't a criticism, it's just what the label says. But it matters, because a cream and a balm do different jobs at different stages. A cream is lighter, absorbs faster, and suits the first fortnight. A balm sits on the surface and slows moisture loss, which is what you want once the skin has closed over.
Dr Pickles also carries 5% D-panthenol. That's the same active at the same concentration as Bepanthen. If you've been using Bepanthen and you were looking for something similar but purpose-made for tattoos, that's a genuinely useful thing to know.
Mad Rabbit Is Six Essential Oils
The full list:
Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Beeswax, Calendula, Sweet Almond, and essential oils of Lavender, Frankincense, Cucumber, Coconut and Vanilla.
The base is solid. Shea, cocoa butter and beeswax is a classic, well-tolerated balm structure and there's nothing wrong with it at all.
The essential oils are the thing to look at. Lavender and frankincense are both well-documented contact sensitisers, and fragrance generally is the leading cause of contact dermatitis in cosmetic products.
Most people will use this and be completely fine. But a fresh tattoo is an open wound, and an open wound is the worst possible place to find out you react to something. If you have sensitive skin, eczema, or any history of reacting to scented products, that ingredient list deserves a second look. If you don't, and you like the way it smells, this is a perfectly reasonable product.
What's In Hold Fast, Including The Bit You Might Not Like
The full list:
Sunflower Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Beeswax, Castor Oil, Candelilla Wax, Squalane, Dimethicone, Vitamin E.
Eight ingredients. No water, no preservative, no fragrance, no essential oils.
Now the part we could quietly leave out, and won't: Hold Fast contains dimethicone, which is a silicone. A section of the natural and clean beauty world objects to silicones on principle, and if that's you, this is a dealbreaker and you should buy something else.
Here's why it's in there. Dimethicone is one of the most effective and best-studied barrier ingredients available. It's inert, it isn't absorbed, it doesn't clog pores, and it forms a breathable film that slows water loss without the heavy, greasy seal you get from petrolatum. It's also what stops the balm feeling like a slab of wax on your skin. We put it in because it does the job, and we'd rather tell you it's there and explain why than hope you don't read the label.
What Each Ingredient Actually Does
In all three:
- Beeswax - the structural wax. Does most of the barrier work in any balm.
In Hold Fast:
- Sunflower Oil - light carrier oil, high in linoleic acid, well tolerated.
- Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride - coconut-derived emollient. Light, stable, not greasy.
- Squalane - emollient close in structure to the skin's own lipids, so it sits very well.
- Dimethicone - silicone. Inert, breathable barrier film. Not comedogenic.
- Candelilla Wax - plant-derived wax. Adds structure alongside the beeswax.
- Castor Oil - thick, glossy oil. Adds slip and shine.
- Vitamin E - antioxidant. Mostly there to stop the oils going rancid, not for your benefit.
In Dr Pickles:
- D-Panthenol (5%) - humectant and emollient. Same active as Bepanthen, same strength.
- Allantoin - skin-conditioning agent. Softens and smooths.
- Glycerin - humectant. Draws water into the skin, and needs water present to do it.
- Phenoxyethanol - preservative. Required, because the product contains water.
- Paw Paw, Maize Starch, Sorbitan Isostearate - fruit extract, thickener and emulsifier.
In Mad Rabbit:
- Shea and Cocoa Butter - rich emollients that melt at body temperature.
- Calendula - plant extract, traditionally used for soothing.
- Essential oils of Lavender, Frankincense, Cucumber, Coconut and Vanilla - fragrance. Lavender and frankincense are documented sensitisers.
Three Things Worth Knowing About All Of Them
None of them are vegan. All three contain beeswax, ours included. If you want a vegan balm, none of these three are it.
Two of them contain almond oil. Dr Pickles and Mad Rabbit both do. If you have a nut allergy, read the label.
None of them are sunscreen. No balm is. Sunlight is the single biggest long-term threat to a tattoo, and no amount of shea butter or squalane will do anything about it. Once your tattoo has settled, use actual sunscreen.
So Which One
Honestly, they're not all competing for the same job.
If you're in the first fortnight and your tattoo is still closing over, you want a lighter, water-based product, not a heavy occlusive balm. Dr Pickles fits that stage, and its 5% panthenol is a sensible choice for it. So does our own Stand Fast cream, for exactly the same reason. A thick balm on a weeping tattoo is the wrong tool no matter whose name is on the tin, ours included.
If your tattoo has closed over and you're into long-term care, then you want a balm, and the real comparison is Hold Fast against Mad Rabbit. Both are anhydrous, both are properly built. The difference is that Mad Rabbit brings six essential oils and a scent, and Hold Fast brings a silicone and no fragrance at all. Which of those you'd rather have is a real choice, not a trick question.
If you have sensitive or reactive skin, the fragrance-free option is the safer starting point. That isn't a sales pitch, it's just what the dermatology literature says about fragrance.
If you object to silicones, buy the Mad Rabbit. We'd rather you used something you're comfortable with than something you resent.
The Point
We built Hold Fast the way we did because we think a long-term tattoo balm should be short, fragrance-free, and made of ingredients that each have a reason to be there. Eight ingredients, no water, no preservative, no scent, made in Australia in a TGA-registered facility.
You don't have to take our word for any of that. Every ingredient list above is published by the manufacturer, ours included. Compare them yourself and buy whichever one makes the most sense to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a balm better than a cream? Neither is better. They do different jobs. A cream is lighter and suits the first fortnight, while the skin is still closing over. A balm is a heavier barrier and comes into its own once the surface has closed, and it stays useful for as long as you have the tattoo.
Can I use a balm on a brand new tattoo? We wouldn't. A fresh tattoo weeps, and it needs to drain rather than being sealed under a heavy occlusive layer. Start with a wash and a light cream, and move to a balm once the surface has closed.
Why does Hold Fast contain a silicone? Because dimethicone is one of the best barrier ingredients available, it's inert, and it's what stops the balm feeling heavy and waxy on the skin. If you'd rather avoid silicones, that's a legitimate preference and you should buy a different balm.
Are any of these vegan? No. All three contain beeswax.
Which one is best for sensitive skin? A fragrance-free formulation is the safer starting point for anyone with reactive skin, because fragrance is the most common cause of contact dermatitis in cosmetics. Whatever you choose, patch test it on the inside of your forearm and wait twenty-four hours before it goes anywhere near fresh work.
Disclosure: Penguin Tattoo Co makes Hold Fast Tattoo Balm. This comparison is published on our own website and we have an obvious commercial interest in it. Every ingredient list above is quoted from the manufacturer's own published information and can be checked. If we've got something wrong, or a formulation has changed since we wrote this, tell us and we'll correct it.
Penguin Tattoo Co is an Australian small-batch tattoo aftercare brand. All products are manufactured in a TGA-registered facility.
