Every claim below is supported by the science. No shortcuts. Just what the research says and what it means for the 2 to 3 washes per day you are doing for the initial 4 to 6 weeks.
"I did not start this company to make another balm. I started it to fix the wash."
Colby Colquitt — Founder, Banger Tattoo CareThe industry always moves forward
Every standard got better.
Except the wash.
The tattoo industry has redefined its standard in every area. The aftercare recommendation has not been reviewed in a decade.
Coil machines → Wireless rotary
Lighter. Quieter. More precise. Artists never looked back.
Tattoo chairs → Flat benches
Better access. Better positioning. Better sessions.
Vaseline → Natural balms
The industry stopped using petroleum jelly and moved to formulas that actually support the skin.
Physical portfolios → Instagram
The best work reached more people. Bookings went global.
Antibacterial foam → Cold-process bar
The FDA found zero evidence antibacterial soap outperforms plain soap. The standard recommendation still has not caught up.
Banger is the only brand actively promoting anti-antibacterial in the aftercare market. Individually wrapped. Zero antibacterial agents. Built to be the standard the industry needed and did not have.
1,500+ artists already made the switch.
The standard is moving. It always has.
In September 2016 the FDA reviewed antibacterial soaps and found zero evidence they prevent infection better than plain soap. The recommendation on most aftercare sheets was never updated to reflect it.
The foundation of most aftercare recommendations has not been reviewed in over a decade. Banger was built on what the science actually says.
The skin microbiome is a community of beneficial bacteria that defends fresh work. Antibacterial agents cannot distinguish between harmful and beneficial bacteria — they disrupt both equally, at exactly the wrong moment on every wash of a fresh tattoo.
Zero antibacterial agents is not an omission. It is the point. Every Banger Bar is built around protecting what the body is already doing.
On intact skin, fragrance compounds stay on the surface. On a fresh tattoo the barrier is broken — fragrance penetrates layers it normally cannot, adding inflammatory stress to fresh work that has nothing to do with the tattoo itself.
Zero fragrance is not a marketing claim. It is a strict formulation standard. Banger Bars contain none — not reduced fragrance, none.
The concern with bar soap was always shared-use contamination — one bar touched by multiple people. That concern does not apply to a bar used by one person for their own skin. No shared bar, no shared bacteria.
One bar per person. That is the format — and the reason the shared-bar concern does not apply.
Soap cleans through surfactants — not antibacterial chemistry. That mechanism is identical in bar and liquid soap, which is why the FDA found no advantage for antibacterial agents. Cold-process goes further by retaining natural glycerin that commercial manufacturers extract and sell separately, delivering moisture instead of stripping it.
Cold-process is not a craft detail. It is what makes Banger Bars deliver moisture support on every one of those 40+ washes instead of stripping what little the skin has managed to retain.
Liquid and foam soaps are 8 to 10 percent active ingredient — the rest is water, preservatives, and thickeners that require aggressive surfactants to compensate, stripping oils with every wash. Cold-process bar soap needs none of that. Gentler surfactant profile, no additives, nothing stripping the barrier during the 40+ washes ahead.
Banger Bars are cold-process bar soap. No water added. No thickeners. No aggressive surfactant concentrations. Just a formula designed for the 40+ washes ahead.
The Soap Is the Hero. You Are Washing 2 to 3 Times a Day for 2 to 3 Weeks. Get the Soap Wrong and the Balm Cannot Fix It.
That is 40 or more washes on fresh ink. The soap sets the baseline with every single one of them. The balm works with whatever the soap left behind. If the soap is stripping the skin barrier, disrupting the microbiome, and delivering fragrance compounds into compromised tissue on every wash, the balm is managing damage — not supporting the process.
The entire aftercare industry is fighting over the balm. The soap recommendation has not changed in over a decade. This is the gap Banger was built to fill.
Every item on this list is a decision inside every Banger Bar.
"Thank you. I've been telling people to avoid it for over 20 years."
Tattoo artist — comment on our viral post