By now, it's no surprise that you can tattoo virtually every part of your body, from the inside of your lip to the bottom of your toe. But did you know that it's also possible to ink your fingernails? Yep, it's a whole other kind of manicure. However, this form of nail art is kind of ill-advised for a variety of reasons.
For a fingernail tat, the artist tattoos on top of your nail just like how they'd tattoo your skin.
While you obviously want to go to a skilled artist for any kind of tattoo, this is super important for this kind of work. Someone who doesn't have a lot of experience with nail tats risks cracking your nail in half.
"Nail tattoos take a lot more concentration and precision. From the tattooer's perspective, it feels completely different from tattooing skin since the surface has grooves and is hard as nails. Pun intended," celebrity tattoo artist JonBoy told Seventeen magazine.
I don't know if it's just me, but fingernail tats seem ultra painful, right? Wrong.
Apparently, the process is pain-free because the needle doesn't actually go into the epidermis of your finger. JonBoy said his clients claim it feels like having "gel [nail] polish taken off."
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Despite how cool they look, they might be bad for your fingernail health, according to Revelist.
To add insult to injury (kind of), you'll only be able to wear clear nail polish unless you want to risk covering it up.
There is one last caveat to finger tats -- they won't be with you forever.
Like inner bottom lip tattoos and finger tattoos, these babies aren't permanent. Since the ink is only on the surface of the nail, as your nail grows, the tattoo goes with it. The entire thing could be gone in a few months.
Thank goodness for nail polish remover and stick-on nail decals, am I right?
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