Finger tattoos. They're subtle. They're secretive. They're super cute. It's no wonder Pinterest is littered with them — and that every Instagram star on the planet has one. Take Manny Gutierrez, for instance. He's been flaunting this fresh bit of ink since he got it at the beginning of November.
But finger tattoos have one MAJOR flaw — one that Gutierrez clearly missed before going under the needle. And he's already paying for it… literally.
Tattoos on the insides of the fingers can fade before they're even healed — to the point that their designs are unrecognizable.
That's due to several factors, but it's mostly thanks to hand movement and super thin skin.
Here's some quick tattoo science for you: Tattoo ink has to lie in a very specific layer of the skin. If ink isn't placed far enough under the epidermis (the skin's outermost layer), tattoos fade as that layer regenerates. If it's placed too far into the dermis (the second outermost layer), ink spreads and creates blurry blobs of color.
The skin around the fingers is extremely thin, AND it's placed directly above bone. That makes nailing the exact placement of ink incredibly hard for tattoo artists. On top of that, tattoo ink doesn't heal well in areas where the skin is constantly creased or moving.
Gutierrez quickly realized this and paid to have his re-done just two weeks after getting it in the first place.
And he'll have to do that a countless amount of times if he wants that moon to still look like a moon.
Due to this, many traditional tattoo artists — if they have your best interest in mind — will warn you against these tattoos or flat out refuse to give you one upon request.
Because touch-ups aren't just expensive and time-consuming — they're REALLY damn painful.
Again, the skin of the hands is placed directly above bone. If you've been tattooed in multiple places (guilty), you can personally attest that the bonier spots are WAY more painful to have tattooed than meaty parts.
But back to the budget thing: a lot of tattoo shops have a minimum price point for small tattoos to cover the expense of supplies, and that can be as high as $100. Imagine paying $100 for two minutes of tattooing. Every couple of months.
So, uh... maybe don't follow Gutierrez's cue on this one.
Your fingers will thank you.
