You can find plenty of pictures of beautifully tattooed hands online, among which dominates finger-side lettering. This is the perfect example of a tattoo that looks perfect right after it's done but significantly fades after healing, and after a few years, not much of it remains. Of course, there are instances where the tattoo in this location holds up, but they are very rare.
Why does this happen?
The skin on the side of the finger is extremely delicate, yet exposed to daily abrasions, cuts, contact with water, cosmetics, and detergents. As a result, it's more prone to callusing and exfoliation than other areas. The healing process of such a tattoo is hindered by constant hand washing and other daily activities that irritate the skin on the hands. Adding to that, the difficulty of keeping ointment on the side of the finger results in very little remaining, with parts of the tattoo spreading, rendering a once-legible inscription illegible.
The situation with tattoos on the top of the finger looks slightly better. The healing process is similar, but the finger itself is not as prone to mechanical irritation in this area due to bending or touching objects. Tattoos on the top of the hand, therefore, have a better chance of maintaining a satisfactory result, but to ensure this, we recommend the following:
- Choose a location at the base of the finger - the higher, the better chance of a well-looking tattoo.
- Choose an experienced tattoo artist - fingers are a truly demanding element, difficult and visible to others (hands are a person's business card!).
- Consider getting the tattoo done using the handpoke method - this is advice for the tattoo artist - manual tattooing using a small set of needles allows the ink to be placed under the skin point by point. It's basically painless for the person being tattooed!
