Peter Joyes' webpage for

F I N G E R N A I L   T A T T O O S

Hearing about recently introduced licensing requirements for tattoo artists, I requested information
from the Oregon Board of Cosmetology, to determine if I needed a special permit or license to do these
fingernail tattoos, since I have been doing them since 1985 and not even one person had complained or even
said "Ouch!"  I received a letter back telling me that I would indeed need a permit and that I would have to
spend at least a year in full time beauty school to get one. And, they told me, I was subject to a $10,000
fine if I performed such nail tattoos without a permit.

I am 71 years old. Much as I love doing these fingernail tattoos,
I do not want to spend a year in beauty school, nor do I want to be fined!.
Thus I have stopped doing them.
These pictures will show you what you are missing!  

Fingernail Tattoos are for the daring.  This is the kind of art that some people think of as offensive, and morally wrong, while other people jump up and down with interest and excitement. It is on the edge.  Teenagers love it. It is like having a real tattoo, but of course, they don't hurt, and they grow out in a few months.

The pictures grow out in 3 - 5 months.  It doesn't hurt, (though people have described the experience as "irritating").

 
I will be forever grateful to have found such a skill which puts me, at this
time in my life, so often right in the center of this high pitch teenage energy.
It is so real, so spontaneous. I truly enjoy being able to share my artistic skill
and in the process,  give you something
which makes such huge smiles, and such wondrous amazement.
It is  a little piece of magic.

I can draw pretty much any picture you'd like. You can select a design from photo books, or you can show me a picture to copy.   Each picture takes about six minutes. I can do ten per hour, 40 in an afternoon. 

Exciting entertainment for groups of teens.

A tattoo machine has a very sharp needle about 5" long,  which vibrates up and down at high speed. In drawing the picture, the artist uses a light touch, designed to merely scratch the surface of your nail. It does not penetrate your nail or your skin. 

When you do this work, using a tattoo needle to draw tiny pictures on the surface of people's thumbnails, you have to be very delicate and gentle. This is not a tattoo you are doing. People get these fingernail tattoos because they are terrified to get a real tattoo and this is a great substitute because it grows out in three to five months.

I have had people caution me about using a needle to draw on the upper white part of the fingernail saying that this part is supersensitive and painful, but my experience tells me that it doesn't make any difference at all. Some people have very sensitive fingernails, like cheese rind, others are hard like a brick. You have to very gentle and considerate all the time. Use gloves, keep your equipment very clean, and you have to look professional not like somebody trying to make a buck with a nifty gimmick toy.

People have to trust you first. Display pictures which show people getting their nails tattooed, smiling and showing them off to friends.

 Remember, you are selling the excitement and the attention that people will get after they get the tattoo fingernail done.

If you have any questions email to info@peterjoyes.com

Good Luck!

 Health regulations require use of new sterilized needles, rubber gloves and alcohol based color. 

So I built a small leather box to enclose the workings of the machine and that seemed to help because it cut down on the noise, and you couldn't see the spark.

I designed a nice desk with an on/off switch which I could operate with my knee.

I charged $5 per color. A simple rose, for example with a black outline, green leaves, and red flower would be $15. I kept most of the designs simple taking no more than six minutes, so people waiting in line would be able to know when their turn came.

I had several people who let their fingernail grow out. They cut the design off and pierced a small hole in it to use as a charm on a necklace.

You need a regular tattoo needle with a single needle in it. The barrel in which the needle rests should have a diamond (or square) shaped tip on the end. Use black pelican drawing ink for the black outlines, then fill in the areas with colored tattoo ink. The key to creating sharp designs on the surface of the fingernail is to be sure that the needle tip is very sharp, very clean, and set so light and gentle that you'll not penetrate the skin if you slip. The needle point should dance on the nail surface leaving ink in the tiny lines you draw. It is delicate work for which you might have to wear a jewelers magnifying head set. Some nails are so curved and hard that it becomes very difficult to draw with the needle point. I decided to do only thumbs for this reason.