As with neck or face tattoos, not everyone agrees that inking your palms is a great idea. In fact, tattoo artists often refer to tattoos on hands as job stoppers. But, we encourage folks to express themselves however they see fit! The palms are unlike most other locations on the body because the tough skin presents the artist with a tricky surface to work on. Palm tattoos are also very prone to fading over time. However, a seasoned tattoo artist who’s very experienced with the needle (along with reasonable expectations) can result in excellent tattoo design. We composed a list of creative tattoo ideas that fit in the palm of your hand, and their imperfections only add to their charm. From trippy designs to gentle minimal shapes, these pieces definitely deserve your attention. Here are 33 exciting palm tattoo ideas that you’re going to applaud.
Talk to Granny
A gentle reminder is what we all need. This very funny joke tattoo is an instant classic.
Cheery Cherry Blossom
“Palm tattoos are extremely prone to fading and falling out, which means simplistic designs with solid black will last the longest over time,” according to Inked Magazine. “Keep your body art as simple and readable as possible, otherwise, you’ll be left with an illegible mess.”
Earth Art
Here we have a charming tattoo that employs white ink. As you might guess, white ink is already prone to fading so there’s no doubt that “Art” will be the only visible part of this tattoo over time.
Some Color
Black ink is definitely the way to go for a hand tattoo, but this person decided to get risky and incorporate some blue. Rawr!
Both Hands
When it comes to palms, the saying goes: “Bold will hold.” The less intricate the design the better. Do you see how bold and thick the lines are for these matching hand tattoos?
Wild
These fresh palm tattoos look absolutely incredible right now but don’t expect designs like this to last forever. It was wise to choose dots to complete this. We’re hopeful!
Catch a Snowflake
“Callused skin that is constantly in motion, like the palms, has a faster regrowth than other locations on the body, which means that tattoo ink fades or falls out at a faster rate,” according to Inked. Here, we find a simple design that should hold up.
My Moon
Simply put, this is stunning. However, this will probably need a touch-up or several over the coming years.
A Message
These palms are speaking to us! We love the message here and the cute little dots underneath the words, at the base of the palms.
Take a Stab
Love hurts! Do you know what hurts even more? Getting your palms tattooed. The insides of your hands are full of nerve endings which makes getting them inked especially painful.
Dark
This person decided to uncover their inner goth with this macabre tattoo.
All Over
Classic tribal designs inspired this all-over hand tattoo. We love this very bold choice.
Me-Ow!
We at Mamas Uncut love a quality cat tattoo. Here we find a fine tattoo and its subject. What a cutie!
Eye Don’t Know
Eyes are an increasingly popular palm tattoo design. While we were researching, we discovered tons of folks have eye tattoos on their hands.
Snake
This little snake tattoo is one of the most modest on the list. We hate snakes so we don’t get it, but do you!
Dotwork
“If you’re not looking for a simple black outline of your small tattoo, you can opt for dot work shading,” the folks at Inked suggest. “Most other shading styles won’t hold, however, saturated dot work can stand the tests of time if the dots are applied in multiple passes. This is because an artist applies dot shading like they would linework, depositing more pigment per dot than the wash-like shading.”
Ganesha
Ganesha is one of the most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. The tattoo pays great homage to this mythical deity.
Sunshine
Let the sunshine in! We could all use a little more brightness these days.
Love & Light
We can get behind this! The lettering here is beautiful and haunting. If we had to get two words tattooed on the palms, they would be “unconditional love.”
More Love
You could get a little heart or a heart the size of your entire palm! There’s plenty of love to go around.
Later
Goodbyes are always tough. This person found a workaround so that a simple wave will suffice.
Jump
The stick man on a trampoline is a classic hand tattoo that’s popular because when you ben your hand it animates the figure and makes it look like it’s actually jumping.
Stars
Are you seeing stars? These minimal star tattoos were a smart choice.
Ummmm
While researching for this list, we stumbled across an Italian tattoo artist named Rama Manfredotti who tattoos some pretty insane designs. Tattoos like this go against good advice, but they’re thrilling.
Woah
Here’s another trippy Manfredotti piece. This had to hurt!
Cross
Finally, we had to show you one more of these bizarre tattoos. This is so wild!
Blink
We told you people are fond of the eye tattoo! Here’s another design that extends the design all the way out.
Raspberries
We doubt this tattoo will age well, but wow! Isn’t gorgeous?
RELATED: 25 Mouthwatering Food Tattoos That Are So Cute You’ll Want a Bite
Olive Branch
You don’t have to go big to impress. This modest olive branch tattoo with blue and green inks is an absolute stunner.
Feeling Blue
Blue ink has such an electric quality to it. However, it’s prone to fade. Love it while it lasts!
Wedge
We are obsessed with your food tattoos! People of the world, please keep getting cheese-inspired designs. We’re living!
Thumper!
People sure love a Disney tattoo and this design of Thumper from Bambi is oh, so precious. Because the ink has been applied so thickly, this should hold up rather well.
RELATED: 10 Delightful Disney Makeup Looks That Are Straight-Up Full of Magic
Counting Sheep
The person who shared this image explained that the tattoo belongs to a fellow tattoo artist. We find an astrology tattoo with the Libra constellation and a sheep jumping toward the moon. Adorable!
There you go! 33 palm tattoos that show the limits of inking your hands.
Contents
- 1 Talk to Granny
- 2 Cheery Cherry Blossom
- 3 Earth Art
- 4 Some Color
- 5 Both Hands
- 6 Wild
- 7 Catch a Snowflake
- 8 My Moon
- 9 A Message
- 10 Take a Stab
- 11 Dark
- 12 All Over
- 13 Me-Ow!
- 14 Eye Don’t Know
- 15 Snake
- 16 Dotwork
- 17 Ganesha
- 18 Sunshine
- 19 Love & Light
- 20 More Love
- 21 Later
- 22 Jump
- 23 Stars
- 24 Ummmm
- 25 Woah
- 26 Cross
- 27 Blink
- 28 Raspberries
- 29 Olive Branch
- 30 Feeling Blue
- 31 Wedge
- 32 Thumper!
- 33 Counting Sheep
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