The Furry Nails Trend on TikTok Is Real, but Maybe Let’s Leave It Behind With Duck Nails

First and foremost, yes, the furry nail trend on TikTok is real. We know — it sounds wild, especially when you consider the logistics. For instance, how do you wash your hands without them looking like a wet dog (for all the hand-washing enthusiasts out there)? What happens when you go to the bathroom or apply lotion? The questions are endless.

While some furry nail photos floating around might seem excessive or downright unrealistic, we think we’ve cracked the mystery of where the nail trend originated — and which styles are actually wearable.

The furry nail trend on TikTok literally involves people laying a strip of fur over the top of their nails — whether acrylic, poly gel, or press-ons. But there are variations of this trend, some of which we can, ahem, fathom. It seems the furry nail idea may trace back to the reported velvet nails Blake Lively sported at her wedding in 2012. She reportedly had a thin layer of velvet-like material coated on her nails, and honestly, it didn’t look too bad — like the shaved head of a troll.

That same year, MUA Cosmetics was promoting a line of furry nail products. The method? Paint your nails in your color of choice, then roll them in a small pot of nail fluff to create a soft, textured look. The YouTube video below gives a quick glimpse of how it works.

That was then and this is now, and it seems people have taken the fur effect to extremes. In a TikTok uploaded by @thi.inspiration.nail.art — which we’re not convinced shows the user’s actual nails but rather the style on someone else — you’ll see nails that, er, give off major tarantula vibes. Each nail is entirely coated in a fluffy texture that’s strikingly similar to a tarantula’s legs, and plenty of commenters thought so too.

The text overlay in the video reads, “I hope he likes my new nails,” to which one commenter hilariously replied, “untillllll you need to go number two.” Honestly, someone had to say it!

In another TikTok shared by @elegant_nail_house, someone undergoes a fur nail makeover that involves cutting a piece of carpet to match the shape of a press-on nail. They then apply a layer of poly gel or a similar material under the nail for a firm foundation. The caption reads, “Teddy bear nails.”

While we agree these examples are pretty extreme (and we suspect only a handful of people are actually wearing them), the real trend might involve adding a line or two of fur to the nail, similar to how you’d draw a black or gold stripe in a design. That approach feels far more practical and, dare we say, wearable if we had to pick a variation!

Asking if furry nails smell is like wondering if your head will smell if you skip washing your hair for a few days — of course, it will! And the same goes for your nails. Anything with soft fibers will inevitably carry an odor.

One TikToker, if she’s telling the truth, recently shared her experience at a nail salon where she and her daughter smelled an “intense rotting smell.” Apparently, she overheard a nail tech and a customer with fur nails arguing, and the customer stormed out angrily. The techs then complained about working with fur nails.

So, it seems furry nails are very much real — and yes, they can stink. Maybe it’s time we leave this fuzzy trend behind, along with the duck nails.