Conclusion. You can get a tattoo at any age, and there is no stigma attached to getting a tattoo as you get older. The only person who can decide if you're too old to get a tattoo is you. We would recommend that you choose a reputable tattoo artist and work with them to find a suitable design for your skin.
As skin matures, its surface layer, the dermis, begins to thin. Moreover, aging skin is slower to heal. These two factors, lessened elasticity and slower healing, can potentially complicate the tattooing process.
It is completely safe to get a tattoo, no matter what your age, if you visit a reputable studio like Celebrity InkTM.
Nationally, the minimum age requirement in the United States is 18. That means anyone who is 18 or older can be tattooed without parental consent. Getting tattooed as a minor, however, depends on the state you're in.
The good news is you're never too old to be inked and nowadays, tattoos have moved past many of their negative associations and are widely accepted.
Tattooing older skin means working with a softer, less elastic material that's far more prone to bruising. Choose a design that will work with you — and your skin: Fragile skin also means that the kind of intricate designs younger people get are far more difficult to do on seniors.
Tattoos can stretch and change shape, especially when it comes to more intricate patterns. The brittleness of aging skin may cause stretch marks and damage tattoo design.
"[The longest-lasting tattoos are] on flatter, less abused areas of the body like the flat of the forearm, upper arms, shoulders, back, and thighs," tattoo artist Toby Gehrlich tells Bustle. "These areas can usually withstand the test of time."
Where you get your tattoo can also help to improve your self confidence. Tattoos can draw the eye away from areas you don't want to receive attention to body parts and personality traits that we value most. By the same reasoning, our self-image and self-worth can improve.
Crepey skin can be tattooed, with some caveats. Because crepey skin occurs where the skin has lost collagen and elastin, it's looser and saggy. Tattooing loose skin can be tricky because the image will stretch along with the skin, so that portrait of a mermaid may end up looking like an eel-lady.
1 Your Inner Forearms
The inner forearm, also known as “the next place Marci wants a tattoo,” is more or less the only area on the arm that can effectively avoid signs of aging. “The proximal [upper] arms can stretch and contract significantly with changes in both muscle and fat, Dr. Kraffert explains.
Researchers around the world who study human behaviors have been interested in finding out what makes people modify their body. They have found that individuals with tattoos report that they feel more attractive, stronger and more self-confident—having overcome the fear of pain.
Research has proven that multiple tattoos boosts the immune system. When the tattoo ink enters the body, the immune system attacks the ink. Each time that person goes for a new tattoo, the more their body undergoes that same process again and again, improving the immune system each time.
Generally, black ink takes the cake for lasting the longest. Black ink tends to outlast any other color because it is super pigmented. Other darker colors like dark blue, dark green, gray, and dark purple will have a similar lifespan to black ink.
Pastel colors and white are the lightest tattoo colors; thus, they fade the quickest among all colors. They generally last for about five to eight years before fading. Moreover, pastel and white ink colors may look like scars if not done correctly.
Guess how tattoos stay there forever, even as your skin cells die and are replaced? French researchers say they have found the answer, and it's a little bit surprising. They found that immune system cells called macrophages eat the ink, and then pass it to their replacements when they die.
For some people, it's about their religion, for others it's simply taste. Historically, people with tattoos have been stereotyped as being associated with drug users or criminal activity, to the point where it was illegal to get inked in multiple states before the late 1900s.
Otherwise, there's no reason for any healthy individual, be you from the Baby Boomer generation of Generation X, to miss out on getting inked. Whether you're 40, 60, or 80 (kudos!) getting your first tattoo later in life can be a great way to celebrate your life, so don't hesitate any longer.
Lines may blur and script may become less clear, but generally speaking the ink will still look good. Staying healthy, too, is great in it of itself and in caring for your tattoo.
You can get a tattoo at any age, and there is no stigma attached to getting a tattoo as you get older. The only person who can decide if you're too old to get a tattoo is you. We would recommend that you choose a reputable tattoo artist and work with them to find a suitable design for your skin.