The question of what will look like a tattoo in old age, worries everyone who plans to go to a tattoo salon. The body painting remains for life, so the decision should be made in a balanced and considered manner. What happens with age to a tattoo? What do older people with tattoos look like? The right guidelines will help you get the answers to these questions and decide on your choice.
Down with prejudice
In Soviet times, tattoos were banned because of their mass distribution in prison circles and the criminal world. Tattooing was considered a distinctive sign of criminals or former prisoners, so the attitude towards the owners of the body drawings was sharply negative. The lack of professional consumables and tools led to the fact that people began to use improvised means and mastered tattooing machines themselves. Of course, all this had an impact on the quality of the image: tattoos turned out amateurish and primitive.
Today the art of tattooing is tirelessly developing and becoming universal. Nearly every second person has a tattoo, and that doesn't necessarily mean they have anything to do with crime. The prejudices about the fact that a tattoo owner will look ridiculous in his old age are already irrelevant. In a few decades, the entire current generation of young people will turn into grandparents, and many of them will be adorned with tattoos. Fear of old age - it is not a reason to deny yourself the pleasure of looking stylish and fashionable now!
What happens to tattoos in old age
One of the favorite arguments from tattoo opponents is, "Have you thought about what will happen to your tattoo in your old age?" This is usually followed by a colorful description of a faded design on flabby skin. Is that the unenviable fate that awaits all tattoo owners in old age?
Not all judgments on this subject are equally true. Do all tattoos age the same and what will your design look like in old age? Reasoned answers to these and other important questions, as well as photos of older people with tattoos, you will find in this article.
What will happen to the tattoo in old age
Indeed, as we age, our skin becomes less elastic, sagging and stretching. As a result, tattoos in older people, both men and women, may slightly change shape, size and proportions.
In addition, the ink itself may also change shade over time. This depends on:
- The master's adherence to the technique;
- The choice of the correct depth of application;
- The brand and quality of the ink;
- The way of life of a person.
If you take the risk of going to a little-known salon or a master working at home, be prepared that your tattoo in a few years will begin to present surprises. Faded colors, blurry outline, merging small parts - only some of the negative consequences that are noticed with sadness by those who like to save money on a visit to the tattoo salon. It's amazing how people are sometimes ready to pay a lot of money for brand clothes or expensive jewelry, but at the same time they count every hundred rubles, comparing offers of tattoo salons. The drawing on the body will stay with you for life - it's definitely not worth saving!
Another important factor is the change in outlook. Motifs and symbols that were dear to you in your youth can lose their appeal over the years. Sometimes a person changes his views to those that are diametrically opposed. Because of this, it is sometimes necessary to overlap, hide or even remove tattoos in mature years. It is worth keeping in mind the possibility of such a development when getting some tattoos, in particular:
- Political;
- religious;
- names of people and significant dates;
- Plots based on pop culture.
How to Maintain the Appearance of Tattoos Even in Old Age
If sagging tattoos in old age scare you, there are several ways to extend their life and keep them clear and vibrant until old age.
Here are a few best practices for the forward-thinking and foresighted:
- Design the areas of your body that, by virtue of anatomy, respond the least to weight fluctuations and other age-related changes. These are the lower legs, shoulder blades, and other areas with a thin layer of fat and a lack of frequent muscle contractions. Conversely, areas such as the abdomen, hips, neckline, hands or buttocks are the least successful in terms of preserving the appearance of the tattoo. If the skin is in constant motion, experiences frequent friction or is stretched due to changes in weight, the pattern will deform intensely.
- Choose neutral subjects that will look relevant to any age and outlook. Before deciding on a particular sketch, consider such . Is it appropriate? Is it aesthetically pleasing?
- Work only with professionals of the highest level - this guarantees the quality of the work and a longer period of tattoo wear without correction.
Remember that even with all these rules, a lot depends on your body constitution and skin elasticity, so there's no guarantee that your design will remain unchanged even after 40 years.
What to do if a tattoo in old age begins to look different than it did when you were younger
Even if you have a quality tattoo in the right place, sooner or later you will notice changes. There are several ways to solve the problem:
- correcting the design;
- complete or partial overlap;
- removal.
Correction involves updating the contour and refreshing the color. Do not abuse this procedure: each new session traumatizes the skin, and too frequent corrections can cause severe skin diseases. Overlapping a part of the drawing or the entire sketch is relevant if there is a desire to change the subject. However, the same rules work here as with the correction.
Finally, removal is a radical way to get rid of tattoos. Modern technology allows for a few sessions to significantly lighten the work, but it is almost impossible to get rid of the pigment completely.
How to prolong the life of tattoos
- Protect your tattoo from direct sunlight with cream or clothing.
- Try to avoid significant weight fluctuations, stick to one physical form.
- Be especially attentive to the condition of your skin during rapid weight gain (e.g., during puberty or pregnancy). The abdomen and thighs are risk areas - these areas are more likely to become deformed.
- Avoid frequent contact with harsh chemicals, including chlorinated pool water. Choose pools where the water is ionized.
Should you be so worried?
Someone of great stature said: "If only people cared about their inner world as much as their outer appearance!" Indeed, we sometimes pay too much attention to appearances, forgetting that both for those around us and for ourselves, it's much more important to the inner filling. To grow old does not mean to become worse. If an elderly person lives an active life, communicates with others in a positive way, makes the life of their relatives better, surrounds them with care and love, does it really matter what their tattoos look like? Conversely, you can have pristine skin and still be an unpleasant person you don't want to spend time with in old age.
Our skin is a kind of diary of life. Tattoos, scars, piercings - all these remind us of certain events and periods of human formation. We keep old photos, even if they're faded and worn out. In the same way, we should treat our old tattoos - with love and acceptance.
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A Stimulus to Self-improvement
A tattoo is a great reminder to keep yourself in shape. Eating right, exercising regularly, taking care of your skin, and living a healthy lifestyle will ensure that you look attractive even in the sunset of life. The presence of tattoos on the body will not let you relax and will help keep the body toned. By the way, large body art hides visible skin defects, and colored thick tattoos "disguise" sagging skin and prevent it from sagging. This option is suitable for both women and men.
How can you improve a tattoo?
There are several ways to revive an old tattoo. As you know, fresh drawings require special healing ointments, lotions. They will also be needed for old tattoos. There are several types of substances with different principles of action.
- Restoring the color of drawings. Such products penetrate the skin, making the contours clearer and the colors - bright.
- Moisturizers. Restore the water balance of the skin, making it supple and elastic.
- Protective inks Sunscreen.
Most of these products are combined, can have several effects at once. Ointments and lotions are used by tattoo owners on a permanent basis. This allows you to always keep the image fresh and bright.
Over time, the skin is covered with wrinkles, pigment spots. This occurs due to a lack of collagen, which slows down with age. Consequently, it is worth taking care to replenish the protein. The tattoo should be constantly dabbed with sunscreen, protect the skin from excessive dryness.
Not only proper care helps to maintain the appearance of the tattoo, but also the timely correction. It consists in working through the fuzzy contours, pale colors, detailing some elements.
Old tattoos need more severe intervention - renovation. As a rule, the image is completely changed, making it larger in size to cover the previous drawing. This is believed to be the best alternative to tattoo removal. Doing an update is recommended after 7 years from the date of application.
An experienced artist perfectly combines the new image with an old. They harmonize, complement each other. If the old tattoo turns out to be too bright, it is preliminarily lightened with a laser.
The change of tattoos with age is an irreversible process. But it is possible to keep the design looking great even after many years. The main thing is to properly care for fresh colors, to monitor the health and condition of the skin. But also about the old tattoo should not be forgotten. Ointments, lotions, corrections and updates will help to keep it in the right shape.
It is necessary to think in advance about the place of application. It should not contain a thick layer of fat, to stretch quickly. Apply drawings that make sense. Cartoon characters, for example, can get bored in a couple of years. Therefore, the tattoo should reflect the way of thinking, world outlook, life goals. Entrust the work is only to real professionals with quality materials and extensive experience.
Proper care
Thinking about how a tattoo will look in old age is necessary from the first day of application, because in old age it is impossible to correct the result. After the visit to the master, stick to the recommendations on care, use professional products. In summer, try to apply a special sunscreen to the drawing to avoid burnout. Timely correction of a tattoo, especially a colored one. This way the image will not fade and will remain bright and saturated even in old age. Black design also needs to be updated, because the lines are not as clear, and the contours can be smeared over time. A timely visit to a tattoo artist will ensure the longevity of the tattoo.
Is it possible to fix a tattoo that has become deformed in old age
Even a quality tattoo in the right place will sooner or later begin to change. The problem can be solved with the help of:
- Correction of the figure - updating the color, the contour, adding saturation to the colors;
- overlapping - partial or complete overlapping of the original drawing with the new sketch will help to correct the situation with an inappropriate subject or inappropriate semantic subtext of the image;
- Removal - laser removal is a rather lengthy procedure, consisting of several sessions, which will help to lighten the image, but will not cleanse the skin completely.
Fixing a tattoo can't be done indefinitely. Each session is a trauma to the skin, which takes a long time to heal, recover. So don't ignore the advice in the hope that it can be fixed over time.
Our skin holds a history on it. Scars, pigmentation or tattoos all tell of special periods of life. And even if the marks on our skin fade and fade with time, they don't make them any less valuable to a person. As the years go by, one no longer worries about how a tattoo looks in old age. The important thing is that the body art tells about the wearer, what it reminds him of and what emotions it fills him with.
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Place of application
Tattoos in old age may not lose their shape at all and therefore do not look as perfect as one would like. The skin loses its firmness and elasticity and the image becomes dull. It is possible to hide the tattooed skin under the clothes, but for this purpose it is necessary to choose correctly the place for the application. For example, the chest, abdomen, buttocks, thighs or back. A small tattoo in any case will not spoil the general image and will be little-noticeable to others. The right choice of the sketch and place of application will protect you from unpleasant consequences and a sense of discomfort.
Fashion and Relevance
Many people are frightened by the fact that tomorrow the fashion for tattoos will pass, but the drawings will remain. Of course, they can be removed by laser, although the process is quite time-consuming and not entirely effective (especially in old age). The answer is simple: tattoos have been around as long as the human race has existed. It is unlikely that they will ever disappear forever, just from time to time their popularity becomes more and less.
Examples of what a tattoo looks like for women and men in old age can be seen in our photo gallery. The Internet is replete with photos with tattooed elderly people, who even in old age look fashionable and stylish. The most important thing is the inner spirit and acceptance of yourself. A tattoo is just one way to express individuality and show yourself to others.
What will I be like in my old age? -I'll be awesome!!! Be yourself and get rid of prejudice!
Watch this video on the topic:
What are they like, old men with tattoos
The image of the man in the photo below is perfectly complemented by his tattooed sleeves, they give him brutality. In addition, this photo can be seen on the avatar of teenagers who like to shout about the abundance of their testosterone in social networks, as well as, for example, in Internet marketers, agitating to buy goods on Aliexpress and then get rich on their sale.
TattooAge: Never Too Old is a project of two photographers from the Netherlands. Marion and Ingrid created it precisely to demonstrate what will happen to tattoos over the years, how they will look on older people.
The authors of the project accompany their photographs with the text of interviews they take from old people. They note that an elderly person with tattoos is always a do-gooder with an active lifestyle. Such people try to keep up with life, but will never sit at the porch and mutter something like the fact that today's youth are all drug addicts. There are older people who decided on their first tattoo after they retired.
