Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo? Countless many older people now seem to ponder the questions. Tattoos mark a special occasion, motivate, remember, and serve importance. Sometimes tattoos are done on a whim, sometimes they are very well planned.
It is perfectly OK for older people, 60 years and more, to get a tattoo. You are never too old to get a tattoo. The skin of a sixty-year-old is possibly thicker and stretcher, than a young person’s, so you might have to be more selective on the tattoo, and where it goes on the body. Providing you are in reasonable good health there should be no problems, provided you go to a professional tattooist. They should ask you to do a skin test first.
There are a few things you will want to consider if you are looking at getting a tattoo, if you are around 50, 60, or even 70 years of age. To help you we listed many of the popular topics on this page.
More and more older people are interested in getting their first tattoo.
Should an over 60 walk into a tattoo shop, it would be no surprise to staff these days, as older people getting a tattoo is becoming much more common. Here is a highly experienced older person – a grandparent, a parent, a sage of knowledge – now deciding on body art for the first time in their life. Considering its association with the young, is it OK for older people to get their first tattoo?
Are There Social Stigma Attached To Tattoos?
The decision to get a tattoo often is seen as eccentric, erratic, and against social conventions. As a stable, older person – tradition dictates that your personality does not feature those traits. You are commonly seen as telling the young not to get a tattoo because ‘you’ll never get a decent job’ or ‘what will everyone think of you.’
There is a social stigma attached to getting a tattoo as an older person. Many would throw your judgment into question, and some would be frightened by your non-conformity. The world is changing, however, and community norms are going out the window. Getting your first tattoo at 60 or over is arguably the best time to get one!
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Well, we decided to do a survey on what people, 50 years old and over, thought of tattoos.
Well to my surprise, people were totally divided with their attitudes. If they loved tattoos they really loved them and admired other people with them.
Of those people we asked, who didn’t like tattoos, they hated them with a vengeance; they thought people with them were low class; they thought tattoos were ugly and body disfiguring.
Those People Who Already Have A Tattoo
Those People Who Don’t Have A Tattoo
Our survey was of a random cohort of people aged 45 and over, in the South of England. We also discovered that 64 percent of the group did not have a tattoo. Therefore leaving 36 percent who did.
Of those older people considering getting a tattoo for the first time, 72 percent were women.
Of those 36 percent who had a tattoo, just under a quarter were thinking they might get one. Of those considering getting a tattoo for the first time, 72 percent were women.
We also discovered that the majority of people who were tempted to get their first tattoo, went on over the years to get more.
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Why get a tattoo at over 60?
As an older person, you’ve lived long and experienced a lot. There’s no higher degree of certainty in your life than there is now. That means that there is little room for regret – one of the significant aspects young people weigh up in getting a tattoo.
Yes, you may receive some questioning from your peers. But you are a confident person looking for some excitement or an artistic representation of something you cherish. There should be nothing holding you back from getting a tattoo.
Older People Getting Their First Tattoos.
Tattoo artists and studio heads further report these days that more older people are getting their first tattoos – especially over 60-year-olds. The reasons they give tend to be along the lines of – ‘crossing it off their bucket list’ or ‘keeping a special memory with them forever.’ Another common reason is that older people want to stay active and be trendsetters within their communities.
It Seems older people get smaller, meaningful tattoos. The tattoos they get often include:
- Names of children, grandchildren, or pets
- Names of spouses
- Cherished memories
- Religious symbols
- Signs of the zodiac
- Quotes
- Awareness Ribbons
- Survivor or health tattoos
Don’t be led by what is in fashion at the moment, it will soon be out of date.
It is better to get one that means something personal to you.
Should I or Should I Not Get That Tattoo?
Weighing up getting a tattoo as an older person tends to boil down to two things – why bother at this age, or there’s never been a better time to do it. Many over 60’s that consider tattoos tend to veer the latter. Even though people will be surprised by the decision, it’s hard to argue why it is not OK at an advanced age.
It’s perfectly OK not to have a tattoo at any age – older people live well with or without getting one. If getting inked is something you’ve always wanted to do – there shouldn’t be anything stopping you from doing so!
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