“How are those tattoos going to look when you’re old?!”
This is one of the most common questions or critiques that heavily tattooed people hear. It’s as if people think that old people without tattoos somehow look better than colorful, tattooed old people.
As someone who is about halfway to old, and more than halfway to being heavily tattooed, I have some thoughts on this topic.
First, I’ll admit that I have been asked this question before – most memorably by my beloved late mother-in-law.
My MIL was an amazing lady and always so warm and loving to me, treating me like a daughter and never a daughter-in-law. She was an artist and appreciated the artistic nature of my tattoos very much.
Like my own parents, she was also old school and not a fan of art being permanently placed on the body. I kept my tattoos a secret from E’s family for the first few years we were together. I covered up, making sure that his folks knew and loved me before gradually revealing that I have tattoos. I instinctively knew they would not be fans.
Sure enough, they weren’t – but the good news is they already loved me lots, so they simply accepted my artwork as part of me. It was never an issue. Thankfully, the older I get, the less my tattoos are an issue for anyone in my life.
If you’re still having doubts about how well my tattoos will age, here are my top 5 reasons why that is simply not a concern for me:
1. Physical beauty and how we look matters far less as we grow older. One of the gifts of old age is the wisdom to realize that societal beauty standards are meaningless and have no power over us that we do not give to them. Old people get to wear what they want, do what they want (for the most part) and get tattoos if they choose. No one is going to care about my tattoos – or my looks in general – when I’m a truly old person.
2. As I’ve written before, my tattoos have likely saved my skin or even my life. That’s because I gave up sunning and tanning when I started collecting. Many family members have had skin cancer removed, but so far not me. If tattoos keep you out of the sun, they’re potentially helping to prevent skin cancer while also helping you to grow old with fewer wrinkles. I have fewer wrinkles than many of my friends my age, likely due to staying out of the sun since about the age of 27 when I became a serious tattoo collector.
3. Regardless of what society says, my tattoos are beautiful to me and they will always be so. Tattoos are more than the art you see on my skin; they are memories made visible and tangible. Memories of planning the tattoo, memories of sitting for the tattoo, memories of my time with the artist, memories of whatever inspired the tattoo – there are so many different memories baked into every tattoo. Since tattoos are forever, they are also a way to help those beautiful memories last.
4. My tattoos are part of my personal magic. The whole process of tattoo is magical and sacred to me, from conceptualizing the idea to having an artist create a design with me to sitting for the tattoo and sharing energy with the artist. Wearing my tattoos keeps that magic alive and infuses me with even more personal spiritual power. Growing old with tattoos is growing old with magic, power and spirituality lighting up my soul. I wouldn’t want to do it any other way.
5. There is a rebel streak in every tattoo and tattoo collector. Whether you choose a saucy spot for your tattoo, select defiant artwork, or simply feel sassy in bucking the traditions that tell us tattoos are only for sailors and whores – tattoos have come a long way into the mainstream but they are still for the wild at heart. I can’t think of anything more wonderful than keeping our rebellious, unruly spirits alive and well as we age. I look forward to being the ungovernable tattooed lady in my nursing home with my fellow Gen Xers.
Hopefully, I’ve convinced you that while there may be good reasons not to collect tattoos, worrying about how you’ll look in your 80s is not one of them. I treasure my tattoos and the way they have helped me learn to radically accept and defiantly love my body. I know that I’ll love them all my life and well into old age.
Do you have any other burning questions about tattoos? I’m happy to write more on this topic in the future – just let me know.
