Golden Age Femme Ink: Aging Tattoos and Women

This is a subject that I've been very interested in, since I am considering a tattoo. I talked about women and tattoos previously and mentioned somewhere that I was researching how tattoos age
The main aim of this post is to look at what happens to tattoos as you age and why it happens and how to protect your tattoo from damage associated with age...

Factors Affecting Tattoos as You Age:

✭ Natural aging of your skin, depending on your genetics, environment & lifestyle:
- Loss of moisture and elasticity = softening of colour and line.
- Exposure to sun/tanning, particularly sunburns = loose finer details and shading, black ink becomes grey/blue-black, whites and yellows can get burnt out totally.

✭ Pregnancy and Weight Gain/Loss:
- Fast weight gain of dehydrated skin = stretch marks (regardless of weight/size).
- Rapid weight loss without exercise and hydration = more sagging, bad texture.
- Areas of naturally taut skin & musclier areas will age better.

✓ Bold, large pieces such as Tribal styles stand up the best to changes as a result of aging.



How to Protect Your Tattoo from Damage:

❤ Choose a well trained tattoo artist who uses quality equipment.

❤ Anti-aging treatments and products - not just for your face! Keep it gentle and hydrating - ask your tattoo artist what they recommend.

❤ Sunscreen, everyday!

❤ You can get your tattoo touched up down the track, but the better the artist and the planning, the less likely you'll have to do this.



In the end, I doubt any of us will be like the World Most Senior Tattooed Woman, Isobel Varley, so we'll be ok.