Getting a Tattoo at 50+? Here’s What to Know

It’s never too late to get that I ❤️ Mom tat, but less collagen, more sun damage and health issues should be taken into account

Robin L. Flanigan,

AARP

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En español

Published September 11, 2024

illustration/gif of a woman getting a bird tattoo on her arm

Andrea Chronopoulos

A 94-year-old man came into Shawn Conn’s tattoo parlor in Rochester, N.Y., to get a tattoo to honor his late wife. He’d always wanted one, but she wasn’t a fan.

“He waited over 70 years to get his first tattoo because his wife didn’t like them,” Conn recalls. “He had me tattoo a small rose on him because that was her name.” He came in the following summer to get a tattoo for himself — an eagle head for his time in the service.

Tattoos seem to be no big deal these days – even among those 50+. One-quarter of adults ages 50 to 64 are tatted up, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey. And most people get them for the same reason as Conn’s 94-year-old customer: to honor a meaningful person or time in their life.

But getting a tattoo as a 50+ adult is a bit different than getting one in your younger years. Here’s what you need to know before you head into the tattoo parlor.

The skin you’re in

Andie Corby, 75, got a tattoo to honor her son.

Jim Corby

Andie Corby got her tattoo at 75, even though she had told friends in the past that she’d only do it if hell froze over. Then, in 2021, her 48-year-old son, Jason, unexpectedly passed.

To honor Jason, Corby decided to get a tattoo similar to the one Jason had — the cartoon character Chilly Willy holding a mug of beer, saying, “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Smaller than her son’s had been, Corby’s tattoo is without the mug of beer and includes Chilly Willy holding a butterfly, which she added as an homage to her mother, who also has passed.

“Most people my age say, ‘I would never do that,’ [but] my grandchildren think it’s really cool,” she says.

Long lost collagen. Tattoo ink is placed into the middle layer of skin, the dermis. It’s “rigid and robust with abundant collagen” when we’re born; but as we age, we lose collagen and our skin becomes more elastic and wrinkles, says Matthew J. Mahlberg, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist at the Colorado Center for Dermatology & Skin Surgery in Denver.

That’s why when getting a tattoo as an older adult, says Mahlberg, go for those parts of the body that stay thickest and firmest, such as your shoulder, back or abdomen. Tattoos in thinner skin areas, such as the forearm, tend to lose their vibrancy and become blurrier.

Too much fun in the sun. And if you have had lots of sun exposure, maybe keep your tatted area to places where the sun doesn’t shine, says Conn, who likens tattooing a sun-damaged area to tattooing a leather handbag. “Your natural pigment kind of overtakes the ink.”

The ouch factor. It seems to hurt more for those with thin skin, says Conn. “It’s not a painless process, which is part of why it’s such an exclusive club as far as people having tattoos,” he says. “They earn them. [And] in my 30-plus years of tattooing, I have noticed a lot of my clients who have been with me through the years complain that it gets more painful as they age. I myself have also noticed that.”

Coloring an area, which requires going over the same spot repeatedly, will be more painful than an outline, he adds.

Complications can make it ... complicated

While tattoos generally are safe, there can be complications that are especially dangerous for older adults, says Mahlberg.

If you’re on an immunosuppressant. Mahlberg says that older adults on immunosuppressant medications may be more prone to a risk of infection during the process.

If you’re getting a tattoo on your lower half. “Wounds on the lower extremities always heal slowly, especially as we mature and our circulation and venous return diminishes,” Mahlberg says.

If you’re using red ink. Mahlberg sees most allergic reactions from tattoos with red pigment. These allergic reactions can be itchy or cause redness or swelling.

If your tattoo application requires a lot of sitting. Adults 60+ are at a higher risk of blood clots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and some tattoos can require three to four hours of sitting, says Conn.

If you’re on blood thinners. Be aware that aging skin is more susceptible to bruising when being tattooed, especially for those on blood thinners, says Mahlberg.

The best (and safest) artist for the job

Every state has different requirements for individual tattoo licenses. Regulations can vary from county to county and even townships — and some places don’t require a license at all.

Check their safety protocol. Is the work area clean and sterile? How does the artist prevent cross-contamination between clients? Does the artist’s work in-person match the caliber of any pictures posted online?

Aside from going right to the source to find out, answers to these questions can be found online. Conn suggests checking for reviews on Google, Yelp and other search engines. The CDC also recommends using tattoo parlors approved/registered by their local jurisdictions.

“If a shop uses the term ‘universal precautions,’ that’s a sign they are versed in good hygienic procedures,” Conn says. “If you get a bad vibe from a shop, trust your instinct and move on.”

Find someone experienced with older adults. Because of that thinner skin, seek out an artist who has experience tattooing older skin, says Conn. Using an inexperienced artist can be a disaster, he adds.

“It can be like using a marker on cheap paper. It will do what we call ‘a blowout,’ meaning the ink will spread out beyond the borders of the tattoo, discoloring the surrounding skin permanently.”

And what if you don’t like your tattoo?

While tattoos can be removed by lasers or surgery, there’s no “magic eraser and the process requires multiple treatments with no guarantee of complete removal,” warns Mahlberg. “People may end up with a faded but incompletely removed tattoo after a series of laser removal treatments.”

Conn adds that most people still have a scar from laser treatments, even if the ink was completely broken down.

So heed this advice from Conn: Choose what you put on your body wisely. And that’s advice he has for any age.

Video: Too Old to Get a Tattoo?

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Robin L. Flanigan is a contributing writer who covers mental health, education and human interest stories for several national publications. She is a former reporter for several daily newspapers, and her work has appeared in People, USA Today and Education Week. She is the author of the children’s book M Is for Mindful.