What Will They Look Like When You're Old?

Lyle Tuttle, then and now.

Easily one of the most common, and annoying, questions the tattooed get is about us aging. What will we think of them when we’re old? Won’t we regret it? Won’t they look ugly? Of course, we can’t answer for everyone, but a lot of us have already thought of that, and are okay with it. Better yet, we have loads of aged icons to look up to. From famed 81 year old tattooist Lyle Tuttle to 76 year old world-record holder Isobel Varley, more than a few senior citizens have given us something to look forward to.

Lyle Tuttle, once known as the tattooist of the stars (clients include Cher, Janis Joplin, and Henry Fonda), had a pretty bad-ass tattoo at 40, and it’s no less awesome now that he’s in his 80s.

Isobel Varley didn’t even get her first tattoo until she was in her 40s. In her 70s, she became a Guinness Record Holder (most tattooed senior woman), and was second only to Julia Gnuse as most tattooed woman.

In fact, the “seniors sporting tattoos” trend has gone much further than just older folks that got tattooed when they were young. More and more, seniors are getting tattooed. Winifred Turner, 92, recently made headlines for becoming the oldest woman in the U.K. to get tattooed, and in 2004, then 94 year old American Ralph Bonebreak got his very first tattoo. The number of adults over 60 getting tattooed has never been higher, and 4 of the 5 most tattooed people in the world are over 50.

The next time someone asks you what you’ll think of your tattoos when you’re old, just remember Lyle, Isobel, Winifred, and Ralph, and let them know that you will be nothing short of fabulous.

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