To want a tattoo

I think it’s a great idea and would encourage you. I have four pairs of dungarees and I love wearing them, even though I’m 72!
As Matt Haig says in his latest book, The Midnight Library,
“Aim to be you. Aim to look and act and think like you. Aim to be the truest version of you. Embrace that you-ness. Endorse it. Love it. Work hard at it and don’t give a second thought when people mock or ridicule it. Most gossip is envy in disguise.”

I feel quite tempted now..

Well my gd nearly 20 she has 3 but I wouldn’t have it done when your in your 70s your skin is very thin and papery you only have to knock your arm and it’s black. Sorry but it’s for young people. Just grow old gracefully.

This is indeed a great thread and very timely for me. My son is over-tattooed in my humble opinion but I still love him. My daughter has just gotten her third one - first a small flower on a ring finger, then the names of her two children surrounding a humming bird on her outer right
upper arm, and just yesterday, the (US) state flowers of the five states she has lived in on her left lower arm. She included a little symbol for the state in which she was conceived, which mystified me as she absolutely hated her (late) father who deserted us when she was three!
I have never wanted one until recently, for all the normal reasons (not crazy about looking at them on other people, fear of pain, and 'waste' of money) but no one has mentioned the currently available temporary tattoos that stick on and last for several weeks! I am now tempted to get one of those, partly to shock my kids ( ) and partly to test the waters and see if I would really want a real one. Hmmm, now just to think of what image I would like. Maybe I'll do it for my 70th birthday - in 2 years.

Do what makes you happy ?
I had my first last year at 47

I have heard that you can get transfers which stick on the skin and look like a tattoo, which seems to me the easy way to get the effect if that is what you want.

If you would like a tattoo go for it. Don’t be put off by the opinion of others it’s your body and you are free to decorate it in any way that makes you happy. Age has nothing to do with it. Good luck.

I had a small tat of a lotus flower on the inside of my wrist done when I was 68. I'd always wanted one so went for it. I love it! As others have said go for it.

Go for it! A nursing friend once said to me that she was getting a tattoo of a strawberry on her bottom so that when she herself was old and having care in hospital, the nurses would roll her over, see her tattoo and remember that she was not always an "old" lady but a woman who had really lived her life.

My argument against tattoos has always been that they are permanent and one changes likes/dislikes over a lifetime so having one at 70 is a good idea as you are unlikely to wish you hadn’t. It’s also important to choice a meaningful and personal design.

Despite generally disliking tattoos all my life ( especially the full arm/leg/body types ) when i got to 70 i really fancied getting a tiny one.... I know, weird, but chickened out when i realised that it hurts! Can still change my mind though....never say never .

Age has nothing to do with it. I think tattoos are horrible at any age, a passing fashion which is impossible to remove once it passes. Victoria Beckham is reported to have tried and failed to get rid of her's.

Why anyone would want to mutilate their body is beyond me, but it is your choice and your decision so if that is what you really want just go for it.

This is a lovely thread.
Lovely to see different names popping in, and almost all in agreement, even if it's not for everyone.

I never got my swathe of poppies tat until late middle age although I'd always wanted one. Twenty years on I still love it! Go ahead & get your body art Ethel.

Elizabeth1 - you have to wait 4 months from having a tattoo to donating blood but it’s still permissible

Like others I used to be judgemental but no longer - if you fancy one go for it; it’s down to you, no one else

EtheltheTank Go for it. I also am 73, have always longed for a tattoo or 2, but as i take anti coagulants, i think the result might not be very attractive. Do what you want to do, maybe start off small, or just jump in with a bold statement . Do what makes you happy.

EthelTheTank
I have 13 tattoos, only 2 months ago I had a large one done on the back of my head (I have just below shoulder length hair with a shaved undercut, to keep me cooler during hot flushes) anyway my tattoos are all in places nobody can see unless I show them off. You really should go for it if it’s what you want, my tattooist said her oldest customer is 78

You know what they call them tramp stamps it definitely not for me . Your a big girl now so the decision is yours , your the one who will have it for the rest of your life .

I wouldn't but go for it. My daughter in law had her goal weight tattooed on her hip which she has now gone past! She was over 50. She now has 3 more and they all mean something to her so if you want one get one and enjoy it.

If you can' t do what you like when you like 73 ..when can you ? Go for it !

Go on, be a devil and get one done.. Just choosing one that's the difficult decision. Are you going for a butterfly or something flowery, rather than a skull and crossbones or love/hate on your knuckles lol!

Well done, Ethel on getting such a lot of responses! Good to see a lot of different names. Are you going to go for a tattoo? What will it be?

I had a tattoo when I was 14 on a school trip to Paris.
I got into a lot of trouble!
It's at the top of my bum near my hip, so I never really see it.
When I do it makes me smile remembering what a rebel I was!
Don't regret it one bit.

If you want it, go for it. I would never do it myself but you aren't suggesting I do, so go ahead and be happy.

Janiepops that must have really hurt! A big burly tattooist told me that the top of the foot is the most painful place, and that when he had one there, two of his mates had to hold him down.

It's very pretty btw, not 'tacky' at all (how rude!)