Our bodies, our skin, and our minds change as we get older. So once we start turning to body modification at an early age, some of us might wonder what the works of art on our bodies would look like after 20 or 30 years. For starters, even if you take the utmost care of your skin and body, your tattoos will transform and age as you do.
Hence, if you’re wondering what happens to tattoos when you get old, then you found the right place. Kick in the article below and clarify your question.
3 Things That Happen To Tattoos When You Get Old
Because the skin is our biggest organ, it is the most vulnerable to the effects of aging. The fact that you’re getting older may be primarily noticeable in the changes in your skin. As a result, aging of the skin also entails alterations and deterioration of the tattooed skin.
As you get older, the first thing you’ll notice about your tattoos is that they’ll alter. For example, the tattoo’s form may change as the skin stretches, or the intricacies fade, making the tattoo look fuzzy as the skin becomes less smooth and wrinkled.
This sort of shift is unavoidable and will happen sooner or later. We don’t think it is worth worrying about, but you can avoid premature skin aging by focusing on your diet and physical activities while you’re younger.
Fading
When it comes to tattoos and getting older, one of the most typical occurrences is fading. Tattoos can fade in 10 to 20 years, and some cases, even sooner due to years of sun exposure and minor skin damage. It’s an unavoidable event; however, you can minimize the cause by using sunscreen and limiting your exposure to UV radiation.
Tattoo fading, on the other hand, most likely results from aging. As the skin ages and loses elasticity, it becomes weaker and less able to retain its form, allowing the tattoo to expand. As the tattoo expands, the ink spreads, causing the formation of the tattoo to change and the color to lighten.
The second leading cause of tattoo fading is sun exposure. Our skin suffers and is harmed every time we expose it to heat or UV radiation. The damage is modest and less evident while we are younger, but it is there and grows as we age. Sun exposure causes the tattoos to smudge, blur, and lose their original sleekness and shine.
Fading can also happen as a result of weight gain as people become older. Weight increase also adds to early skin stretching, which alters the form and size of the tattoo, causing lightning and fading.
Losing Its Initial Shape
As previously said, as we age, our skin loses its elasticity, becoming looser and wrinkled. This change adds to the tattoo’s massive transformation, including the shape change.
The change of the shape is less noticeable on smaller and simpler tattoos. However, it is most noticeable in larger tattoos in areas of the body that are prone to stretching, such as the belly, upper arm, thigh area, side of the back or lower back, and so on.
The form may not alter dramatically in some cases, but it is unavoidable. Therefore, before you decide to get a tattoo, think about where you want the tattoo to go. When it comes to changing your tattoos later in life, such a decision may be quite crucial.
Changing Size
Your tattoos will stretch due to the skin stretching and lack of flexibility, which results in a change in the tattoo’s form and size. Smaller tattoos may become elongated or enlarge when they stretch in some cases. Other tattoos merely seem to get enlarged as a result of skin stretching in particular areas.
Where the muscles begin to sag, the tattoos alter the greatest in size. A tattoo on the biceps, for example, may seem stretched as you get older because the bicep muscle begins to droop, stretch the skin, and lose its youthful form.
What Can You Do To Protect Your Tattoos?
Follow The Aftercare
Aftercare is vital for various reasons, including preventing tattoo irritation and infection, promoting quicker healing, and ensuring that the tattoo looks and feels bright and vibrant for a long time. Tattoo aftercare can also help prevent the tattoo from fading too quickly, especially in the case of vivid colors.
Nonetheless, it is critical not to overdo it with the aftercare since this might have negative consequences. Avoid cleaning the tattoo too often or moisturizing it every few hours, for example. It is sufficient to wash and moisturize the tattoo no more than twice a day. It’s also a good idea to avoid touching the tattoo with filthy hands, as well as picking, scratching, and peeling it.
Wear Sunscreen
One of the essential things you can do to avoid premature or severe skin aging is to protect your tattoos and skin against UV radiation. UV rays gradually harm the skin, or if you’re too exposed to them for an extended period, the damage may be severe.
Covering the tattoo or applying sunscreen to all exposed skin can offer a layer of protection and avoid severe skin damage in any case. Sun exposure also causes the skin to dry up and wrinkle, so you’ll be preventing that as well by using sunscreen. We mean using a sunscreen with the least SPF of 30; however, we recommend always going for SPF 50.
Stay Hydrated
It is critical to remain hydrated for your tattoo and skin to age gracefully and as invisibly as possible. The lack of moisture in the body adds to skin dryness. As a result, skin aging is accelerated, causing it to become looser, wrinkled, and less elastic.
Water is vital to your health, particularly the health of your organs, such as your skin. As a result, drink at least 8 glasses of water each day, but strive to drink more, especially on hot days or during workouts.
Maintain Weight and Activity
Maintaining a healthy weight and engaging in physical exercise can help your muscles stay strong and in shape for a prolonged period, even as you age. This way is helpful not only for your health but also for your tattoos. In addition, strong muscles help skin stay firm, which protects it from drooping and wrinkles.
However, as you become older, your muscles will eventually give out and start sagging. As a result, growing older will inevitably impact the way your body looks and acts, no matter how hard you exercise and keep active. On the other hand, proper activity and exercise can help prevent premature organ and skin aging, ensuring that your tattoos last longer.
Final Verdict
We believe you now have understood what happens to tattoos when you get old. Follow our tips above so that you can ensure that your skin and tattoos remain in good shape as long as feasible. Last but not least, feel free to drop any related topics you want to discuss more.
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