- Beauty
- Skin
ByZoe Nolz
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We've all heard the horror stories. Someone had a tattoo design in mind and couldn't wait to get it inked on their body. They eagerly awaited their appointment, getting more excited with each passing day. When the day finally came, that person was ecstatic. Now happier than ever with said dream tattoo, they are taking countless pictures and showing off their body art to all their friends. But with time, that tattoo didn't look so good. And it kept getting worse. As more time passed, the tattoo that once brought that person so much joy started looking like a faded disaster.
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If you want a tattoo, don't let this scenario scare you, as some tattoo locations do age well. A few good places for tattoos include the inside-facing part of your forearm, high up on your chest, and the bottom area of your back (via InkAway Laser Tattoo Removal). Thus, these parts of your body are locations to consider if you want to avoid the aforementioned situation. However, we know some spots that don't age so well.
Your abdomen and upper arm
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You should expect your upper arm and abdomen to sag more as you age, which can affect how a tattoo in those areas would look. "Shoulders and ankles have tight skin, and the skin does not sag and become as loose over time, unlike the upper arm or abdomen," Edgar Fincher, a dermatologist, told Allure. So, if you like the thought of getting an upper arm or abdomen tattoo, you should keep in mind that the ink might change as your body ages.
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Age isn't the only factor that makes these areas of your body susceptible to change, though. For example, stomach tattoos can stretch if you've had a baby or gained a lot of weight, per Healthline. If your skin's appearance changes because of stretching, your ink's design might shift; consider that if you want to get a tattoo, but also want to have a baby in the future. Moreover, if you become significantly more muscular than when you first got the ink, your skin will stretch, so think about that if you spend a lot of time at the gym or plan on working on a drastic body transformation in the future.
Your hands
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We understand that you might feel tempted to get intriguing hand tattoos like Ariana Grande's. However, there's a lot that can go wrong with hand tattoos over time, so you should be aware of the risks. "You are constantly washing [your hands], which sloughs off skin more quickly and causes [tattoos] to fade and blur faster than other parts of your body...," Leo Palomino, a tattoo artist, told Bustle."The palms of your hands and fingers wear out quickly, [since] the skin is also different and it is difficult for the ink to take easily... Tattoos on the sides of your fingers and the inside of your palms are guaranteed to fade shortly after healing... Tattoos on your fingers and palms are novelty and do not look good for long."
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Furthermore, hand tattoos hurt. Like, there's no denying that they are super painful. According to Authority Tattoo, hand tattoos can hurt so bad that some tattoo artists even advise against getting them or just won't give someone one if they think it'll be too painful for that person. So, before you pull an Ariana Grande and book an appointment for a hand tattoo, you should be 100% sure that you believe it'll be worth the aging effects — and the pain.
Your feet
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Considering that hands are one of the worst aging places to get ink, it's no surprise that feet also made our list. Since your feet are often covered by socks or footwear, that interaction between the ink and the material on your feet will typically lead to more fading than other body parts, so foot tattoos are usually super high maintenance (via Ethos Spa). Think of it like this: how would you feel if a painting you made always had a big sock rubbing against it? As silly as that probably sounds, materials constantly rubbing against any finished piece of art wouldn't be ideal, so this happening to the artwork tattooed on your feet isn't a good situation for the long term, either. Plus, feet tattoos hurt.
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Like hand tattoos, getting your feet inked will be painful. Since the skin on your foot isn't nearly as thick as most other areas of the body and has a lot of nerve endings, foot tattoos can be brutally painful — and you might even suffer excruciating nerve spasms during the process, per Healthline. Therefore, foot tattoos are often high maintenance and uncomfrotable, so it might be a better choice to opt for a leg tattoo instead.
Your elbow
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Your elbow is a tricky spot, too, and you can expect any artwork on that ultra-thin skin to age rather unpleasantly. Remember, "you're constantly bending your arms. We often lean on our elbows at work, on desks or tables," Fredrik Glimskär, founder and CEO of Inkbay, an online tattoo marketplace, told Cosmopolitan. Similar to how feet are frequently rubbing against socks and footwear, elbows are often rubbing against various surfaces, leading to more faded ink than you'd likely end up with on other parts of your arm.
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And like many other areas mentioned on this list, you should know that getting your elbow inked is going to be painful. According to Healthline, the elbow is a very bony area, so you'll probably face uncomfortable vibrations during the process. Furthermore, our elbows tend to get drier and more irritated than many other body parts, so this spot wouldn't be the most flattering place for beautiful designs. Thus, elbow tattoos will likely fade with age and hurt in the process. So, are you sure this bony body part is where you want to add body art?
