Seniors With Tattoos I Want To Befriend

Sarah Kester
Old man lifting shirt to show tattooed stomach
reddit | nLAlv7u

You’re never too old to get a tattoo!

If anyone is evident of this, it’s these 25 senior citizens. They must be the bad boys and girls of their retirement home!

Some of them have more ink than a person in their 20s, and they rock it so well.

Hopefully, they don't regret these when they're older!

The alopecia

After this ER nurse lost her hair from the condition alopecia, she lost her identity for a bit.

She decided to reclaim it by getting flower tattoos all over her head. This looks amazing and must make her so happy!

The implant

Granddad with ear tattoo and grandson
reddit | u/deleted

"A grandpa got a cochlea implant tattoo to become like his grandson," this Redditor wrote.

This is SO sweet. He definitely deserves a "grandpa of the year" award of some kind. You just know that these two are best buddies.

The cancer battle

Grandma with her first tattooo
reddit | partyspooper

Some people get their first tattoo when they're 18. This grandma, Heather Brooks, got hers when she was 90!

She chose a Cancer Research pink ribbon to signify her victory after a five-year battle with cancer. Congrats!

The Betty Boop tattoo

Older woman sitting on a couch showing off her betty boop tattoo
Reddit | 1lzuga

"My 87-year-old Step Grandmother decided it was time to get a tattoo," this Redditor shared. We love it!

One Redditor wrote that, "she'll be one of the few who can say it looks as good when she's 90 as it did when she first got it." So true.

The sleeve

This Nazi concentration camp survivor got a sleeve of flowers on her arm.

Bet you've never seen a senior with a sleeve tattoo! It just goes to show that this woman isn't like any other 92-year-old. She's unique in the best ways.

The Traditional #TaMoko

"This beautiful Maori Kween Is Terewai Kingi. She had her traditional TaMoko tapped 21 years ago," this Instagram caption read. She is so stunning! "Her beautifu greenstone tiki was handcarved by chisel 750 years ago. Her Mana was hair-raising."

Young at heart

While some older gentlemen hide their receding hairline by adding fake hair or getting surgery, this guy poked fun of it!

He decided to add this lawnmower, which shows just how young at heart he really is.

The nana

"Throwback to tattooing my 88 year old Nana. Such an amazing experience. So much love for this beautiful & tough lady," this tattoo artist wrote on Instagram. This is an experience the two of them will remember forever!

The face tattoo

Old man with a face tattoo
instagram | davidkshields

This distinguised gentleman looks like he'd be interesting to talk to.

He must have lots of stories, hopefully one that explains why he got this face tattoo around the mouth. It looks like he has two mustaches!

The David Bowie fan

"Jane is totally enchanting and the biggest #DavidBowie fan we've ever met," the Women With Tattoos Project wrote on Instagram. This is such a sentimental tribute for the late star! And such a cool reflective shot of the woman, too.

The long wait

Old man with Elizabeth tattoo on arm
reddit | feverxfew

This grandfather waited several decades to get this tattoo.

He wanted to get it when he was in the navy reserve, but his wife said no. It's a good thing she did since all of his friends' tattoos were infected the next morning.

The Joker

Man with card tattoo on his head
instagram | cheyennesawyer

This guy looks like he's a whole lot of fun! This tattoo probably came about after a night of having some drinks and hitting the casino. Maybe a lost bet resulted in this epic tattoo on his head?

The guinea pig

This grandma believed in her granddaugther's dream of being a tattoo artist so much, she let her tattoo all her designs on her!

That's true love. It's a very good thing that her granddaughter is actually talented and not sloppy.

The transformation

"At school, doctor, hospital, some people will judge you straight away because of your tattoos," this woman wrote on Instagram. "But when they know you they will realise you just a normal person with colour on your skin." Amen!

The self-expression

Basically everyone on this list needs this t-shirt to wear proudly! It perfectly captures how they live by the words, "you're only as young as you feel."

This tatted woman is a free spirit who looks like a fun time.

The markings

Woman with tattoos on her arms
instagram | omarreda

"She is one of the last tattooed Tharu tribe women," a caption on Instagram read. "They used to do tattoos in order to be avoided to be selected as sex slaves by the royal Nepalese family who used to spend summer in the area."

The drawings

Aww! This grandmother loves her granddaughter so much, she had the drawings she made tattooed on her body.

That's serious dedication! If she's looking for her next tattoo from that page, we'd go with the kitty cat! It's adorable.

The surprise

/old man lifting up his shirt to reveal tattoos
reddit | nLAlv7u

This is one cheeky fellow! He's business on top and party underneath!

These tattoos would also make quite the conversation starter at dinner. People would either ask him about them or, well, tell him to put his shirt down.

The rebel

"I’m sure my tattoos look very old-fashioned to my children, who have a different approach," this woman wrote on Instagram.

Usually, it's the grandma or grandpa who have a narrow approach on tattoos! Not the other way around.

The shield

"When you get as many tattoos as I have, there is always a risk that they become your personality; the first thing people notice when they see you," Inge wrote on Instagram.

"They can be a weapon, something to hide behind. But to me they have come to represent courage and independence - and a certain subversiveness."

The mother-daughter tattoos

Like mother, like daughter! "Carey wanted to get inked since the 1960s, but it was only until her daughter Lois asked for a tattoo as an 18th birthday present that their shared tattoo journey began," a caption on Instagram read.

The disguise

Older man in side by side photos of him showing his tattoos and hiding them
reddit | deleted

Surprised? We were, too! Looking at the picture on the right, you would have no clue that he's completely inked underneath.

His co-workers at the company beach day would have quite the surprise when he took his shirt off!

The freedom

The Women's With Tattoo Project on Instagram shared DD's story of tattoos.

She explained that she got one at 58, which coincided around the time that she came out as a transgendered woman in 2014. As a result of this, her wife divorced her and she was disowned by friends and family.

Since then, tattoos have become a way of self-expression.

DD with her tattoos
instagram | Women With Tattoos Project

She wrote that she bought a pub and that she's "spent the last few years expressing my feelings through art and dance, which was not what I would have thought I was capable of."