Standing proud: At 77, Isobel Varley is the most tattooed senior in the world, and she claims she doesn't regret a single one her elaborate inkings |
Tattoos, once the ultimate rebel stamp, have become popular and widespread adornments in recent times.
Yet many eager young devotees have pondered, on their way to the tattoo
parlor, how they will feel about their inkings once they reach old age.
Actor Johnny Depp, 50, once said: 'My body is my journal and my tattoos are
my story' - a sentiment echoed by the proud and seasoned subjects in a series
of photos which display how elaborate tattoos appear on senior skin.
One in five U.S. adults now have at
least one tattoo, compared to just 16 per cent of the population in 2003,
according to the Harris Institute of Research.
For the first time in recorded
history, women are slightly more likely to have them than men - and twice as
likely to later have them removed - but overall, 86 per cent of those
questioned have 'never regretted' their tattoos.
Isobel Varley, 77, Guinness Book of
Records 'Most Tattooed Senior in the World' title, waited until her late
forties to get her first one but quickly got hooked and has now covered over 76
per cent of her body in tattoos.
Now tat's impressive! For the first time in recorded history, women are slightly more likely to have tattoos than men - as Ms Varley (pictured) proudly displays |
Look at me! Larry Happ, 68, competes for the 'Senior Man Largest Tattoo' at a Los Angeles convention |
'I understand that there will always be people who don’t like them and I respect that,' she said in an interview