long hair and age

[JustKiya]

I guess it depends on the woman honestly, but in my personal experience it's true. My aunt has very long hair, at one point it was mid thigh and it looked great...when she was younger. She went to a salon and got her hair cut short, and it really did take about 10 years off of her she looked great.

Did it take ten years off of her because her style was ten years old though, or just because it was shorter? I think that's a fine line, and most people think you can't 'do' anything with long hair, so they keep doing the same things with it they did when they first had it, and thus it ages them.

Shoot, anything out of date - long or short - is going to age you.

I dunno. I always find it suspect, though.

 

[RegaLady]

Well, I do feel that on many older woman, long hair can detract from their beauty if it is hanging down around the face, and create a saggier appearance overall. That's probably why many women choose to cut their hair at a certain age, shorter hair tends to make facial features look "higher".

However, like others stated it's more a matter of styling choices than length. I plan on wearing my hair long well into my upper years but in styles that add to my beauty, or in classy updos, not having a mop of hair bringing my face down.

But do you and wear your hair as long as you desire.

ITA.. with this entire post! It is not that it is exactly a 'rule' it is just somethings just don't hold up like they used to, and faces are one of them.erplexed Not that 'we' age bad, but what may have worked at 20(short or long) may not work so well at 40. And 40 is by NO means, old. I mean look at these 40 year old celebrities with longer hair. They look great!!
Also some cut it short,because with the time people have with family, careers, and so on, the last anyone wants to do is be in their daughter's hair, and theirs.
Cutting hair at that age is a matter of how you 'feel'.
It is the age of certainty in who you are and confidence, and I think people feel it is the age where you no longer have to 'prove' your yourself.
I have had short hair and loved it, and I am not growing my hair to any extreme lengths, so I have been there.
My mother has WL hair and she will be 50 this year. Me and my sister do want her to get a nice cut(about at least APL), it will giver her a polished look and raise her features.
But, at the end of the day it is about how you feel with your hair!
Don't be swayed by others opinions!

 

[Cbgo]

I don't think that having longer hair over 40 makes anyone look older. I've been told I look better with my hair down and long and that I look older when it's up. I also know a 60 something lady with APL hair and she looks good.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Girl Please.

Grow that hair. I am gonna be 41 - and do not plan on EVER cutting my hair again in life.

 

[Ms Lala]

That isn't true. I've seen some people look older w/shorter hair and vice versa. You really just need style that suits your face.

 

[hillytmj]

I totally disagree with your friend. As a professional makeup artist, I see lots of women on a regular basis and by far, the women with long hair always look youthful to me. Good luck!

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

I'm 44 and had BSL before I cut it recently. Did I think it aged me? No, the only person that told me it was age-inappropriate was my oldest daughter, and that was because my hair, at that time, was longer than hers. I was on a mission to grow my hair until 50, then cut, I have 6 more years to go down that road until I get tired of it.

 

[*C00KIE*]

she just dont want your hair a lot longer than hers. tell her to cut hers some more

Exactly what I was thinking...
Dont mind her, once its BSL and you dont like it guess what... YOU CAN CUT IT, but dont cut if before YOU can seriously say I want it cut and that means growing it to BSL first.

...Her jealous a**

 

[Valerie]

Depends how you look in the first place. Grow your hair loooooooooong, and enjoy it, it's your hair after all and surround yourself with like minded people and your friend is worried, that you would look hotter than she will!

 

[WhipEffectz1]

I will be getting a cold black chin length bob once I turn 40. I feel that long hair does age some women but it varies according to each person. I can't be bothered.....

 

[DanaDane]

All I could think of when I read this was all the fine and 40 (or over) black women we see with long hair, Angela Bassett, Lisa Raye, Vivica Fox, Vanessa Williams, and they do not look old. I think it's about the way your style your hair, not it's length.

And about aging well overall. A woman who takes care of her body, skin, teeth, etc---can rock any hairstyle/length she wants.

 

[jerjer29]

it truly depends on your face and hair color. People with blander hair color look older with long hair. And no offense to anyone but i find it that that rule is generally towards white women, because there was an article about this in Vogue and the only woman i could remember where being over 40 and long hair didn't suit them were white women.

 

[Miss*Tress]

Name: Teruko Burrell Born: 9/20/1958

She doesn't look old to me.

 

[Ladylyn]

Do what you want to do? I think its more that people tend not to have a shape w/long hair to match their face that causes that sterotype. BTW my sister is 50 and has TBL that is georgous and she gets compliments out the wazoo.

 

[Hair Iam]

Name: Teruko Burrell Born: 9/20/1958

She doesn't look old to me.

Bella ...Bella

 

[Makenzie]

There is one woman I see on the bus every morning who I wish would cut her hair asap!!! She looks to be mid fifties, is a petite woman whose dress is a tad dated. Her makeup too. Her hair is nice and curly down to mid back and it overwelms the heck outta face. I cringe everytime I see her. She definitely needs a new style.

Older woman can most certainly rock long hair. But the style, just like with any woman, should be one that fits the individual, making them look the best in any light. My grandmother died at 102 with mbl hair. She wore two pigtails pinned up till the day she died and looked great.

 

[prospurr4]

Do what you want to do? I think its more that people tend not to have a shape w/long hair to match their face that causes that sterotype. BTW my sister is 50 and has TBL that is georgous and she gets compliments out the wazoo.

I totally agree with this and was especially happy to read the bolded part. I will be 50 in 2 years (2010), when I also expect to be at TBL. I plan to wear a WL twistout to my birthday celebration.

 

[Mahalialee4]

Not to Hate People With Other Sexual Persuasions But:

Fashion Trends ARE DOMINATED ON THE RUNWAYS, IN THE CLOTHING HAIR AND MAKE UP INDUSTRIES BY PERSONS like Miss Jay and others who dress in drag, homosexual stylists and designers. They are the ones who are telling women what and when to wear and yearly what to do with their hair. Their "what's in what's hot what's new and what's not" voices are the tune that STEPFORD CONSUMERS are dancing to, believe it or not!


I as a woman, prefer to decide how I will wear my hair, how long and what color, natural cause I said so.

I am grown and have my own mind thank you!

A lot of po folks who want to feel in the loop take these fashion setters words more serious than the Bible. Rich white women wear their hair to their backsides at 75 if they want and White Pentecostal Ladies and Old Hippies and movie stars and Cougars and no one says a word. Of course we as Black women can whack our hair off to suit the "gods" if we want to at some magical age....because if we DON'T... "the wrath of the gods and their devotees may decend upon you!!!!!." OR WE LEARN TO ADJUST TO SOMETHING WE PERSONALLY HATE so that our friends will approve of how we wear our hair AND THEN WE CAN GET A LONG WEAVE OR WIG FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS!!!!!. lololololol bonjour

 

[dlove]

Grow your hair girl. I agree about its all about the style, not the length.

Short hair styled old lady like can make you look old too. Think ol' crying Wanda from Sanford and Son. : )

 

[jamaraa]

It's Western nonsense, and it's RECENT Western nonsense, as I can assure you, our grands & great's weren't chopping off their hair at 40!

Just another way to profit from the youth-obsessed society we live in, because those short cuts take a lot of time at the salon to properly maintain, and if you are already old (and thus lacking any type of sex appeal ) the least you can do is keep your hair to societies standards.

Where's the puking smiley??

It's a crock of something smelly from a bull, is all I'm saying.

Truth, much truth. The short cuts DEFINITELY cost alot more time and money to maintain, esp. if they're doing color. I think that has alot to do w/ why 40+ are encouraged for short...think about all those roots show and how fast! LOL...unlike under 40s (or should I say 50s), they have Boomer money to keep up.

Nope, the grandmothers and great-grandmothers didn't play that. They wore their hair up, but long.

 

[blue_flower]

I will be turning the big 40 in nov. a friend told me that women my age look older with long hair and that I should get a short hairdo fo my 40th bday this is after I had mention that my hair goal is to grow my hair to bsl in two more years and she was like girl your crazy just cut it off. Tell me what you think I have done the short hairdos in the past now I want something different.

Your friend is crazy. The older women I see with long hair look younger and sexier. It irritates me when older women hack their hair off, especially when they have beautiful hair in the first place. Keep your hair!

 

[schipperchow1]

I feel that most shorter styles at 40 scream I am old. Wear a style that flatters you. My aunts & grandmother have/had waist length hair through their 80s. I will be taking my hair length/age cues from them, not random people or fashionistas

BTW: Miss Tress' picture of Ms. Burrell says it all

 

[bbdgirl]

Do what you want. If you have a goal in mind, go for it! If you happen to change your mind along the way, it's still a choice you've made. There are plenty of beautiful women 40+ w/long hair and they don't look old. I think it depends on the methods of styling.

what she said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SignatureBeauty]

I agree, wear your hair long if you want, I think that a older woman with long hair looks sexy, you can always do sexy updo's,buns,fierce rollersets and look good, I hear alot say they when they turn 50 they are gonna chop to a twa, Please, I will have knee length unstretched natural hair by then and I ain't cutting it. I see alot of other cultures who are older and have long hair and they look just fine. True a short cut might look good on some and some might have had long hair all their life and want a change, but I also have seen some short pixie cuts that look good on older women to.

 

[Hair Iam]

Your friend is crazy. The older women I see with long hair look younger and sexier. It irritates me when older women hack their hair off, especially when they have beautiful hair in the first place. Keep your hair!

AMEN sister

 

[Yellowflowers]

Lawd have mercy!!! I hate it when people say this.

We do not all look alike, therefore we should not have to subscribe to any cookie cutter rules.

We do not need other women's permission to express our beauty the way we want to. Sistas have a hard enough time keeping thier hair anyway without buying in to some rule about cutting your hair because of a certain age.

Some women cut thier hair when when they grow older because a lot of times it thinned out or fell out because of medications and/or sicknesses.

I am well into this age category. My hair is now officially waist length, longer than the picture in my avatar. I keep it long as a statement that just you are a black woman and past a certain age, your hair will still grow and you do not have to cut it.

What motivates another women to make it her business to tell another woman she should cut her hair?

I have a beauty secret. I think this hair makes me look younger. I fool people all the time. People think I am at least 15-20 years younger than I really am.
Shhhhhhhh. I won't dare fess up. They don't need to know.

 

[mezzogirl]

Lawd have mercy!!! I hate it when people say this.

We do not all look alike, therefore we should not have to subscribe to any cookie cutter rules.

We do not need other women's permission to express our beauty the way we want to. Sistas have a hard enough time keeping thier hair anyway without buying in to some rule about cutting your hair because of a certain age.

Some women cut thier hair when when they grow older because a lot of times it thinned out or fell out because of medications and/or sicknesses.

I am well into this age category. My hair is now officially waist length, longer than the picture in my avatar. I keep it long as a statement that just you are a black woman and past a certain age, your hair will still grow and you do not have to cut it.

What motivates another women to make it her business to tell another woman she should cut her hair?

I have a beauty secret. I think this hair makes me look younger. I fool people all the time. People think I am at least 15-20 years younger than I really am.
Shhhhhhhh. I won't dare fess up. They don't need to know.

Thank you for your words, they are very inspiring. I looked at pictures of myself over the years at different lengths and decided I look better with longer hair. Though recently, I wore a short wig with a sexy cut. I got tons of compliments. I agreed that I looked good but I got bored and wanted my longer style back. Like many others have said, the style/cut should be flattering on your face shape, head etc. Everyone does not look good in the same style.

 

[Yellowflowers]

Thank you for your words, they are very inspiring. I looked at pictures of myself over the years at different lengths and decided I look better with longer hair. Though recently, I wore a short wig with a sexy cut. I got tons of compliments. I agreed that I looked good but I got bored and wanted my longer style back. Like many others have said, the style/cut should be flattering on your face shape, head etc. Everyone does not look good in the same style.

We live in an time when we have a lot of choices. I just hate when people try to box you in and try to control what you should do.

Age is just a number. It does not define who you are inside and how you should express yourself. Limited thinking is what holds us back.

I am sure you will be stunner no matter how you chose to wear your hair. If they have a problem with it them you know most likely they have aquired a PHd. (Playa Hater's Disease) Sorry I'm feeling silly today. I need to get up and start cleaning

 

[jerseyjill]

The reason why they say shorter hair looks good on older women is because as we get older gravity takes over, and our facial features start to take on a vertical slope. Hair that is vertical (hence long) emphasizes the drop in facial features.
Now, I am a few years from 40 and have figured out the solution. You must have body in the hair, or have it pulled back and/or up from the face to reduce this empahsis on the vertical droop in the face.
Curls, waves and fullness are advised to balance the face. No stick straight styles framing the face, if you have signs of aging.
Also ladies over 40, pay attention to your browline. A well done brow with an arch lifts the face.
The aforementioned stems from my background and training as a certified image consultant.
Now personallly: Short hair on older women robs them of their sensuality, not beauty, but sensuality. Why not preserve that? Over 40 is still sexy!

 

[deniseloc]

Thanx ladies all of you are so inspirational I will continue on my journey.