You should cut your hair short, now that you're 40

[FanGirlX]

Is this a thing?

My mother (age 75) has just informed me that I should cut my longish hair short now that I'm over 40. Or is this a generational thing, mum and her friends have all had short hair for as long as I can remember. My friends tend to wear their hair longer (even those over 40 ).

@Fizbosshoes

My parents encouraged me to have short hair at primary school. I cant remember if I had any choice in the matter but it looked fucking horrific pretty awful for several years and I immediately wanted it long again. I had a bob once but since my teens my hair has always been shoulder length or longer and I have no plans to cut it short. Short hair requires way more maintenance than long as well.

My hair is wavy and thick and my mum cut it short...I'm still bitter. It would have looked much better if she had let me grow it as it would have had some weight to it and hung better

As an old lady I can tell you that growing my hair over lockdown has been totally liberating! I worried about my fringe to start with, not having access to a hairdresser, so started to pin it off my face. After a while the rest got long enough to put in a French pleat, and I just kept going. Now my hair is down to my shoulderblades and I can wear it loose or in a bun depending on my mood. I have a few silvery hairs but mostly dark brown.

My hair has always been really fine but having it rolled and pinned gives an illusion of thickness at the sides and top. I use a Mason Pearson brush to keep it healthy. I do shed a lot, though, possibly age, but I suppose it's just more obvious with long hairs. I remember my mum getting very annoyed with my long hair in the 1960s, so maybe it just clogged her hoover

Actually it has been lovely to realise my fine hair isn't doomed to be kept short, so it has been fun.

Its a generational thing i think. Himself has a theory that all women cut their hair short after they get married and looking back at all the weddings we have been at the past 10 years he 90 per cent right. I am nearly 40 and have hair down to my bra strap. Its very thick aswell so i actually can not get it cut short. Or else it will balloon out like a mushroom :). Cut it short once when was a teenager and i actually would wash it at night god to bed with hair wet and wear a beanie hat so it would dry flat in some way - These were the days before GHD were invented. Any age can wear long hair, it needs to be maintained to look healthy though. A neighbor of mine similar age has nearly waist length hair, its actually awful, hangs like rats tails. not blow-dried properly, uneven and obvious spilt ends. This makes her look like an old haggard witch. A good trim and some intensive conditioning treatment would make it look so much better. Also i think short hair requires so much more matinence, more hair cuts to keep it in shape etc, mine can throw it up in a ponytail or a bun when its greasy

Well I'm 41 abs I won't be getting hair cut short any time soon on the grounds that it would make me look literally awful. So...

Good grief! Do what you want! You're not a little girl who has to comply with her mother's standards any more. If you like short hair, cut it. If you like long hair, grow it.

It’s a generational thing. But women’s hair can have a tendency to be thinner and finer as we age. It happened to me after menopause and my mate and I were discussing this just last week. So I do have my hair shorter because if it gets too long it actually looks thinner. It just touches my shoulders. I had waist length hair till I was around 30 but it was too much maintenance when dc came along.

I'm in my mid forties and I don't think my hair has ever been longer. IMVHO I have good hair - still thick and shiny. My face is wrinkling and my arse gets wider with every passing day, so there's no way I'm changing my last remaining relatively youthful feature.

Recently I saw a minor celebrity (actor/writer) in her late fifties in a cafe. She had gorgeous long silver hair in a messy bun, and I noticed how strikingly good she looked before I clocked who she was. Definitely convinced me that older women can do longer hair.

My 80 yr old mum, asked me when I would stop dying my hair and having it long. Told her when I'm dead and buried and I'm 52.

Keep the length short hair can be very ageing !!! Woman at 40 look a lot younger nowadays !!! I’m a stylist and most clients at 40 have length !!! X

my mother in law used to say she would stop dying her hair once all her kids were married. didn't understand the logic behind that one other than she wanted to have dyed hair in the wedding photos?! all are married now anyway and she is still getting it coloured so the rule went out of the window! lol.

I think it depends on the person, their hair (condition) and style. If you are over 40 and have lanky unstyled hair it can be aging.

Just wait until it goes grey !

I now have grey hair but I have a hairdresser who understands that a good cut can make any hair look fab no matter what age you are or what your hair is like.
A good cut can take years off you.

OMG I did it...thought it was kind of cool...it wasn't!
My friend's stern words were...'never do that again'! My kids just go 'what the heck mum'...when they see the photos

It's funny how a haircut can make you feel. I once cut my bra length hair into a bob. I felt so frumpy and awful even though objectively I can see that I looked fine, I love bobs on others, and my daughter who is young has a fab bob. It just wasn't me. I think the best thing is to have hair that feels like you.

Thinking about the women I know, some have short hair, some long, and it’s not related to their age. Just ignore people who make pointless statements like this.

It totally depends on the woman. If you care for your hair and it isn’t thinning or looking quite straggly then longer hair isn’t an issue. Some older women do resemble witches when they let it grow long.

@OnwardsAndSideways1

It's funny how a haircut can make you feel. I once cut my bra length hair into a bob. I felt so frumpy and awful even though objectively I can see that I looked fine, I love bobs on others, and my daughter who is young has a fab bob. It just wasn't me. I think the best thing is to have hair that feels like you.

There are bobs and there are bobs ! It's not the bob, it's the person who is cutting the hair that matters, but I get what you say.

definitely generational, i'm 40+ and my hair is currently the longest its been since i was a child!

I had long hair until last month because I couldn't get into the shower following an ankle injury (couldn't get all my head under the sink tap!). I got it cut into a Bob. (When you are chunky like me hairdressers always recommend a bob) My hair is the difficult sticky-out variety so now I'm recovering I'll grow it out. It's quite thick and needs layers but not too many or it turns into a mess. I'll get it to shoulder length before deciding what to do next. I've tried short hair, it looks bloody awful on me.

Depends on the style. A friend of mine has grown her hair very long now, she’s almost 60 but I don’t think that’s why she should cut it shorter. It’s because she has very straight very dark hair and her face is long already, it does not do her any favours at all. She ties it back a lot because it’s long which again isn’t flattering, with no fringe she looks a bit skeletal. But, people comment ‘wow, your hair is really long!’ And I think she takes that as a compliment. I have dropped hints that taking some weight out of it would ‘lift’ her face but she is obviously sticking with it. It definitely ages her, but it could still be long-ish and flattering if she got the right cut.

I’m mid 40s and have very thick hair. Every September I have it cut to rest on my shoulders and keep it that length through the winter. In spring I start to grow it (luckily it grows very quickly) and then May to September I wear it up off my neck. I did have it cut chin/jaw length one summer - never again.

As I said it it grows very quickly, if I was to have it cut really short I’d never be out of the hairdressers.

This will sound awful, but there was a contestant on GBBO last night who had what was clearly very tricky hair. I did wonder actually if the condition of it had changed as she got older and gone through menopause. It looked a bit like she did what my MIL does, which is to hack it away, which then just leaves lots of greying tufts in no particular style.

I'm 49 so possibly on the brink of middle age or already in middle age!

I've cut mine short as it thinned noticeably during the peri-menopause & hasn't returned to its full glory despite being on HRT for the past 2.5 years.

It's a short bob & it does look a lot better now the weight of my hair isn't pulling it down.

Yes I miss my full thick long hair & still find it hard when I wash it as it feels so different.

If my hair hadn't thinned then I would've kept it long!

my mum (70) also said its rubbish. She tried cutting hers short and we universally hated it, so she keeps it at shoulder length, suits her much better.

Ignore your mum! If your hair suits you and you love it then why would you change it?

My beautiful mum is in her 60s and has grey below-shoulder hair that suits her. Occasionally she has it longer and it looks lovely but she always wears it up.
In the 90s, she had an awful short haircut that, looking back, aged her terribly.

I'm in my 30s and plan on having long hair for the foreseeable. I cut mine short every now and then but as I'm getting older, it seems to take forever to grow, so I don't think I'll be doing it again. If you cut yours, you might regret it and it might not grow as quick as it once did.

@gogohm

Generational, my mum says it to me, she also thinks black eyeliner and dark navy nails are inappropriate for a lady of my age and situation ... tough!

Ooh you rebel you 🤣