Long hair on a forty plus woman

[Mitfordhons]

When I was younger I thought older women looked a bit mutton with long hair, but things have changed. I'm not sure if it's part of the cultural shift that says 60 is the new 40 and so on or if it's just that I'm now older, but I just don't see it now. I'm in my late forties and have long hair, I'm fortunate that it's thick and in great condition, but am I deluding myself? Every few years I cut my hair short and I always regret it so I don't want to and I do feel it's a bit frumpy on me, but is it just as bad to have young looking hair on a not so young face? When is the - excuse the pun - cut off?

And thank you Shoesie and iGoogle, the continual 'mutton' references on s&b drive me nuts.
Why do we talk about ourselves as if we're pieces of meat?

I personally don't give a damn about what other people think about my hair now.

One lady in my workplace made a snide remark about the length of my hair a few years ago saying it really could do with a cut as it was soooooo long (it was just above my bum). Was going on holiday so thought I'd get it cut a week or so later. Got 8 inches lobbed off and highlight put in.

Not ONE person said a thing when I went in on the Monday morning. Went to the toilet to check if perhaps it was a massive mess but no, it was neat but gave it a quick brush anyway. STILL nothing, not even from the cow that had commented the few weeks before. So now I think f em all. I'll get my hair cut when I WANT and how I want and if they say anything I'll say "have you seen a mirror lately? Better looking closer to home I think". I no longer comment about others hairstyles / cuts in the office as I just don't care enough for it to register.

Harsh. Possibly but I'm not doing it for their benefit.

So ladies, wear your hair how YOU want it. If other people don't like it, that's their problem not yours.

dame i agree sharon stone looks amazing with short hair, im straight but i think shes gorgeous short or straight hair she looked fantastic younger and sizzling now in older age. I can;t believe igoogle said she looks unsexy and unfeminine ROFL hysterical!

mrscampbell i want a super short cut i like that one youve gone for but i need to know if it would suit me im pretty certain i have a diamond face shape, need to speak with experts first. Im waiting a year before i cut it though just had a baby want to lose weight think it will look better on me then ;)

i know my dad will give me the third degree tho he's living with me now he will say i look like a boy because in his culture if a woman has short hair she's no different than a boy. ive always been a bit of a tom boy, his fault he produced so many brothers for me theyre my role models lol.

I'm pretty sure igoogle wasn't being serious. The 'unsexy and unfeminine' reference was a previous poster

But the stunningly beautiful like Sharon Stone etal can carry off just about any style. I am not stunningly beautiful and wear glasses. With short hair, I tend to look like a bloke, it really doesn't do me any favours.

I'm not stunningly beautiful either. And I wear specs. I still look way better with short hair.

We all look different. The end.

Well I think everybody should do whatever they want. That said, I do think that long hair adds five years to your look if you're past 40 or so. But if that's what you want that's fine.

I actually think that the better the condition of the hair, the more of a contrast there is between the hair and the face, and therefore the more ageing it is.

My DM was always of the opinion that if you were over the age of 40,long hair was just 'not right'. She said it made some women look like a 'witch',and I was inclined to agree with her. But as I've got older,I have come to realise that she just didn't like long hair,full-stop. Hence her marching me off to the hairdresser's as regular as clockwork every 3 months until I was 16 ,to get my hair hacked cut. I was constantly yearning to have long hair,like all my friends. Since I was 18,I have had long hair and still do now,at the age of 52. I think it is much more versatile,and tbh,I think very short cuts tend to look granny-ish and ageing.

I wasalways taught it was a no-no but I think that idea is outdated. These days what with good hair colours, better standards in cutting, volumising products and a plethora of different curling/drying/straghtening tools there is no reason why more mature women's hair should look thin and straggly and dreadful.

I think ROUND early 50s is a cut off point though, unless you are very highly groomed with fabulous hair and and a good handle on what is fashionable without looking too try-hard.

I saw a woman in Debenhams today who must have been pushing 60 and she had dyed blonde hair in a tight thin pony tail and a really deep cut heavy fringe which was blow dried curled under and sort of solid, and you could see her scalp wear her hair was scraped back.

Definitely time to get a shorter cut with a bit of volume to it.

I became quite obsessed with sister wives a while back - perhaps that's why I have cut my hair short to ensure no man will ever find me attractive again

Honestly, it is quite simple - have your hair cut in a style that works for you in terms of face shape and ease of styling.

No need to be mean about either long or short hair surely?

I was being sarcastic when I posted the comments about Sharon Stone and Cate Blanchett - it was in response to condescending comments made be previous posters. I get fed up of all the ageism on these threads - beauty isn't only found in the young.

I'm 46 and I have red, curly hair that is down to my bum. I love it and get many, many compliments on it. I'm not cutting it any time soon.

I actually think that the better the condition of the hair, the more of a contrast there is between the hair and the face, and therefore the more ageing it is.

I see. Could you give us your thoughts on ironing your clothes after 40?

come on, Floisme, you know there's no need for us to iron our polyester blouses and slacks.

If it is healthy you must keep it long, who cares. healthy looking hair is youthful.

It is ONLY in the West where they say you must keep your hair short, because Western people usually have hair that thins as you age.

If you look at hair in the East, older ladies all keep long healthy hair, if it is thin they also cut it off but feel really self conscious and not at all feminine. It is a shame for them that short hair is not socially acceptable.

The rule is - if it looks thin and unhealthy cut it short. However, if it is long and healthy you have a choice to keep it long :)

iGoogle But it does explain why they keep trying to sell us those frigging linen trousers.

I have two friends who have beautiful, enviable long hair like something out of a L'Oreal advert, all bouncy, shiny, swishy and perfectly blow dried and they are both in their early 50's. It doesn't look remotely out of place with the faces.

Since I was 18,I have had long hair and still do now,at the age of 52. I think it is much more versatile,and tbh,I think very short cuts tend to look granny-ish and ageing.

I think ROUND early 50s is a cut off point though, unless you are very highly groomed with fabulous hair and and a good handle on what is fashionable without looking too try-hard.

The real problem is fear of ageing, isn't it - not whether you have long or short hair. I expect I look like a 54 year old woman, but you know what, that's what I am, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Would I rather be young and unlined again, with all the self-consciousness and unhappiness that went with it? No, I damn well wouldn't. Do I like the fact that my skin is thinning and wrinkling and sagging? No, but at least it's properly expressive - and at 54 I have more moments when I'm not thinking about how I look and can actually pay some attention to other people.

I cut my hair (over several crops) from long to choppy short bob when I was 48. I felt embarrassed that white van men still tooted me from behind then were probably disappointed when they letched out of the window and looked back at me. I also knew an elderly neighbour who still dyed her long hair blonde and wore leggings and trainers, she was about a size 8 and looked 16 from behind. She was in her seventies, it was a truly horrific sight.

Katie Price looks so much more attractive now in her thirties when she doesn't wear those stupid long extensions.

I am happy to have age appropriate hair.

Excellent post from niminypiminy and really nasty one from MyLocal.

I've had boys in a supermarket groan with disappointment when I turned round and they realised they've been perving over an old boot ... You know 40 !
Amused me no end !

It is horrific.

I'm really bemused at age appropriate hair. Or anything.

To start with it's the van drivers' problems if they wolf whistle and the woman turns out to be 90.