Few women with hair over 45?

[Hoosebag]

I'm 45 and my dark brown hair is long (mid back) and thick. I haven't dyed it since my 20s so it's all in good condition although I'm starting to get grey hairs in it now at my parting.

I spoke to my hair dresser who told me that if I want to start colouring it I'd need to switch to a shorter length in the next few years as the processing would damage my hair so that the lengths of it would no longer look nice after a few years. She then went on to say that few women have hair my length over 40ish because years of colouring, heat treatment and hormonal changes mean it only looks good to about shoulder length or even shorter.

I must admit I've never thought about it but looking around I do see very few women my age and older with long hair. I know some of that will be a style related choice but I suppose it must be in some cases due to the damage from colouring and possibly menopause.

So I'm just curious, did chemically colouring your hair cause damage to your hair and did you end up going for a shorter length than you'd have preferred or would your hair still look good if you decided to grow it long?

Just wanting to make an informed choice about my luxurious greying locks 😆

I'm 43, with long thick hair, and started going grey in my 20s. I get it coloured (dark brown) regularly - root touch ups for regrowth and once a year I do the whole lot to compensate for any fading.

The actual colouring hasn't damaged my hair at all. But I've noticed a recent change in texture, which I think is due to perimenopause.

Over 50 with quite long light brown hair and grey wings.

I have some highlights because it's suits my pale skin better.

My hairs very healthy and shiny and quite thick.

I think temporary colours are often better for light grey coverage and keep your hair healthy and shiny.

I'd be annoyed at a suggestion to cut my hair just because I'm getting older. It's not the 70's anymore, we don't have to have a perm or set and blow dry.

People our age were seen as quite old in the 70's and 80's but we're in our prime of life 😊

Kate Middleton has hair extension so not really relevant.

I agree short hair used to be common as well.
When I was a teenager only sporty girls or quite frumpy traditional girls had long hair. It was seen as very old fashioned. The models and celebrities all had short cuts.

The reason bobs are popular though is because they are really easy to look after.

I’m 40 with lower back/waist length hair. It’s wavy/curly so looks shorter, day to day but wet I can nearly sit on it.

I CBA with the hassle of looking after short hair. Frequent cutting, visits to the hairdresser every month or few weeks, styling every day essential, no option to tie it back and do zero to it? Don’t like that idea. I go to the hairdresser once every couple of years, not months.

I'm 67 and my hair is below my shoulders. I have home dyed it for nearly 25 years and it is still in good condition. I have it cut about once a year so it goes from a curly sort of bob to quite long.

45, waist length hair. Never bleach it, do dye it brown. Naturally very thick and curly. Would welcome some slight thinning but no sign of that yet!

I'm 58 with hair just past shoulder length. Brown with a fair bit of grey... or "natural highlights". I'm not cutting it because if I do it takes more looking after, not less... ditto with dying it.

I am fully embracing the "mad cat woman" look, and spending my money on other stuff.

I am over 60 and had lovely thick shiny hair until 40 then started to dye it. That's a lot of dye but it's still brown..not red/ orange and in good condition. . I have grown it long in that time and now it's a bob but it's still fine. It did get a bit thinner in menopause but because it was so thick it really is just normal now. I only notice a difference as it dries quicker.
Do whatever you want. As long as you keep the ends nicely cut it should be lovely.

Cool username! OK the Henna sounds good. I will look into the brand you mentioned. I do remember using some good quality henna in the early 2000s just pure henna and indigo. It was supposed to be brown but gave my hair a burgandy look which I didn't really like. If the khaki henna is good I could try it?

My hair is my one beauty, that and good nails I must have good keratin genes, not much else going for me though!

@Underparmummy and my hair is nipple length (post three dc nipples too).

🤣

Another one saying balls to this! Some women look great with long hair, well into their forties and beyond.

I've got shit hair which won't grow past my shoulders without going to pieces, but if I had long, thick hair, there's no way I'd cut it.

My grandma had really thin hair in later life and had to keep it really short, but this was in her eighties and nineties, not her forties. I think very thin hair is more likely to happen later if at all.

Waist length very dark brown hair at 46 here. Been going grey since 19 so loads of colouring on mine. It's thick, shiny and "very enviable" according to my friends. All that said, if I'd not gone grey so young, I might have embraced it. colouring regularly is a pain and growing out dyed grey is v different to going grey naturally

Balayage is what my DILS go for needs doing twice a year. When I decided to grow out dye and embrace the grey I went for balayage. Took Three years, including two covid years. We've all got long hair in good condition.

I stopped colouring my hair during covid and discovered the greys were not as bad as I expected them to be and that my natural hair was much shinier than the dyed hair, plus the natural colour suits me better. I haven't gone back to dying. I have had to switch shampoo as my hair is now drier and less greasy than pre-meno but I'm very happy with it now and it is long and swishy!

Not been my experience at all. My hairdresser used a gentle colour on my roots which covers my grey completely and my hair is long and in good condition at 50. She's now putting box dye on for me (L'Oréal Castings) which also works well - only switched because I have occasional troublesome allergies and many dyes irritate me.

Hiya, mid-fifties here. Hair doesn't grow as long as when I was in my 30s, but is still comfortably bra-strap length and pretty full. Henna it, as that covers the greys for a while and conditions the whole lot well.

I tend to wear it up, but like the option of wearing it long for evenings. I think it's a societal thing, the whole 'short hair after 40'. You do you!

well i'm 40 but not menopausal yet. been colouring my hair for years, it's long & thick. It's naturally wavy so I found the best style is long as it weighs it down & thins it out. I'd have to straighten or style a different length.

Sure, but the point is- if your hair is thinning due to hormonal issues or thyroid issues, simply stopping hair dye wont fix that. All it will mean is your hair is thinner but in its natural state. If your hair is actually thinning, its a sign that something is "off" in the balance of your body so it would be better to investigate that so it can be fixed as it may well be having other physical effects too. Plenty of women have thinning hair as they age who dont dye their hair at all so its worth having bloods done to see whats actually going on rather than focusing on just hair dye.

@Hoosebag no I'm not suggesting that you should embrace the grey if you don't want to I'm just debunking what your hairdresser said about women over a certain age not having long hair.

I'm 50's with long highlighted hair. It's thick and in good condition. I have highlights maybe twice a year but don't style my hair much, blow dry a couple of times a week and straighteners a handful of times a year.
Decent products don't wreck your hair.
A week by the seaside seems to do more harm!

I've been going grey since my 20s and dying since then too. I'm 53 now, my hair is armpit length at the front and a bit longer at the back. Luckily I get away with semi-permanent (Casting) as it dyes mine permanently, it needs dying every 3/4wks.
Low ferritin and menopause did make it go thin for a while, but I'm now on HRT and iron tablets and it has perked up.

I'm way way way over 45 and still have long hair which is coloured every 6 weeks back to my natural auburny brown.

It is dry on the ends and I get through loads of leave in conditioner but I have no plans to get it cut shorter which would be very ageing on me.

It takes a while to grow your hair out. I coloured my har a silver colour to make it easier. I’ve got ice white curly hair which are sparkling in the light. I have never had so many compliments on my hair in my entire life. I’m 55. Love my white ❤️

I'm 52 and have longish hair, dyed regularly, and it's shiny and soft. It was called 'gorgeous' a couple of years ago 😁It's not thick but it's never been.

As pp said, the slight coarsening of texture as you enter menopause actually benefits thinner hair types as long as you adjust your care routine to match.

Forgot to say that it’s just below shoulder length.