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 😆

Late 40s. Majority of girls internet primary had long hair. I’d say on average longer than in my mum’s primary photos in the early 50s. I had my hair short intermittently as my mother liked it but it was very long in the infants.

Surely this is an old fashioned view! Loads of older women have long hair now.

Mid 50s. Bra strap length hair starting to go grey. Any hair dyeing will not do the hair any good IMO but I sometimes use a semi-permanent colour.
Friends have been nagging me to straighten my hair or have it cut into a bob, but they are wasting their breath. My hair is naturally wavy.

This! Recently had my mid-back hair cut to a pixie because unless you have very thick hair it doesn't look good as you age and it thins.

Sad, but needs must!

I'm 60 this month, my hair started greying at 16 and I used semis until my 20s home dyes until the last 6 months. My hair is past my shoulders thick and i straighten it. I have trims every 6 to 8 weeks...I've now gone light to hide roots with highlights and lowlights so hairdresses colour it. It's in great condition....sounds like she just thinks old women must have short hair.

Loving all these 40s+ women with gorgeous long hair. We need to get rid of this idea that you have to have short hair when you’re older. Totally fine if you want to but not compulsory!! And like a poster above mentioned you can look at extensions if your hair does get thinner. Obviously more of a faff & potentially expensive but at least we have some choice these days 😊

Also really surprised that a hairdresser would suggest a low maintenance hairstyle too!!
Mine loves getting me in for regular root touch ups & expensive conditioning treatments - she only ever suggests things that are even higher maintenance 😂

Grey is nice and so is long greying hair imho. I'm over 60, my hair grew long with some grey streaks during lockdown and I've left it like this. Much cheaper than pixie cuts, which have to be cut every 5/6 weeks to stay looking good. Listen to yourself not your hairdresser

I'm 45, my hair is about elbow length. I've noticed it's goy thinner over the last couple of years but I started with very thick hair so that hasn't been too bad. I've only had it coloured or hilighted about 4 or 5 times ever, the last being about 15 years ago so you'd think it would be in good contion but the ends get very tangly.i had it cut to shoulder length about 10 years ago and it seemed healthier and less tangly but it grows so slowly I don't want to cut it that short again!

I am 50 and use henna (mainly cassia actually)

one thing to be careful if: once hair has been treated with henna, you can’t do chemical colouring. The two don’t combine. The henna is pretty “permanent”

i have long brown hair, nipple length 😁 and in good condition. Yes it is a little bit thinner at 50 than it was in my youth, but still looks very nice if I style it. Only wash it twice a week though

I use “It’s pure” henna, the blonde one though which is mainly cassia. It hardly deposits colour, but it tints my white hairs blonde, so they blend in with my light brown hair. Once I get more grey (currently only about 1-5% grey) I may switch to brown henna. It leaves my hair in good condition

i hate they way we are talked into short sensible hair styles, I want practical, yes (bun/ponytail for wet windy dog walks) with the glam option whenever I want it

i use heated rollers (retro!) to style it, which seems to not damage my hair

This sounds utterly divine 😍 please post pics one day!

I am 60 with long hair which I colour myself and it seems ok so far.

I think it depends on the person, and probably very much the ethnicity too. Some people have genetically thick and luscious locks (me and my family). If anything I have too much hair, the vacuum cleaner always gets clogged up. So does my mum, she's 75 (she cuts hers short for convenience)

I always had very fast growing hair but it slowed down massively mid 40’s. I keep it shoulder length now and stopped highlighting a few years ago, letting the grey take over

I'm 58 and until June of last year I had very long hair. I had it cut to use length for my FiL's funeral. I look way better with longer hair

45 here with mid back length dark brown hair that I dye the roots of every three weeks (just a cm each time).

I do deep condition it and use serum etc and I get lots of compliments on it. It isn’t as thick as it used to be but it used to be ridiculously thick so I think now it’s average. At some point i’ll need to embrace my grey but I’m not ready yet!

I always thought short hairstyles and bobs were more high maintenance than long? I mean long hair takes longer to wash and dry (and longer if you're having a colour put in) but short hair needs more styling and regular cuts to keep it's shape.
My hair is about bra strap length. I do mainly ponytail or plait it (it needs to be tied back at work, and I also tie it back for running) so I'm pretty low maintenance about styling it. I occassionally dry it with a diffuser, and I straighten it probably less than once a month

50 and with bra band length hair, been colouring it since my teens, but only colour roots since greying so never excessively colouring all of it. Hairdresser v happy with condition.

I'm 46 with longish wavy dark blonde hair which I have highlighted to brighten it up and to hide any white frizzy hairs I get (that I inherited from my Nan!).
I lost a lot of hair due to meds at 35 so it's taken all this time to grow back actually thicker... it's been a nightmare., so no I'm not having it all cut off.

Long hair, if you already have a long or narrow face shape or are very thin, is not always that flattering as you age as you naturally droop and sag in the face. Shorter hair can offset that.

Societal ideals place a lot of emphasis on long hair but it doesn’t suit everyone even if you have the thickness. That’s true whatever your age though.

I often observe the other way round, most younger women have long hair, not much variety and sometimes when it just hangs there it’s not overly flattering. But it’s sort of a default. And it used to be the default that over 40s got shorter cuts, but that’s not really the case now. I wonder if some older women just get bored with long hair and want something a bit more characterful/ bespoke to them.

Bollocks. I’m 47 and my longer-than-bra-strap hair is in better condition than it was 20 years ago. It’s definitely not thin or straggly.

I agree with the PP saying that a bob is more ageing in your 40s now than long hair. Not because of the style itself, but because it is currently near-ubiquitous in women in their 60s and 70s. I see dozens of short women with blondey-silver bobs and puffer coats who could be my mum from behind.

I agree @TheOGCCL that long hair doesn't suit everyone

I also think that trying to look young doesn't always work in an older woman's favour (whenever I see Pamela Anderson I always think that she would look so much better if she embraced her age and stopped trying to look like she did 30 years ago!).

I was walking behind a woman the other day who had long bleached blonde hair, was thin, and wearing tight fitting clothes. I thought that she was about 19 or 20 until she turned around and I saw that she had an old haggard face.

It was quite shocking. I'm not sure why, but it was definitely something to do with the contrast between the young style and older face. It just didn't fit.

I was walking behind a woman the other day who had long bleached blonde hair, was thin, and wearing tight fitting clothes. I thought that she was about 19 or 20 until she turned around and I saw that she had an old haggard face.

It was quite shocking. I'm not sure why, but it was definitely something to do with the contrast between the young style and older face. It just didn't fit.

Gosh how awful. What style of hair would you have suggested for the old haggard face?

I have very long hair sits on my bum when I'm standing.
I have had greys since 17. I just dye myself most of the time with box dyes. My hair still looks very nice and is in lovely condition. I get positive comments regularly. I would cut it if it looked bad though.

As for embracing the grey, I totally haven't, I won't be going for that look for a while as I like the way my hair looks on me for now but I do like the look of long grey hair.

Has it occurred to you that older women (including the one you describe feeling so shocked by) might not be 'trying to look young', or indeed trying to look anything in particular, but simply continuing to enjoy the kind of look they have always enjoyed?

You sound young yourself, and if you are, I wonder if your view on this will change as you get older. It might not - then again, it might.

I know someone who fits the description you gave to a T, but I don't think she cares what age people think she is. She's just dressing in a way that makes her happy.

Similarly I am 55 and have long hair, a nose piercing, and still wear a lot of the styles I have always worn, some of which some people would think I was too old for. I couldn't give a shit how old/young people think I am. I present myself in a way that makes me feel good about myself, and I won't be changing that unless I find myself naturally gravitating towards a different look.

Get a new hairdresser.