Long, thick, ageing hair: please give me your styling tips!

[RipeRaspberries]

I've been blessed with the type of hair that never needed anything doing to it (like brushing!) and always looked great. As I get older that's no longer the case.

It's thick and long and a little (not a lot) frizzy. I see other school mums with long hair who have it tied back in a way that looks sleek but not like they've spent 3 hours on it IYSWIM.

If you have long, thick hair that you tie back or otherwise style, please talk me through what you do to it. Or send me in the direction of YouTube links that can give me styling tips. It would be much appreciated!

Surely the answer is to go to a good hairdresser? They’ll know exactly how to make the best of your hair and how to maintain it. Simply tying it back isn’t going to improve its condition.

I’m not asking about how to improve the condition though, I’m asking for styling tips. You’re the one who’s apparently decided that I’m not “making the best” of my hair and that it’s not in good condition.

Have a look at hairdresser Michael Douglas (MDLondon) on Instagram. He does great styling tips and videos and there’s quite a few that deal with frizz/flyaways.

My hair isn’t long, just below shoulder length and I’ve found the Dyson airwrap to be revolutionary. It is expensive but worth every penny for me.

Agree with this. My hair used to look great with minimal effort, now it does not. A proper blow dry with the airwrap twice a week has it looking quite good. I've just got the new attachment that blows all your flyaway bits to the underside, and it's excellent.

Can't help with the tying back as it doesn't suit me and I have a really sensitive scalp anyway.

Thanks @PortiaWithNoBreaks . My hair’s not particularly/problematically frizzy but I feel like it would now suit me better to have it more ‘styled’/controlled. Am no spring chicken now! I’ll check out Michael Douglas.

I’m really curious about the airwrap but a bit worried that it might cause a lot of breakage. Presumably you haven’t found that? I don’t use a hairdryer but suspect I will have to learn.

I think as we age we need to consider how a style fits our face.

Having long hair is lovely, but whether it is worn long or tied back leaves our face exposed, stark and bare.
I find a shorter length treats my face more sympathetically, I have a blunt cut with a few shorter pieces around my face, and which I can leave out when I put my hair up- a bit like this ( not me)

I agree that's suitable as we get older . If it's too long it kind of drags you down . My hair sounds very similar to OPs I never had to do anything with it but cant get away with that anymore .I have a styling brush with retractable bristles: REVAMP Progloss Volume and Wave Hot Ceramic Brush, 32 mm Ceramic and Ionic Barrel with Retractable Cool Bristles for Easy, Long-Lasting Curls and Waves amzn.eu/d/0UMwMcs
I find it brilliant. Honestly I don't work for them or anything!

I have long, thick hair with some long layers around the front and a single long layer at the back for movement. I take great care to keep it in excellent condition so it's sleek and very shiny. I always use Philip Kingsley elasticizer and a deep conditioning treatment and lots of oil on the lengths and ends in between washes. I use GHD glide for smoothing and a curling wand for loose waves. Both look great in a low or high ponytail, half up half down styles or a loose bun. I use lots of hair accessories - Jennifer Behr's are my favourites.

I'm mid 40s with very long hair.

Tried the Dyson air wrap, did nothing at all for me, just left me looking a straggly mess. Lucky they accept returns so I got it refunded.

I have had the Brazilian keratin straightening treatment. It's left my long hair looking in better condition and I need to do very little to it as it keeps itself straight and tidy. If you prefer a wavy look this is not for you, but I used to spend ages with straighteners so this works perfectly for me.

@RipeRaspberries i think the Dyson is meant to be gentler on hair than a conventional dryer and that has been my experience. If you were to buy, buy direct from Dyson as you can customise the attachments and pay over 3 months. Like a pp said, you can return and get your money back if you’re not satisfied. They have lots of video clips on their site that might be worth a look too.

I don’t use many hair products but I do rate Sam McKnight. They’re the best styling products I’ve ever used though they are £££ compared to supermarket brands. Again on IG or their website there are styling/how to use short videos.

Another thing, I use a silk pillowcase (Amazon) and it’s really stopped my hair being all tangled up in the morning.