Is it wrong to have long hair when you're old?

[Alcemeg]

So this is my hair. I feel lucky that it's not gone grey yet (I'm in my mid 60s), but I remember over the years having it drummed into me that once your'e over a certain age you look like a witch with long hair.

The trouble is, I don't know what else to do with it! I have this vision of "choppy layers" or something, but am not sure if it would work as my hair is very fine. I just don't know what to ask for at the hairdresser's.

Advice welcome!

Jammy bugger - I was 16.

Er... have you actually read the replies? Like all MN threads on hair length I've ever seen, the overwhelming majority are having no truck with anachronistic ageist notions.

Anyway, I'm 62, hair is naturally fair - straight, fine but still plenty of it. It's got to the length where I think, hm could do with a cut, but chances are it'll be a month till I get round to it.

Thanks for replying. You are so lucky. Your hair is beautiful.

There was an article in the Times yesterday about older women keeping their hair long. It's very fashionable, apparently, so go for it! The theory is that hair treatments are gentler these days, so hair doesn't get as damaged as it did in the past with harsher treatments.

I'm also mid-sixties with long hair. Until this week, it was below my waist, but I got tired of it & chopped about 6" off. It's now just a bit longer than yours. It's mostly still brown. Mostly.😥

I found my very thick hair thinned when I went through the menopause (so it became more normal), but once out the other side, it recovered & thickened up a bit. I'd had no idea this could happen, but my then-stylist said it does happen with some women.

Nope I love long hair on any age. It's lovely don't change it

I need instructions on using sticks, please!

Me too!!!!

Thanks everyone, these are not the answers I was expecting!

I love your post & your username (though in my case it's crochet rather than knit).

@MimosaSunrise you’re welcome 😊. I can’t stand all the would/should/right/wrong and the judging and policing of what women wear and how they look - and society is exponentially more judgemental as we age, which can lead us to question and feel uncomfortable with our own choices. It’s bullshit. You know what you want and like, so quite honestly bugger what anyone else thinks! There are no ‘rules’ around any of it, it’s just other people’s arbitrary opinions, which frankly they can keep. I bet your hair looks lovely, btw.

I'm 47 and have no intention of cutting my long hair. Short hair is such a faff, can't just stick it in a ponytail.
a family friend when I was a child used to have long hair in her 80s. I used to beg her to take it down (was always in a bun) but she never did. It fascinated me.

Ofcourse not! Especially if it's ur natural colour. Enjoy it x

I think your hair is beautiful @Alcemeg. And it's the type of hair that just deserves to be long, if that makes sense!

You have my dream hair @NancyPickford. I let my natural colour grow out (grey) and hoped it might be something like yours. It is not! But I will never go back to dyeing.

The thing is not everyone is blessed with thick, great hair which can be held in an artfully-messy up-do with a pencil.

My hair is very, very fine. No grey yet, but the chances of my looking like a witch soon are very high as although I used to have a lot of fine hair, now I have less.

The reason a lot of ladies had blue rinses is that mature hair can go yellowy, and not a strong white or grey. Perms (or sets) can disguise thinning hair on the scalp.

Another witch signing in, 53 next month, long hair, going grey, uncoloured, don't care either way!

I'm 61 and I have long hair too. I've always had it long. I do sometimes wonder if I should have it cut but I don't know if I'd like short hair or if it would suit me.

You look great

That is the kind of colour my roots are but still dying it
One day I will think Sod this,,, and let it come on through.

Wow @UnctuousUnicorns !!! That's an impressive mane. I kind of wish that was your real face, too 🤩

@LadyMuckingabout I see what you mean about the type of hair that can't be tastefully arranged with pencils etc. Mine slips out of everything, and won't hold a curl for more than 5 minutes even in dry heat. Occasionally some happy accident (e.g. a day at the beach with hair tied up) results in a brief impression of curliness, and I get wildly excited. My DH doesn't understand this, but bless him has given me all kinds of nick-nacks to introduce a wave, knowing it's my ultimate fantasy... none of them work.

I was in a shopping centre once and some sales person tried to interest me in hair straighteners!!!!!!!!!!!

No, short hair is plain, I'll keep mine long for as long as I can. Why do we have to look butch with age?

The only reason to cut it is maybe it looks less bad if a woman's hair is thinning.

That was the old days

You see older ladies with nice short cuts but its old fashioned

However, if you have long straight hair with no style, it can look a little drab. In my opinion

@Alcemeg what products do you use before you curl? Have you tried a stronghold mousse then sleeping in old fashioned rags? I do this when I want a curl. Mine's poker too.

Any length of hair can be plain surely? And I'm not sure I would automatically make a connection between short hair and looking butch. I would prefer to make my point a bit more forcefully, but this is Style and Beauty, not AIBU, so I'll leave it there!

Another witch here, 60. Long layers if you must but don't go short!

I'm 68 and have long curly hair. I'm a natural red head but dye it now. I have no intention of getting it cut short any time soon.

@Trinity65 it was the constant root retouching that finally persuaded me. Every two to three weeks or risk looking like a skunk. I had no idea what would be under the dye, so I was pleasantly surprised - and the bonus is, now that I'm no longer dyeing it an unnaturally dark shade it's much more suited to my skin tone. The freedom from the dye is immense!

I’m 57 and would never cut my hair again out of choice. My Dh also loves my hair. When I was 30 an abusive ex persuaded me to cut it into a short Bob, I hated it and grew it straight back. I like it long because it is very versatile and easy to manage myself.
OP your hair is lovely and shiny. Leave it like it is. Or try out a wig for a few days.
I found with shorter hair it was a real hassle to keep it out of my face. Also just lay flat on my head.