Is smooth glossy hair achievable after 50?

[Bellendula]

If so, what products do I need to use? My hair is in overall good condition but the greys I have are wispy and coarse especially at the top/parting area.
Santa got me Boots vouchers so I’m prepared to throw money at this 😀

I’ve got highlighted grey hair and I tried Faith in Nature over the summer but prefer my L’Oréal colour shampoo and whatever conditioner I have, it can be Redken CAT spray or a cheaper one. It does look better when blow dried but also looks good when air dried too. Redken Uniq 1 spray helps a lot with me and sometimes a leave in conditioner too. Also a finishing cream or serum to smooth flyaway hairs helps a lot too. I use Matrix Smooth Setter but they’ve discontinued it now.

I'm early 40s and my grey is growing in.

I swear by Wella Oil Reflections shampoo and conditioner. Pricey but you only need a small amount. I double shampoo every time to make sure it's definitely clean. Once a month I use L'Oréal metal detox shampoo.

Also use living proof blow dry cream which gives me bouncy hair.

I have a half head of highlights and a trim every 8 weeks to keep split ends at bay and blend my grey in.

This maybe isn't relevant as I'm early 40s but I do have a lot of grey (well, white actually as I'm a redhead) which I colour with henna. Hair still soft and shiny, but it's definitely prone to fluffiness in the merest hint of humidity - recently started using Colour Wow and it really makes a difference to smoothness and gloss.

That looks tempting @noobiedoobie . Not that I feel like I need to change anything but I didn’t know that sort of thing existed.

I use one of these. The length of the brush halves my drying time.

I think if your hair was dark before grey it tends to look much prettier than blonde hair, which fades to yellow or an awful tobacco-stained fingers king of greige. Mine's not obviously grey yet, but it’s getting lighter and turning into fairy floss…. (Getting finer and finer and eventually disappearing entirely, probably) And yes, I am, very envious of @PuppyMonkey’s űber chic do. So timelessly stylish! Would be both limp and frizzy within seconds of leaving the hairdresser in the hot, humid hell hole that I live in.

Mid fifties with coarse grey/brown mix, very frizzy if I don't blow dry, best with a hairdryer and round brush followed with straighteners, though I normally use the Dyson Airstrait as it's easier and nearly as good + less heat damage. Recently discovered Davines OI spray to use prior to blow drying and it leaves my hair much silkier and softer than the olaplex oil I used previously.

Your hair sounds similar to mine OP.

Try using Philip Kingsley Elasticiser.
It's a pre-shampoo treatment that the instructions say to leave on for 10-15 minutes.

I leave it on for 2 hours and my hair is sleek and glossy.

It's my hair holy grail.

I’m 53. I use Dove daily moisture shampoo and conditioner. Milkshake blow dry lotion. https://www.bcgel.co.uk/product/milk_shake-leave-in-incredible-milk-150ml/?utmsource=google&utmmedium=paid&utmcampaign=21527454701&utmcontent=&utmterm=&gadid=&gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAADENvIk47oX1ldBOhz5NlvxrCOqvY&gclid=Cj0KCQiA7NO7BhDsARIsADghIaFTsduXEu3x4Ud0YIAarex2ida1ZQC-dOESNAIZMRS1QIzF4yJsaAo14EALwwcB
I have half head foils of high lift tint every 2 months and some greys at the front . Hair is mostly the same and not on hrt. Post memo by 2 years.

I tried the Garnier banana food hair mask after a recommendation on here and have been really pleased with how much smoother and shinier my hair is when I use it. It must be noticeable because someone compliments my hair each time I use it. It’s currently half price on Amazon so might be worth a go and ant least it’s inexpensive if it doesn’t work out!

I think I’ll give this a go as I’ve spotted it in boots but a couple of questions

Does it smell of bananas
Does it help with volume

Honestly, thank you all so much for your replies and recommendations, I’m writing them all down to research. Some products recommended a few times so I’ll start with them.
My skin and nails are in great condition (for my age 😆) but I think you can get away with skin not being it’s best by a bit of make up etc.. but frizzy/pubey hair feels so ageing 😩

Absolutely gorgeous! Grey but healthy, shiny and glossy 👌

Yes I guess the grey ones are quite curly…. Is it possible for you hair to completely change texture? I’ve always had straight hair!

Since going grey mine has gone from dead straight to wavy, so yes it does happen. I discovered straighteners make the biggest difference if I want it straight and shiny. Sometimes in summer I put in curl cream, leave it to dry naturally and embrace the waviness, but whatever I do, by the next day it just looks like I haven't brushed it!

I'm 58, naturally about 70% grey but my hair is professionally coloured back to the original dark brown.

Depends how grey you are I think.

I am mid fifties and brunette still with very little grey, hence yes my hair is shiny.

Kerataste nutritive conditioner but comb through whilst in the shower. I have hair that people say is in very good condition but I am older than you but have never coloured it ( I have very very little grey otherwise I would).

For me it’s the conditioner and then a good styling product that does it.

Kerataste often have offers on btw

I've been considering this too. Wondered how well it would work on my grey frizzy bits

I do think towel drying hair before conditioner makes a huge difference to hair smoothness - since I've started doing this my hair is so much better

I’m 50s and only use kerastase products on my hair. Shampoo, conditioner, serum, heat protection and oil as and when required. Still have glossy ‘youthful’ hair. On the rare occasion I have to switch out for something else I noticed the difference immediately. I got my mum into it 12 months ago and she’s late 70s and hers is so much better now.

I am late 50’s and during menopause I lost probably about 50% of my hair via generalised thinning. No bald spots but it was rather terrifying at the time.

It’s now stopped shedding and I have a new normal of slightly wavy hair. Thankfully although it is fine there is still enough not to look too old-lady wispy. I have it highlighted to thicken it up a bit and my lovely hairdresser leaves my white money pieces at the front.

To get it poker straight and shiny I use Color Wow shampoo/ conditioner and Colour Wow dream coat which is an actual miracle product.

@AnyFucker what a relief to hear this. I am shedding now since August and it hasn't stopped. I'm 49. I feel like I've lost 50% and I wonder if it's ever going to stop or if I'm just quietly headed towards baldness. It is also generalised thinning. I look down and there's another hair oh and another and another. I find them everywhere.

Do you think it will stop eventually?

It went through a shedding phase last year in August but stopped around November. This time it's still going and it's 1 January :(

Did you start HRT or anything like that to stop the shed? I can't take it myself unfortunately.

I sometimes use a bit of my adult DD’s Kerastase if she lets me and it does make your hair feel lovely. So expensive though

What does Claudia W use??? We all need a bit of that.

@PlopSofa I thought mine wasn’t going to stop either. Having to clear handfuls of hair from the plug hole after a shower, being scared to comb it as another handful would come out. Picking hair off clothes, off the floor, clogging up the hoover, out of my food, off my pillow. I stopped styling it as it was too stressful for about a year and just let it grow straggly which was worse.

The gp had no answers, just said it could be post covid stress (I was NHS frontline during lockdowns) and/or hormonal.

I too can’t take HRT so literally just waited it out and then I realised one day the shedding had slowed right down and now I lose minimal hair (for a while I lost perspective of what was normal daily loss). I now style it, stop checking the plug hole and don’t worry about it any more. It was truly awful at the time though, you have my utmost sympathy ❤️‍🩹

@Clipclopflop @bluejelly Nadine Baggott has just posted a video on Instagram of her having this done for the 2nd time. She raves about it.