Short hair if you are over 40 - NOT SO!
By redkathy
@redkathy (3374)
United States
October 28, 2008 10:53am CST
Lots of people think that "SHORT HAIR" is the appropriate thing for women over forty. I don't believe that. I like my longer hair and trendy clothes... That "hippie style" so my boys call it! This article from MORE magazine arrived in my inbox this morning. Boy I have some good ammunition for those boring traditionalist types who think I need to wear my hair short because I'm over forty HA!
"Your sexiest hair length may be a lot longer -- or shorter -- than you thought. Learn how to get great hair over 40.
By Lois Joy Johnson
Short Hair Suits You If...
Short hair can work for you if you have very delicate or very large features and a fairly firm jaw, a well-shaped head, and an elegant neck. The key is proportion. The secret, according to hair guru John Frieda, is the jawline: If the bottom tip of your chin is more than 2 1/2 inches lower than the bottom of your earlobe, short hair won't look good unless you increase the length at the nape.
Long Hair Suits You If...
Long hair can work for you if your hair is healthy and your cut contemporary. Unless you have a hairdresser on call, aim for a length somewhere between collarbone and cleavage. "Long hair needs to be kept healthy with regular trims and conditioning, plus yearly updates to evaluate length and cut," says Mitch Barry, whose long-haired clients include Bernadette Peters and Christie Brinkley."
Ladies, Read all about it here http://www.more.com/style/hair/hair-length-after-40/?page=1
Convinced that long hair just might be suitable? Ever been told your hair style is "too young" for your age??
8 people like this
21 responses
@dawnald (85130)
• Shingle Springs, California
29 Oct 08
Hm, well there was my stupid father-in-law, after my daughter was born, asking me when I was going to get a more mature hairstyle. My hairstyle is my own business Mister and I'm sure not going to cut it now!!!
@dawnald (85130)
• Shingle Springs, California
29 Oct 08
Oh he's no longer with us, unfortunately. Good guy but always into everybody elses business!!!
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
31 Oct 08
As long as you like your long hair and you know how to keep it well there is no harm in keeping it that way. In fact I prefer long hair on women. It makes you more femminine. I don't agree that women over 40 should wear shorter hair. © ronaldinu 2008
@CanadaGal (4304)
• Canada
29 Oct 08
I have fallen for that shorter hair trap. I'm approaching 40 (I'll be 36 in less than 2 weeks), and last year, I got it into my head that I should cut my hair short. It wasn't short short, but for me, it was very short (an uneven bob, with the front longer parts not even down to my chin). I'm not sure what got over me, other than the fact I felt I needed a change.
I got ample compliments on my shorter "do", however, I don't think it suited me well. I have always had long hair, I have great hair, and I can wear it long, and therefore I should do so , for as long as I'm willing to look after it.
It's taking quite some time to grow out now (less than 2 inches in 4 months), but I'm working on it. I do like the "between collar bone and cleavage" line... that does make sense. It's still "long", but it's also not too long to style and manage. That's my ideal length... although I'm referring to it as just past my shoulders.
@redkathy (3374)
• United States
29 Oct 08
My hair was waist length until a few months ago when I decided I needed a change... Not because of my age and I'm 48, I just wanted one. I got a shag cut about to my shoulders, keeping with my hippie type style.
The traditional older-short thought is all wrong if you ask me so grow out your hair just how you like it!
1 person likes this
@mods196621 (3652)
• Philippines
29 Oct 08
I prefer to have not very long hair it's okay a lengh of shoulder line. But if short hair can look good for me why not to be cut my hair as design like barbers cut. And your right it depends upon the shape of your face and the type of hair strands.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
29 Oct 08
i like super short hair and after a couple of weeks after getting it cut, it is just now reaching my collar. i also tend to dress not like a hippy but not trendy either, just well, different. i am an artist so i dress in my own style both with my hair and my clothes.
@fifileigh (3615)
• United States
29 Oct 08
i think it depends on the individual. do what makes you happy and what u feel looks good on you. it is ur face and your hair anyway, and no one's business what u decide.
but i agree that long faces dont look good with short hair. long faces should keep their hair long and full. oval faces can do any haircuts. round faces usually look good with hair pulled away from the face. asymmetrical faces and facial features look better with angular haircuts, side parts the cuts across the face, angular bangs that taper around the face.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
28 Oct 08
well ms.kathy, i think short hair is becoming to most people over 40. it doesn't have to be short, shortbut i don't think lone hair is always what people. i was a hairdresser for 47 years & i have seen a litle bit of everything. long hair can be very pretty if is taken care of. i don't like long gray hair.
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
29 Oct 08
i hate how a lot of older people get short hair.. it seems as if they think that is what they should do and it looks awful on a lot of people.. i like long hair and i am still fuming at my last haircut where i got a stylist from hell that took bra length hair and what was suppose to be 2 inches that chopped my hair up to my shoulders!! i like long hippie hair too 
and considering it took me 3 years to get my hair that long i know it will be 3 more till i get my hair back!! i wish i could sue.. haha..
and considering it took me 3 years to get my hair that long i know it will be 3 more till i get my hair back!! i wish i could sue.. haha.. 
@sanjana_aslam (4187)
• Malaysia
29 Oct 08
hi red
personnaly i believe that most women of 40s are having short hair because the falling of hair is more ... as the becomes thinner ... it looks like a rat tail rather than a pony tail ...
i have seen older woman normally curl their short hair to make it look more
cheers
@Wordplay (239)
• Canada
29 Oct 08
Thank you for posting this article! Not that I would ever change my decision about my hair, but it makes me feel much better about my choice.
I always hated having my hair short. Not that I dislike short hair in general--on some women it can look very sleek and stylish.
But then, maybe I have issues. When I was 13 my mother convinced me to cut my hair short, saying it would look fresh and more "perky". But the moment I cut my hair off I regretted it! No matter how much my mother tried to convince me how cute I looked, I cried whenever I saw myself in the mirror. It just didn't feel like me. Looking back at old high school pictures, I still cringe. Maybe it didn't look so bad, but it was the way the cut made me feel--boyish and geeky.
I am, shall we say, approaching 40. That milestone is coming up very soon. I grew up with the belief that a woman of a certain age should keep her hair short (along with other notions such as don't wear white after Labour Day).
Right now my hair is a few inches below the shoulder--not hippie-long but long enough--and slightly layered to give it a look that is professional without being fussy. And the style is totally me. Now that I've found a style I like, why should I give it up when I turn 40?
Thank God times have changed!
@mercuryman3a (2477)
• India
29 Oct 08
I have heard nothing like this before. it is the cut of the face not the age which determines the type of hair that will suit a person. I have seen older women just as elegant with short hair as with long hair. Whoever said that short hair suit women over 40 may not have seen sexy ladies over 40 with beautiful long hair.
@tiffrocks33 (71)
• United States
29 Oct 08
I personally have short hair, and am only in my early 30's. I do not like the way my hair looks when it is long. I have had both right now short is for me. I do agree that it is nice to be able to do more with your hair when it is long. I also feel that age should not matter what length your hair is. It should be what you feel comfortable and what makes your feel the best about yourself.
@eaforeman6 (8979)
• United States
28 Oct 08
I am 53 and I have very long thick and wavey black hair. I have hair that is like Crystal Gayles, really long. I can do many different things with it and I like that. I would rather have the choices in styles then only 1 choice and no others. I think if you style it in a nice fashion then its fine. I have had alot of compliments on my hair.
@redkathy (3374)
• United States
29 Oct 08
You go girl!!! I have really thick, coarse wild hair. I can wear it any way, it's very manageable when I style it. I had it long for about 15 years and just recently cut it above the shoulder. It's still wild looking, but I wanted a change. BTW I'm 48.
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
19 Nov 08
Short hair or long hair, it is all a personal preference.
A lot of women I know who are in their twenties are also sporting short crops. And they are comfortable with it.
Quite a few of my friends and relatives who are over fifty are still sporting long hair. Their long locks are properly cared for and are looking luscious as one who is in their twenties and sporting long hair.
In fact, some of them have nicer looking hair compared to some one twenty years younger!
Most women I know who traded their long locks for shorter hair did it out of convenience. Short hair, admittedly, is easier to care for than long ones.
Long hair or short, as long as you are comfortable with your hair, then leave it if it is long.
What matters is you like it.
Watched Desperate housewives of late? Most of the women there are already in their forties and older, and the long hair still looks good on them just as they did a long time ago when they first appeared in the acting arena!
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
3 Nov 08
I have never had short hair, at least in terms of shorter than my chin. Right now my hair is halfway down my back, pretty much one length, base dark with blonde highlights. I've had it like this for approx 3 years. I'm very lazy about my hair, my musts as far as style is that it has to be wearable nonstyled which means I shouldn't have to use an army of products, a blowdryer, rollers, a curling or straightening iron, etc. It also needs to maintain at least an appearance of volume with a minimum or work, be able to be completely contained in a hair claw, ponytail elastic, or whatever I find in my purse to tie it back with, and not look like it got soaked in ketchup or fried with a taser after a date with a treadmill.
I am afraid to ever really CUT my hair because then it might require a style, and I'm so used to having easy hair that I don't have to do anything with in order for it to look good, I don't want to cause myself extra work as I approach 40. 
I do not intend to cut my hair short, probably ever. Like I said, I prefer longer hair and so does my husband. I've only known one guy who preferred my hair shorter, I think he was an exception.
I do not intend to cut my hair short, probably ever. Like I said, I prefer longer hair and so does my husband. I've only known one guy who preferred my hair shorter, I think he was an exception.
@Jenaisle (14078)
• Philippines
19 Nov 08
I like short hair, because it makes me younger and it's easier to maintain . It saves on shampoo, water, and of course money. Sometimes during cold weather , long hair is good, because it adds warmth to the body. But in summer, short hair is of course preferable. So whatever the season is, I adjust the length of my hair. Cheers and happy mylotting.
@parthena (31)
• United States
30 Oct 08
Well, I'm dating myself but I'm old enough to remember when it was believed that long hair was not appropriate for women over 40. Now anything goes, and celebrities like Stevie Nicks and others have proved that long hair on older women can be beautiful.
I grew mine out for convenience and for bellydancing. The scarves and tikkas are enough without a hair fall on top of it all! I've always wanted to get it to my waist and have never done that, so it's my goal to get it there now. I love the convenience of just twisting it up in a clip or being able to sleep with it in a braid and not having to mess with it, but I also wear it down whenever it's not too hot or inconvenient. I spent years fighting with its waves and trying to make it do everything it didn't want to do. Now I've accepted it and made peace with it.
But I also love short hair, I love the new styles that don't have to be perfect. I had a great haircut that looked different every day for a while and may go back to that someday.
Whatever the length, hair should be clean and healthy.
