Finding the right hairstyle after 50 can be a game-changer for your overall appearance. As we age, our facial features and hair texture change, requiring different styling approaches than what worked in our younger years. The wrong cut can add years to your look, while the right one can enhance your natural beauty and bring out your best features.
1. Super Long Straight Hair
Extremely long, one-length hair often drags down mature faces, creating a severe appearance rather than a youthful one. The weight pulls at facial features and emphasizes fine lines around the eyes and mouth. Consider a shoulder-length cut with layers instead for movement and lift.
2. Blunt Bob Without Layers
Hard, geometric lines without softening layers can accentuate facial asymmetries and jawline changes that come with age. The stark edges draw attention to neck areas many women prefer to downplay. Adding even subtle layers creates movement and frames the face more flatteringly.
3. Jet Black Single-Process Color
Harsh, flat black dye creates an artificial look that contrasts too severely with aging skin tones. The unnatural darkness highlights every line and wrinkle rather than complementing mature complexions. Softer shades with dimension – like rich browns with des points forts subtils – bring warmth to the face instead.
4. Tight Curly Perms
Remember those 80s-style tight perms? They’ve returned, but not in a good way for mature women. The small, uniform curls create a dated, helmet-like appearance that adds visual years. Modern, looser waves with varying curl patterns offer sophistication while maintaining youthful bounce.
5. Severe Slicked-Back Styles
Pulling hair tightly back against the scalp creates tension that emphasizes every facial contour change that comes with age. This harsh styling choice eliminates softness around the face where it’s most needed. A style with gentle volume at the crown and face-framing pieces offers a more flattering alternative.
6. Razor-Sharp Micro Bangs
Super short, straight-across baby bangs create a harsh horizontal line that draws immediate attention to forehead lines and crow’s feet. This edgy style often fights with softer facial contours that develop with age. Softer, side-swept bangs that hit around the eyebrows offer a more harmonious frame.
7. Outdated Feathered Layers
Those iconic 70s feathered layers can look stuck in time rather than classic on mature women. The dated styling technique often creates wispy, thin-looking ends that emphasize hair thinning common after 50. Modern, blended layers with more substantial ends provide better volume and movement.
8. Overgrown Shag Cuts
While shag cuts are trending, overly long, shapeless versions can overwhelm smaller facial features that often become more delicate with age. Too many disconnected layers without proper shaping create a messy rather than deliberately tousled look. A well-structured, longueur d'épaule shag maintains the cool factor while flattering mature faces.
9. Blunt, Heavy Straight-Across Bangs
Thick, straight-across bangs cut too bluntly create a heavy curtain effect that can overwhelm more delicate features. The severe horizontal line draws attention directly to crow’s feet and under-eye areas. Softer, textured bangs that can be styled to the side offer a more forgiving frame.
10. Platinum Blonde All Over
Uniform, harsh platinum blonde often creates an unnatural contrast against mature skin tones. The high-maintenance shade shows regrowth quickly and can look brassy rather than sophisticated. Softer blonde with dimension and slightly darker roots offers a more natural, flattering alternative.
11. Super Short Pixie Without Texture
An extremely short pixie cut without any softening texture can appear severe rather than chic on mature women. The lack of movement emphasizes facial asymmetries that develop with age. Adding gentle texture and slightly longer pieces around the face creates softness where it’s most needed.
12. Uniform One-Length Shoulder Cut
A straight, one-length cut that hits at the shoulders without any layers or movement often hangs lifelessly. This flat style draws the eye downward and can emphasize neck changes that come with age. Adding even subtle face-framing or internal layers creates lift and dimension.
13. Asymmetrical Extreme A-Line
Dramatically angled A-line cuts with one side much longer than the other create visual imbalance that can fight with natural facial asymmetries that develop with age. The severe angle draws attention to neck and jawline areas. A more moderate graduation offers the same contemporary feel without the harshness.
14. Over-Teased Crown Volume
Excessive teasing at the crown creates an outdated, artificial-looking bump that screams “trying too hard” rather than youthful volume. The dated styling technique often results in damaged, frizzy hair texture. Modern volumizing products and round brush techniques create natural lift without the dated silhouette.
15. Chunky, Striped Highlights
Bold, contrasting stripes of color create a harsh, artificial effect rather than natural-looking dimension. These obvious color blocks draw attention to themselves rather than enhancing facial features. Finer, more blended highlights that mimic natural sun-kissed dimension are far more flattering and contemporary.