Choosing the right hairstyle after 60 can be tricky, especially if you love your long locks. While some long hairstyles can add years to your appearance, others can be downright unflattering.
Let’s explore which long hairstyles might be aging you and which ones you should avoid altogether for a more youthful, vibrant look.
1. Poker-Straight Long Hair
Completely flat, straight hair emphasizes facial lines and creates a severe look around your face. The lack of movement draws attention to sagging skin rather than complementing your features.
Adding some waves or layers creates necessary softness that’s much more flattering.
2. Single-Length Hippie Style
Remember those center-parted, waist-length locks from the ’70s? That youthful style now creates a dated, aging effect. Without layers or shape, it drags down your features.
The weight pulls at your face, accentuating every line and wrinkle.
3. Overgrown Layers
Layers that have grown out create a shapeless, neglected appearance. When layers lose definition, your hair looks heavy and unkempt rather than purposefully styled.
Regular trims maintain the bounce and movement that keep long hair looking intentional and fresh.
4. Stringy, Thin Ends
Wispy, thin ends create an impression of fragility and neglect. As we age, hair naturally thins, making those stringy ends even more noticeable and aging.
Healthy, blunt-cut ends give the illusion of thickness and vitality, instantly taking years off your appearance.
5. Brassy Blonde Rapunzel
Extra-long blonde hair with brassy, yellow tones creates a harsh contrast against mature skin. Those golden hues that looked sun-kissed in your youth now emphasize sallowness and uneven skin tone.
Cooler blonde tones with strategic highlights look much more sophisticated.
6. Heavy, Blunt Bangs
Thick, straight-across bangs create a harsh frame that draws attention to forehead lines. They can make your face appear heavier and more severe, especially if they’re cut too bluntly.
The contrast between smooth bangs and facial texture often ages rather than refreshes.
7. Jet Black to the Waist
Harsh, solid black hair creates stark shadows on mature skin. The unnatural darkness contrasts dramatically with age-related skin changes, highlighting rather than softening lines.
Natural grays or softer dark tones with dimension create harmony with your complexion instead.
8. One-Length Bob That’s Grown Out
A once-chic bob that’s grown past shoulders without reshaping creates a triangular, bottom-heavy shape. The weight pulls your features downward, emphasizing jowls and neck laxity.
Without proper reshaping, it’s just an overgrown haircut, not an intentional long style.
9. Severe Middle Part
A stark center part creates perfect symmetry that actually highlights facial asymmetries that develop with age. This unforgiving style draws the eye directly to any sagging or unevenness.
Softer, slightly off-center parts create a more flattering frame for mature faces.
10. Neglected Gray Transition
Half-grown-out dye jobs with a harsh line between colored and natural gray hair look unintentional and aging. This “skunk stripe” effect suggests you’ve given up rather than made a confident choice.
Proper gray blending techniques create elegant, intentional transitions instead.
11. Too-Youthful Beachy Waves
Exaggerated, messy beach waves can look like you’re trying too hard to recapture youth. This Instagram-trendy style often appears disconnected from natural aging.
Softer, more refined waves maintain the movement without the trying-to-be-21 vibe that ultimately ages you.
12. Unstructured Curls
Curly hair that lacks definition or proper styling products creates a frizzy, unkempt appearance. Wild, undefined curls can make you look like you’ve lost control rather than embraced your natural texture.
Well-defined curls with proper moisture look purposeful and elegant.
13. Outdated Feathered Layers
Those iconic ’70s Farrah Fawcett feathered layers haven’t evolved well. This dated style screams “stuck in time” rather than timeless elegance.
The wispy, outward-flipped layers around the face draw attention to neck laxity and jowls instead of flattering.
14. Super-Teased Volume
Heavily teased hair for maximum volume creates a dated, artificial look. The excessive height and damage from backcombing makes hair look brittle and unhealthy.
This Dynasty-era styling technique emphasizes rather than minimizes signs of aging in your face and hair.
15. Rainbow or Unicorn Colors
Bright purple, blue, or pink hair colors often create a jarring contrast with mature skin. These fantasy shades can look costume-like rather than fashionable after 60.
The maintenance required also leads to damage that makes aging hair look even more brittle.
16. Super-Crispy Hairspray Helmet
Stiff, over-sprayed hair that doesn’t move looks artificial and aging. This dated styling approach suggests you’re still using the same techniques from decades ago.
Modern hairstyles embrace natural movement, even when using styling products for hold and definition.
17. Extremely Dry, Damaged Ends
Heat-damaged, parched ends create a straw-like texture that’s instantly aging. The contrast between your face and these unhealthy ends draws attention to both.
Regular trims and deep conditioning treatments keep long hair looking vibrant instead of tired and damaged.
18. Crunchy Curls from Mousse Overload
Remember that 80s and 90s trend of scrunching curls with tons of mousse? That crunchy, wet-look finish now appears severely dated and aging.
Modern curl products create definition without that rock-hard, sticky finish that screams “I haven’t updated my routine in decades.”
19. Obvious Hair Extensions
Poorly blended hair extensions create an artificial look that draws attention to thinning natural hair. The disconnect between your own hair and fake pieces becomes more obvious as hair naturally thins with age.
The weight can also cause damage to already fragile hair.
20. Complicated Updo with Tendrils
Fussy, over-styled updos with thin tendrils framing the face create a dated, mother-of-the-bride look. Those wispy pieces draw attention to neck and jawline changes rather than flattering them.
Simpler, more elegant updos look much more modern and fresh.