To consider a haircut “life-changing,” it has to meet a few specific requirements. When adapting any haircut for mature hair, it should be able to honor the changes that can come along with hair over the years, including some thinning and shedding. It should also be able to make gray and silver strands look glorious, while simultaneously making you feel like your most glam version of yourself. These may sound like impossible standards, but these 11 life-changing haircuts for women over 40 embrace that test and pass it with flying colors. Here are some gorgeous hairstyles to consider if you’re looking for a change.
Get Bangs
The quickest, simplest, but far-from-being-boring hair change you can make that doesn’t requirement a ton of commitment, but will change your entire look, is bangs. There are a number of different bang styles to consider, from wispy to blunt, so work with your stylists to figure out the best bangs look for your hair and face. Bangs make any haircut look more chic and they’re great if you don’t feel like touching the length of your hair, but want to do a little something to add pizzazz to your look.
Bixie
The bixie became a staple a few years ago, after so many women realized its styling potential. Think of this cut as the brainchild of the classics shoulder-length bob and cropped pixie. It has a little more length than the pixie, with longer layers that you can style, but remains slightly shorter than a bob. It’s playful, charging, and flattering on so many.
Bob
Let’s just get this one of the way because you knew it was coming: the bob. The classic bob is such a great go-to style for many women because the chin-length, mostly blunt-ended cut perks up thinning or fine hair and makes it look so much thicker. You can customize the bob to make it longer, shorter, more blunt, or more layered—it’s one of the most versatile short haircuts around.
Shoulder-Length Hair With Curls and Volume
Make any thin or fine haircut bulk up in seconds with the addition of curls, waves, and volume. By keeping your hair no longer than shoulder-length, you get the benefits of retaining a longer hairstyle, if that’s your thing, while still keeping it short enough to create movement and fullness. Let your own natural curls shine through or invest in a diffuser, hydrating curl cream, or heatless curling tools.
Curtain Bangs
Curtain bangs could belong in the bangs category, but they deserve a separate shout-out. Rather than standing apart from the rest of your haircut and calling attention to themselves, as bangs are so great at doing, curtain bangs start off shorter in the front, and then gradually get longer so that they frame the sides of your face and blend in beautifully with the rest of your haircut. If you've ever told your stylist, "I want bangs, but I don't want bangs," then curtain bangs may be the compromise of your hair dreams.
Curly Shag
The cool shag haircut is defined by its many layers, which often have a feathered look at the top and sides. Even though this cut can easily be worn with straight hair, it takes on a new, stunning life of its own when paired with curly hair.
Face-Framing Layers
If you want a prime example of how gorgeous face-framing layers look over 40 or 50, you’ll have plenty of celebs to choose from, including Cindy Crawford, Halle Berry, and Heidi Klum. These slightly shorter layers in the front of the head bring focus onto your facial features and help give your face a radiant lift. Take things to the next level by adding “money pieces” to these layers — meaning, slightly lighter highlights that look like the sun kissed them.
Highlights
It’s not a haircut, but adding a few highlights to your age at any age can immediately soften your face and give you a more refreshed look. Work with your colorist to figure out which shade and tone flatters your hair and skin. It’s also important to choose a color that you’ll have time to maintain with at-home treatments and regular trips to the salon.
Medium Hair With Layers
Sometimes, the classic haircuts stay classic because they work on so many different people. The medium haircut with layers is one — it maintains enough length so that you can pull it back into a bun or ponytail if you’d like, but it’s also short enough to provide plenty of movement, which helps make thin hair look thicker. The key to this haircut is proper layering. Ask your stylist for longer layers that complement its length.
Piecey Pixie
The cropped pixie is bold, with a shorter back and sides and longer layers on top. It can be personalized so that the long layers are slicked back or to the sides or, alternatively, cut into a spikier fashion that gives you a fun, funkier look. After your stylist gives you this cut, ask for some styling tips so that you can customize this one at home.
Wavy Lob
The lob satisfies our obsession with hybrid haircuts that pull the best from two different styles — in this case, it combines the chicness of a bob with the length of a collarbone-haircut. You can add as many or as few layers to the lob as you like, but one styling choice that will instantly give it more volume is adding waves with a heatless wave tool like a satin ribbon or large curlers.
