This article has been updated since its initial publish date to include more information.
While aging is inevitable, beautiful and something to be proud of, some haircuts can make us look older than we are, and not frame our features as well as others can. For this reason, we checked in with professional hair stylists and hair experts for three haircut suggestions to avoid if your goal is to maintain a youthful look, or just a trendy one for fall! Read on for tips and insight from Ghanima Abdullah, hair expert and cosmetologist at The Right Hairstyles, Gina Rivera, celebrity hair stylist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites.
Thick, Blunt Bangs
While this fringe 'do can be seen as edgy and bold, Abdullah warns that it can add years to your look by drawing attention to wrinkles, rather than framing your face or emphasizing your cheekbones like another haircut can. "Thick, blunt bangs that come past the eyebrows on a blunt lob" should be avoided, she explains, as "these emphasize every sign of age in the face, and they don't frame the face well." Rather, she stresses, "they push all the attention to the eyes, with all their lines."
Instead, Try Curtain Bangs
An alternative to this "popular, yet unflattering look" would be curtain bangs, she recommends. "These flatter just about any face at any age and neatly frame the face while drawing attention away from serious aging signs," she continues. Curtain bangs, Abdullah notes, are a type of fringe cut that creates a soft, natural looking wave at the top of the head, as seen here on Kirsten Dunst. "They are often used to frame the face and specifically, to give it a youthful appearance," she adds, which "look great on mature women" as they make your face appear "smaller and slimmer when they come down to cheek level."
Spiky Pixie
While a Halle Berry-esque cut can really draw eyes to your beautiful features, Abdullah recommends not making it look too spiky when styling, as this could highlight any hair thinning or bring attention to your scalp. "This is a great way to show everyone just how much you're missing up top," she warns, adding, "the spikes create equal areas of empty scalp."
1. Pixie With Side-Swept Fringe
Going for a short 'do like is a classic way to highlight your eyes and cheekbones, and Abdullah says that another way to do this is by adding side-swept bangs to your cut. "Ever seen a pixie cut where the bangs steal all the attention? This is what you're after: long, side-swept bangs," Abdullah says. "The rest of your hair should be piece-y and angled," she notes, adding that "the cut should swirl around your head to hide hair loss." Abdullah stresses that a pixie cut with layers is one of the best ways to draw more attention to your beautiful face, while also maintaining locks that are easy to manage, and give off an effortless look.
“Ask your stylist about the amount and placement of layers that will help create volume and body in your hair,” she says. “Tell them you would like to create more volume. Generally, pixies that add volume are cut very short in the back, a little long around the ears and long up top.” She adds that “the layers can be cut to swirl around the head to hide thinning in whichever areas its most apparent,” and that it’s a good idea to “take a few pictures into the salon," like this one of Halle Berry, "to see what’s possible and will look best on you.”
Medium-Length, Layerless Lob
True to its name, a lob is technically a 'longer bob,' Abdullah says, and if this length is neither cut up to the chin or collarbone, it can look flat and dull. "As you get older and your hair gets thinner, long hair isn't what it once was," Abdullah says, adding, "it can age you because your once full locks are now less so, and it shows." To avoid this, she notes that "shorter haircuts can help you look younger," and "lobs, bobs that fall in the neck area or above the shoulders, soften angles that come out in your face with age." With that said, she recommends "making sure your stylist adds a little layering to keep your lob from falling flat."
Add Layers To An Asymmetrical Lob
The lob, also recognized as a longer version of the classic bob, is "such a popular look right now," Rivera says. One of the main reasons for that, she adds, is the fact that "you don’t have to commit to shorter hair and it’s versatile, the lob is also terrific for creating a youthful look." To avoid the kind of boring lob Abdullah detailed, Rivera says to add texture with layers. "A lob with a lot of texture is always a great look for our aging beauties," she says, "the texture allows for a lot of movement and it can be worn fuller than a sleek lob which results in softening the features." As seen here on Charlize Theron, the asymmetrical lob is also "terrific for creating a youthful look," Rivera says. She concludes that "the fact that there are changing lengths in the hair makes it a very trendy and current style, and this contributes to an up-to-date and young look."
