Hair loss is a common aspect of aging, often influenced by multiple factors. While consulting a dermatologist for treatment, you might also seek a hairstyle to mask thinning areas. To make your salon visit a triumph, it’s wise to bring a reference photo of a celebrity haircut you admire.
However, this isn’t the sole factor to consider. It’s crucial to also take into account your face shape and hair texture to ensure the chosen style complements you. To aid you in finding the perfect summer look, we spoke with top hair stylists who highlighted five trendy styles that may unintentionally highlight thinning and aging, along with five better alternatives.
Read on for tips, suggestions and insight from Janine Jarman, celebrity hair stylist and founder of Curl Cult, Ghanima Abdullah, hair expert and cosmetologist at The Right Hairstyles, Gina Rivera, celebrity hair stylist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites, Dani Everson, professional hair stylist and owner of Clementine’s Salon and Lauren Udoh, hair stylist and hair creative director of WigReports.
5 Unflattering 'Dos To Skip This Summer—And Better Alternatives For Mature Beauties
1. Skip Pin-Straight, Layerless Long Hair
If you have "fine, thinning, fragile, damaged hair," Jarman recommends "cutting it off." She adds that "healthy hair is always the best bet. If your hair is thin, it only gets thinner as it grows out and if it’s damaged it will only continue to break the longer it gets."
Rivera agrees in that "long, straight, blunt hair" is not always becoming with age and can inadvertently emphasize thinning and bald spots. “The long length can pull the features down and make them appear more drawn,” Rivera says, “If you select longer hair, it’s important to opt for longer layers that will create movement and texture," she advises.
Instead, Try Face-Framing Layers
"Longer side bangs" and "face framing pieces" a la Jennifer Aniston can "also result in a more youthful appearance by drawing the eye to the appealing facial features," Rivera explains. "In general, this provides for a fresher and more youthful look."
2. Skip Choppy Shags
The worst haircut you can have if your goal is to look younger is having "too many layers," she explains. Layers, when cut appropriately, can help to "add volume" and flow to your hair, "giving the appearance of fuller locks," she notes.
Adding too many layers, on the other hand, she notes, "can make your hair appear even more limp than before."
Instead, Try a Wispy Shag with Delicate Layers
Too much texturization in a hairstyle can make thin hair appear even thinner, rather than full, she warns.
"While shags are fashionable, it's vital to avoid over-layering thin hair because it can make it difficult to work with and lifeless," she says.
As seen here on Halle Berry, a wispy shag with light, delicate layers can help bring more attention to your favorite features without weighing them down, as too many layers can often do.
3. Skip Bobs with Baby Bangs
While this classic cut can provide an oomph of edginess to any hairstyle, Everson says that it could draw attention to wrinkles, thinning at the crown or other signs of aging with its forehead-baring look. Although baby bangs can work for those of us with an Audrey Hepburn-inspired style, Everson says that this cut, which ends before your eyebrows, might have a different effect on mature beauties.
“I love bangs and think everyone has their own special length that enhances their features,” she says, adding that “No two bangs are the same,” and if you are looking to get bangs, “opt for a long hairstyle that will help hide forehead wrinkles.” This type of fringe, she says, can “overshare someone's wrinkle story,” drawing the eye to sagging skin rather than creating a look that has an upwards or lifting effect.
Instead, Opt for Eyebrow-Length Fringe
“The right length of bangs can help make someone's appearance youthful, but too short borders the line between baby-ish and also aging,” she says.
Another solution to this style, Abdullah suggests, would also be curtain bangs (seen here on Kerry Washington), as they can be cut as long or as short as needed, with an ability to wear them parted or straight down.
4. Skip Chin-Length Bobs with Blunt Bangs
According to Abdullah, if you're aiming to achieve a more radiant appearance while masking any thinning, you should avoid the blunt, chin-length bob hairstyle accompanied by blunt fringe. This hairstyle may not work in your favor as it has the potential to make you look older than your actual age. Abdullah warns that adding this kind of bangs to a chin-length bob (or slightly longer lob) can also highlight the effects of aging without enhancing your best features.
Thick, blunt bangs that "come past the eyebrows on a blunt lob emphasize every sign of age in the face, as they don't frame the face well,” she explains. “Rather, they push all the attention to the eyes, with all their lines.” This, she says, is seen as a very classic chic look, but it can make you look older if not cut with voluminous layers to frame your face shape.
Instead, Try a Bob or Lob with Curtain Bangs
"Like the lob with blunt bangs, the bob emphasizes the eye area, which might not look dewy," Abdullah says. "Then, it also emphasizes the jaw area, an area that many of us struggle with as we age."
Her alternate suggestion is also to ask for the ever-so-stylish curtain bangs, since they “flatter just about any face at any age,” with any length, as well, as seen here on Alexa Chung. “They neatly frame the face while drawing attention away from serious aging signs,” she shares.
5. Skip Blunt Bobs with Center Parts
Middle parts can create a symmetrical look at any age, but Abdullah stresses that they can also draw more attention to thinning at the crown, forehead wrinkles, and can make your tresses look flatter. "A bob with a center part might have been your go-to hairstyle before, but maybe your part seems to be getting wider and wider," Abdullah acknowledges, as thinning in the crown area is common as many age.
"If you're thinning in the crown of your head, a center part is going to draw attention to it. This is because you're putting the part right in the same area," she says. To avoid this, Abdullah recommends a side part for more volume and a youthful energy.
Instead, Try a Layered, Side-Parted Bob
"Try a side part instead," Abdullah suggests, pointing to Salma Hayek's 'do above. "In this manner, you can move the hair from one side to the other, as you wish," she notes. "The added hair going over will increase volume in the area as well, especially if your hair is used to being parted down the center."
If you really prefer a center part, she suggests making "a short one instead, so that the hair in front goes to either side of your face." Then, she adds, the hair in the center can be brushed back. "Any difference that you create when your hair is used to lying flat and completely to the sides will create volume and make a big difference," she says.
The more you know!
