No matter what your age, you should feel complete freedom to wear your hair however you please. That means: you CAN have long hair over 40 (no matter what you’ve been told). But also: you CAN cut your hair into the shortest pixie cut imaginable if you feel the urge to break free from long hair and you CAN experiment with highlights, all-over hair color, and balayage. The sky’s the limit, and age should not hold you back. But if you feel like your current ‘do is no longer inspiring you and you’re ready for a change, making slight adjustments to classic haircuts is one way to put a fresh new spin on these looks.
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your hair (unless you want to go bold or go home, then by all means, follow your instincts). With just a few modern touches, you can make the most of haircuts we’ve been loving and wearing forever. As an example: here are four fun, flirty haircuts women over 40 (but any age, really) should try for a more youthful glow.
Shag With Side Bangs
Taylor Swift’s shag haircut with bangs is one of the best we’ve seen her rock in recent years. Its shape is a throwback to the ‘70s shag and features plenty of shorter layers that give it major movement and volume. It isn’t long, and it isn’t short — but sits somewhere nicely in between the two lengths, so it’s a great compromise if you want to part with your longer hair, but aren’t willing to commit to a pixie. The addition of side bangs makes hair look thicker, while nodding again to its fun retro roots. In fact, if there’s one word we had to come up with to describe this look it’s “fun.”
Messy Pixie Cut
A pixie cut like the one Katy Perry sports here is short in the back and on the sides and longer on top — just how long you keep it is up to you. You can use product to create more texture on top, like Perry does, and the effect is more rock ’n roll. You can also experiment with slightly longer pieces on top in what has become known as a “bixie.” Pixies have the ability to look conservative and polished or fun and more wild, depending on how you style yours. As Perry also illustrates, taking advantage of this opportunity to try a different hair color out is a great idea — if you don’t love it, it’s much easier to grow out.
Italian Bob
We’re big fans of Aubrey Plaza’s Italian bob haircut, which she sported on red carpets while promoting Season 2 of The White Lotus. While the French bob tends to be shorter and stop around chin length, the Italian bob is its slightly longer cousin. It typically stops right above the shoulders and features slightly frayed ends and layers to really bring on sophisticated movement and body.
Butterfly Haircut
A pretty name for a pretty haircut — one that allows you to maintain more length, if that’s your preferred style. The Butterfly haircut blends shorter and longer layers together and consists of a few more wispy layers than your typical layered haircut. The effect is something that’s a bit ‘90s, with a modern spin. Shorter layers will hit around your chin to help highlight your facial features, while longer layers will continue to give the appearance of longer hair. Consider it the best of both worlds, especially if you want to keep longer hair, but don’t want longer layers to drag your face and features downward.
These four haircuts are trendy, fun, and flirty. They’re also perfect for any age and can especially make the most of fine or thinning hair. Chat with your favorite hair stylist about how you can personalize a cut so that it suits your facial features and lifestyle.
