While you certainly don’t have to cut your hair short as you age, having less hair to style and color is undeniably convenient. One common misconception about short hair on aging beauties is that it makes you look older. Drawing attention to your beautiful features with a shorter cut is actually a tried and true trick to make you look younger!
We reached out to celebrity hairstylist Allison Depriestre (whose clients include Salma Hayek, Olivia Culpo and Maria Menounous, among others) for more debunked myths about short hair and helpful styling tips.
So, Does *Gray* Short Hair Add Years to Your Look?
You might think this look is a double whammy— a short, matronly cut and a gray color— but Depriestre explains that it’s not the color, necessarily, that ages you.
For an iconic example, Depriestre encourages women over 50 to look to Miranda Hobbes, the fictional character portrayed by Cynthia Nixon on And Just Like That, the recent reboot of Sex and The City on HBO.
“In one episode of the show, the character Miranda gets a comment about how her gray/white hair makes her look old,” Depriestre says. “The color is not the problem and it suits her very well, but the way she styles it makes her look old. She has her short bob styled in a smooth blowout with its ends curved inside. It’s boring and it’s rigid.”
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Depriestre adds that as the character and her look evolve throughout the series, the stylists “style the same haircut in messy waves,” and it changes everything. Depriestre explains that adding necessary texture to the character’s hair, rather than the color, is what makes her look “so more fun, and therefore younger.”
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Ultimately, short hair can make you look older, but it doesn’t have to. “The way you style your short hair has a bigger impact on how old it makes you look rather than the actual haircut itself,” she says. This leads us to the importance of texture in a short haircut, and its instant de-aging effects.
Using Texture & Layers to Look Younger
The key to exuding a youthful essence with your haircut is to avoid anything one-length or a bob that's too stiff. "Generally speaking, you want to keep the word movement in mind when it comes to short hair," says Depriestre. "Most layered haircuts offer movement in your hair."
She notes that timeless looks like pixie cuts or shag bobs are especially helpful in anti-aging styling since they require ample layers. This is a key trick to bringing more energy and volume to your hair.
"Layering makes it easier to style in a modern way," she continues. "More go-to looks include messy beach waves, waves with straight ends, and for natural textured hair, it being styled with a defined product."
She adds that if your hair is naturally straight, fine or thinning, you can "scrunch it with your fingers and with styling products and sea salt spray" to create movement.
Ultimately, when it comes to short hair, styling to create movement and texture is the main way to de-age your look. Depriestre urges women who want a new 'do to remember that trying something new is fun and doesn't have to feel daunting.
"Have fun with your hair," she says. "Experiment, and avoid anything too classic," noting that age-old cuts and styles can always be revamped to add more pizzazz. Ultimately, looking mature doesn't mean you have to let go of surprise and adventure, plus, hair does grow back. You can always start by adding something new to your typical style, and go from there. Your stylist knows best!
