Short haircuts – women over 60

When your face and body are starting to show their age, it’s time to reassess that old hairstyle you’ve been wearing for years. A new style may be exactly what you need to make you look younger, fresher and more stylish. Hairstyles for women over 60 have come a long way and you can wear just about any style as long as it flatters your type of hair and features.

Women of 60 and older are carrying off casual, trendy, chic styles with ease today. They are confident about their individual style and have come to know what looks best on them. They don’t have to settle for boring or matronly and with the trend for even young women to dye their hair gray, there is no better time to take the plunge and go gray.

Finding the best hairstyle when you are older means taking a good look at your face and seeing where it is most affected by ageing. If you have lines on your forehead, think about styles that will cover them up. Perhaps it’s the lines around your mouth or a sagging jawline you want to disguise. You also need to take into account the colour and texture of your hair.

Is short or long hair the way to go?

Some people have the perception that long hair is for the young and as you grow older, your hair should be shorter. A number of older women are wearing long, gray locks very successfully today and have shown that this is not necessarily the case. The truth is that some hairstyles make us look older than others but it’s not so much to do with length and more to do with styling and care. However, the majority of women still tend to opt for a shorter style as they get older.

Your hairstyle needs to:

1. Emphasize your good features
   Layers will draw attention towards a good feature by ending at the same level. For example, chin-length pieces will draw attention to your smile. As you age, you want people to pay more attention to your good features than to your lines.
2. Boost volume
   Your hair tends to get thinner as you get older. Layering and highlights add volume to hair and open up the face. Feathered layers with light, wispy bangs will help to disguise the fact that hair is thinner than it used to be. Using a very dark colour on your hair is too harsh and can make you look older.  Add multi-tonal, face-framing highlights instead.
3. Draw attention away from lines and wrinkles
   Wear bangs to hide forehead wrinkles effectively and draw attention to your eyes. However, thick, straight-across bangs are too severe –  go for light and wispy instead. Even something as simple as using your part in the right spot can take years off your face. A slightly off-center side part is often more flattering.
4. Firm up your jawline
   Layers that are chin-length in front can give the illusion of angles where they are needed.
5. Flatter your face shape
   A cut should always flatter your face shape, no matter what your age. A round face is wide and long so you need to create an illusion of more length. Angular layers around the face create this illusion. An oval face means your brow, cheekbone and jaw width are almost equal and you can wear many different styles.  If you face is square, you want to soften the features around the chin. Lots of layers and movement can soften harsh lines. A bob with texture and layers will help to widen a long, narrow face.

Choosing a flattering cut

Cuts that are very blunt with geometrical shapes and lines can be ageing.  If you’re going to do short hair, most older women look better with some softness. Softer lines, wispy bangs and waves are more forgiving.   The pixie and the bob are two short styles that have been around for some time but hairstylists are interpreting them in so many different ways that everyone is sure to find one that suits them.

The Pixie

As far back as the 1950s Audrey Hepburn wore a pixie cut in her debut film Roman Holiday and in the 1960s Mia Farrow and Twiggy helped to popularize the style. Today women of all ages opt for pixie cuts because they are so easy to maintain. They can go from spiky to soft and anything in between. Judie Dench has a short, sassy pixie cut. Halle Berry wears a spiky pixie with style. Some pixie styles are a little harsh on certain women. You can ask your hairstylist to customize a pixie specially for you using a  length, texture and colour that will suit your face shape and personality.

Spiky pixie

Hair is spiked on top to give height.

Sleek pixie

Hair lies flat and the top is longer than the sides.  When parted to the side the look is chic and asymmetrical.

Soft, textured pixie

Sweeps forward and frames the face with long pieces left in front of the ears.

The Bob

If you want short hair but don’t want to to go as short as a pixie, a bob is one of the most flattering options for women over 60. There are hundreds of variations on the bob . Helen Mirren is the queen of ageing gracefully and over the past 10 years she has worn many different variations of the classic bob.

Stacked or angled bob

Go for an angled bob that grazes the bottom of your jaw in front and gets progressively shorter toward the back. The volume at the back modernizes it and the angle helps to give definition to the jawline.  If you have fine hair, edges cut in a straight line makes it look thicker. If you have coarse hair, soft layers keep your bob from looking bulky.

Soft, wavy bob

A bob with soft, wavy layers give great dimension and has a youthful edge.

Choppy layered bob

A choppy bob highlights the jawline and draws attention to the cheekbones. The layers add volume and fullness.

Last word

A good hairstyle that really suits you can take years off your age. Remember that taking good care of your hair and cutting regularly is even more important when you are over 60 as your hair is thinner and more subject to split ends.   With a good hairstyle and regular upkeep, you will look your best no matter how old you are.