Women with long hair approaching 60? A no-no?

[Honeycombe8]

Here are some pics of over-50 stars that had hair similar to mine in their younger days, and who have kept longish hair. Some look okay, some don't.

So what's your opinion? Are women over 50 with long hair stuck in the past? Or is it more a matter of...what works for you always works for you? Or is it more a matter of....it doesn't matter what it looks like to others, as long as you like it?

Olivia Hussey





Bo Derek:


Maria Shriver (lightened hair):


Katharine Ross (she really didn't age well....too much sun? Went w/lighter hair and bangs):


Streisand:


Jayne Seymour (went lighter and banged):

[antiquie]

1. Mistresses of our selves over 60.

Long, string, gray -- it's mine and I'll wear it up, down, loose, tight -- whatever strikes me at the moment.

Emmylou Harris rocks hers.

[Wounded Bear]

2. It's definitely a "what works for you" thing to me....

All of those women can afford the expensive care that their hair might entail, not to mention the time necessary to maintain it.

Many women, in everyday life, don't have the time nor money to do so. I definitely give women a pass on having more practical, shorter styles.

Not that I have any reason to make decisions like that for them anyway.

[antiquie]

4. Short is nice but

those cute little dos cost to maintain...

[love_katz]

105. Exactly. Short does not work for me.

My hair will only hold a perm for @ 2 weeks. By the 3rd week, it is mostly gone.

I don't earn the kind of income to afford a salon visit every 2 or 3 weeks.

Wearing it long takes some work on my part, but works far better than wearing it short. I don't have the beautiful skin or bone structure which would allow me to look nice with short hair.

So, I wear it how I like it. If other people don't like it...well, too bad. My body is not their property.

[sammytko]

107. Yes, it is easier to take care of long hair!

I gave up the short hair years ago. All the cutting and styling required - yuch. Wash and go never worked for me.

[Duppers]

139. indeed

I'm 66 and am keeping my long hair because it's easier and costs less to maintain the style. I refuse to spend money at a salon, so I cut and color it myself. I must wear it up all the time now in a Kate Hepburn style because it suits my face better.

[In_The_Wind]

3. I like it long.

I don't feel stuck in the past.

[MuseRider]

5. 59 today with long hair.

Will cut it when I decide I want to cut it.

I gave up all the supposed tos and rules for women when I turned 50, wish I had known that freedom many years earlier.

[Honeycombe8]

7. Me, too.

I've tried short (big mistake...doesn't suit my face or hair), permed, medium length, pageboy (this actually works well on me, but it's so boring!), and long all one-length (what I have now).

I made most of the above hair mistakes by doing what I thought someone in my age bracket, or job position, should do. Or what was in vogue at the time. I usually regretted it.

I like my long hair. But as I look around, I don't see others my age with hair like mine, and I can only wonder...am I beginning to look like one of those oldies who refuses to admit she's getting older?

So I looked up these stars who still have longish hair. Altho they look like shadows of their younger selves, I can't say they'd look any better with short hair.

[freshwest]

100. I see a lot of older women with long hair where I live. I keep mine long to keep it under control.

[csziggy]

30. 60 with long hair - it's easier to manage for me

I've never been one for fashion rules. My major fashion decision about my hair is whether or not I put it into a pony tail. I always have "cap hair" since I always wear a cap. My other major fashion decision is do I wear a tee shirt with a pocket or one with a picture? Picture tee shirts are usually reserved to wear to town - they're dress up!

The last time I had my hair 'styled' was 1977 - got a layered look which I hated as soon as it was done and hated even more in the months it took to grow out. Since then, my hair has been professionally trimmed once or twice. Usually when it gets scraggly, I trim the ends with my paper scissors.

My hair is very fine and fly away. If it is shorter than shoulder length, it's in my face all the time. I'd have to have very very short hair to keep it out of my eyes and nose - and I don't have the skull shape for that to be flattering.

Besides, my husband likes my hair to be longer than his - right how his is almost as long as mine!

My husband's theme song:

[freshwest]

101. You hair sounds just like mine.

[MuseRider]

123. Your hair is just like mine.

It does not matter what I do with it it will be straight. It will always be in my face unless I tie it back but even then I must clip the sides because it is so fine it comes out of anything I tie it with. If I gather it all up to tie back it is about the thickness of a fat pencil even though I have a ton of hair it is just too fine. It is very very slow to grow, about an inch every 2 years so I am not going to cut it.

I am sitting here with my favorite birthday gift from my husband, a Roger Federer cap! It is now my "fer spacial" hat. We live on the farm, tee shirts and jeans all the time and a cap to keep me from eating my hair. (I do have a dress up job but it is like a part time job and I have to dress up and be on stage so the rest of the time is simple as can be) Good to see someone else here who lives this way.

[csziggy]

129. Mine's a little wavy and used to be thick

It got real thin for a while, then was getting thick again until the last two operations. Apparently either the anesthesia or the pain meds make my hair brittle and it gets thin and shorter. In ten hours I'm going in for another operation - carpal tunnel - so it will be a while before my hair gets back to normal. I'll get the second carpal tunnel surgery on the other hand probably in March.

When it was at it's best, my hair reached below my waist and was too thick for hair clips. I braid it but it slithers out of the braid.

I'm a farm girl, too, and haven't had a job off the farm since I graduated from college. So I don't own 'dress up' clothes, have no clue about make up, and my hair does what it wants most of the time. The last hair dryer I owned, I threw out when I realized I missed the asbestos recall for it.

My current favorite cap is one of a set I had made with our farm logo on it. I selected a special type with an extra deep crown and extra large size for my big head (hat size 7 - 5/8, husband wears 7 - 3/4 or larger).

[liberal N proud]

6. Ladies, I like long hair, always have

Let your hair down!

[whistler162]

8. As for Katherine Ross you might want to get your eyes check...

she looks great for 72 years of age.

[Honeycombe8]

17. Ross is 60 years old in that pic. 2004 (born 1944).

Last edited Sun Dec 9, 2012, 01:53 PM - Edit history (1)

That's not to say that Ross doesn't look good. I should be so lucky! But there are a lot wrinkles and folds there, that seem worse than they should be at her age. Maybe she's just a natural gal, outdoorsy, and doesn't go in for much for the skin other than the basics.

But here's Ali McGraw at 71 (you have to have an exceptional face to wear your hair like that):


Lynda Carter at 58:

[WolverineDG]

9. "didn't age well" = no plastic surgery

but whatever, if a woman wants long hair at any age, it's her damn hair & she can do with it as she wants

[Honeycombe8]

10. Not necessarily. Some people age better than others.

It has to do with weight gain, bone structure, sun exposure, genes, general health, lifestyle habits. Some people who have had plastic surgery (Burt Reynolds, for example) STILL haven't aged well, maybe BECAUSE of the plastic surgery.

Whatever Streisand is doing, it's working. One thing she does...she limits her sun exposure. She has delicate skin. She's probably had face peels, botox, filler injections, and lipo for her double chin. Doesn't look like she's had a face lift, tho.

[pipi_k]

64. This...

yes.

People often think I'm ten years younger than my true age.

When I was 50 I looked (to others) like I was 35.

Never spent long days tanning. I'm a bit overweight, one benefit of which is that any potential wrinkles get filled out. I don't drink or smoke, try to get lots of water.

I don't have a complicated skin care regimen, either. Soap and water twice a day, a thin layer of Noxzema for moisturizing. That's it. I see lots of women who spend hundreds of dollars on expensive creams and lotions, then then they're out tanning, essentially turning their skin into beef jerky.

Not smart, IMO.

[mythology]

13. I'll just copy paste this

Especially the part about it being her hair and doing with it what she wants.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

11. You don't get it.

One of the few joys of getting old is that you no longer have to give a fuck what other people think!

Now get the fuck off my lawn!

[csziggy]

35. Here is the anthem for mature women

Warning by Jenny Joseph

Originally published in 1961, I guess many women of today have not heard this poem.

[Honeycombe8]

40. I guess that's how the Red Hat Society got started.

I love the woman's purple coat. As for the thoughts, it sounds good. But to my way of thinking, things like that have little to do with joy in life. I don't care if I drink booze or not, or pick flowers in my slippers. Thos are such superficial things that have nothing to do with happiness. I suppose it's the main them of .... I won't continue to deny myself in my older years. But that's assuming you denied yourself in your younger years.

Joy comes from good health, people who love yu and whom you love, being needed, being valued. These things are harder to come by than picking flowers in your slippers.

Maybe I don't get it.

[csziggy]

65. Back in the day women were not allowed to be spontaneous

At least not upright middle class women. They had to confirm to a narrow range of behaviors, act and look 'just so'.

Breaking out of those confines was an act of defiance. That's why I mentioned the year this poem was first published - 1961. The 1960s freed women - and all people - from those restricted roles, if they chose to take hold of their freedom. Unfortunately, some did not and some want to return to those roles and let themselves be defined and restricted by others.

For 1961, "Warning" was a radical statement for a 'respectable' British woman to make. Old women were supposed to fade away, maintaining their respectability, and not act like children or dress in bright outfits that did not fit the colors that fashion dictated. A red hat with a purple outfit was an act of rebellion!

And yes, this is where the Red Hat Society got its start.

[pipi_k]

68. Wore my slippers

to regular Sunday morning breakfast in our favorite restaurant.

Mr Pipi shocked.

I said, "They look like clogs. Who the hell cares?"

Nobody noticed.

[csziggy]

113. Now that the spirit! Are they purple?

[TwilightGardener]

43. I like that, thanks.

[dixiegrrrrl]

60. I knew that poem years and years ago

and could hardly wait to be that "free".
But ended up being that free in attitude pretty quickly, long before I turned 50.

I wear my hair short, because it looks best on me and is easy to maintain.
Mr. D. said a few times he likes longer hair, I told him to let his grow then.
Haven't heard a peep about my hair from him since.

Oh..and I wear purple. Esp. slippers.
[IMG][/IMG]

[csziggy]

67. I was a teenager in the 1960s

And a free spirit long before I ever read this poem. When it made a resurgence in the 1990s, I didn't realize the history of it. Now that I know how 'early' it was published, it is even better. Even if I don't like purple, I like the rebellion of wearing purple outfits with a red hat in a period when women's fashion and dress was so repressive for "proper" ladies.

My grandmother, the DAR matron was one of those "proper" types and I early along rebelled against living in her world of dressing up for teas and formal affairs. If I had known of this poem before she died, I would have given her a copy. She wouldn't have understood it, but maybe she would have thought about the possibility of a freer life. I feel so lucky that I came of age after women were freed from the life she lived!

[dixiegrrrrl]

72. When I was barely out of my teens woman

all the "nice" women wore full slips, garters and stockings, and even girdles, under dresses, or skirts below the knee.
fortunately, pantyhose came along shortley thereafter.
we are talking early 60's here.
a "nice" girl *might* wear capris or pedal pushers in the summer, but never blue jeans.
Think Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon and Pat Boone.

Then, halleluh, the late 60's hit, and off with the hose, off with the bras ( unless you really really needed one)
and lovely flowing clothes were in, no more prim and proper hair, restrictive clothes.
Oh, and blue jeans became the thing for both sexes to wear, blue jeans and t-shirts the world over.
I cannot remember the last time I wore stockings..decades have gone by.

[csziggy]

112. Yep, I'm just a few years younger than you

But my older sisters went through what you did. The oldest was OK with the restrictions; in 1964 the second oldest changed colleges when the first she went to did not allow the girls to leave the dorm without makeup, no pants, slacks or jeans on women on campus, no curlers in public even inside the dorm, stockings or panty hose with dresses at all times, etc.

Before I graduated high school in 1970 we were allowed to wear pants but not jeans to school. Mom made them change their rules which originally required that the pants be store bought. She was already pissed that the girls had to take Home Ec so had one less credit for college. "What is the point in teaching girls to sew if they can't wear the clothes they sew to school?" she raged.

If the cultural revolution hadn't happened, I probably would have become a terrorist. The only dresses I have owned in the last forty years were SCA costumes or bridesmaid dresses for my sisters' weddings.

[love_katz]

116. LOLLOLLOL!

Ladies Sewing Circle and Terrorist Society. That would've been me too, if the cultural revolution had not happened. Those of us who REALLY remember the 1950's (which continued until @ 1967) have NO desire to go back there.

And, the fashion police can GET OFF MY LAWN!

[dixiegrrrrl]

128. Curlers!!! OMG..I had forgotten about curlers and the "rules" about curlers

where you could wear them and in front of whom
and what kinds.
Half of us wore curlers while other the women with curly hair tried to straighten it.
Strange world, and we accepted it all with out a whimper.
Until one day................"Norah slammed the door".

Actually, reading a Doll's House was the beginning of the new journey for me.

[pipi_k]

66. Hahahaha!!! My thoughts

exactly!

I figure I'm old enough to have earned the right to act like an asshole if/when I want to.

These young whippersnappers...many of them haven't suffered through the pain and losses that happen as we get older.

We have earned the right not to give a shit.

[We are Devo]

147. ^This!^

I'm hating perimenopause, but loving not caring what people think of my graying hair and tie-dye T-shirts. As if anyone notices anyways!

[TwilightGardener]

12. I'll be honest, I think Hillary Clinton should go back

to short hair--I think long hair on older ladies kind of drags their faces down a little and looks incongruous with the little wrinkles and sags. Most ladies over 50 looks best with maybe a chin-length bob or shorter 'do, IMO. Your eyes expect to see a young face when you see long hair, at least mine do. I grapple with this myself, in my forties with hair past my shoulders. I think I would look awful with shorter hair, but I know the day is coming when I will have to consider it.

[Little Star]

18. +1

[Beaverhausen]

36. In her job she doesn't always have time or access for a salon appointment

I'm 53 and my hair is longer than its ever been- simply because I can't afford to get it cut right now.

[TwilightGardener]

39. I'm unemployed, so I actually do have the time (though I

go to a cheap haircut chain and pay $12, money is an issue! Cover my gray with L'Oreal at home, too)--I just really, really hate getting my hair cut. I hate making small talk with the salon ladies, hate that sort of personal attention. I don't get manicures or massages for the same reason. My hair grows fast, though, and before I know it, I look like Cousin Itt.

[Honeycombe8]

56. You sound just like me!

I was unemployed earlier this year, so changed from $75 per haircut to someone recommended to me at Supercuts for about $15 (plus I tip $10). He does as good a job as the $75 guy, only w/o the haughty 'tude. So even tho I found a job, I've stayed with the Supercuts guy. It's very hard to find someone who can cut somewhat thick straight hair. It's called precision cutting and is very difficult. Wavy hair hides mistakes.

I HATE going to the beauty shop. I hate looking in the mirror when I look like a drowned rat, having to make small talk or wondering if should make small talk. I never get professional manicures. And I color my hair myself at home with Clairol (I use only 2 tablespoons at a time...doing the roots, then later dragging the rest through the rest of my hair). It costs me less than $10 about every 3 months. And I can do it at 10 at night, if I feel like it!

My hair grows fast, too. Which is how my hair always ends up longer than I planned.

[TwilightGardener]

73. Yup--I have thick, coarse, but somewhat-wavy hair. I used to

have long/subtle layers cut in so I don't have pyramid-head (flat at the top, bouffed-out at the bottom) but the chain-salon folks don't always do such a good job with the layers, so I'm back to all-one-length, and it's not so bad. I used to get more expensive haircuts ($50 or so), but when I had kids, I would just drag them to the closest haircut chains and then get my hair done too, in the interest of saving time and money--don't really see a difference, as long as I stick to the same basic style. Hair dye every three months (sometimes root-touchups), otherwise I will have an interesting skunk stripe.

[Honeycombe8]

85. Ah...skunk stripe. I've had that when changing color brands, or of course if I'm overdue touchups.

But I've gotten very good at just touching up the roots, then the last few minutes spreading it throughout the rest of hte hair. It blends very well (if I'm careful). And looks as good or better than women whose color is professionally done.

One thing about beautificians and colorists: they are not in the business of making sure your hair is healthy. That's not what they do for a living. Only the customer can make sure of that. It's like being a chef: they are not in the business of cooking food to keep you living longer. Point is...my hair is healthier the more I stay away from beauticians.

[love_katz]

108. You just named one of the main reasons that I stay away from salons.

I believe my hair is healthier if I take care of it myself. The chemicals in perms and most dyes are not good for the health of my hair. Other people's mileage may differ.

And, I can't afford frequent trips to a salon. I can't even afford the cheap ones!

If I want to color my hair, I have better luck with henna. I only use it occasionally, and it seems to help improve the texture of it. My hair is extremely fine and fly-away. Too many perms, or cutting it short doesn't work for me.

[Honeycombe8]

115. Henna supposedly won't cover gray...the only reason I color my hair.

Yes, I've had those discussions with myself, about the harmful effects of hair dye. I decided to use it, hoping the other things I do counteract that somewhat.

[love_katz]

117. Yeah, I think it won't cover all gray hair.

Mine has streaks where it is getting lighter (I'm 58). Most of my life my hair had natural auburn highlights in it. (Red hair runs in my family).

I have read some stuff that says that henna can turn gray hair orange.

I guess I figure if some people can dye their hair purple, magenta, or bright lime green, well...orange might not be too bad.

However, I am aware that henna comes in different colors and can be mixed to create different shades and highlights.

I look at it as an adventure.

And like I posted below, the fashion police can get off of my lawn! They don't pay the bills for me to fit their requirements, and my body belongs to me, anyways!

[Honeycombe8]

42. Me, too. But I think the hair has to do with her busy schedule and traveling.

I have found that the shorter the style, the more upkeep it requires, and will only stay that way in certain weather conditions.

So I think she has opted for longer, that she can pull back if needed, or let hang...while not looking good, at least it's neat and not a mess.

I'm guessing that next year, when she's relaxing, she'll go more to a coiffure that requires upkeep...the pageboy that's set with curlers and sprayed. She looks good with that style. But that won't work in Africa with high humidity after a 12 hour flight, and a jaunt down airline stairs.

[TwilightGardener]

48. I agree with you and Beaverhausen, for her it's probably

the upkeep (very few women are on a plane or in and out of hotels in foreign countries every week) rather than simple style preference.

[Lyn]

182. no bobs hate them

cant stand bob haircuts any one who gives me a bob haircut will be hunted down and they will get the same only worse cause i'm not a hairdresser I'm 60 my hair is long and staying that way has been for years no plans to change.

[gopiscrap]

185. Welcome to DU

[Generic Brad]

14. I'd never given any thought to this

And now that I have, I realize my opinion is irrelevant. To each their own.

[Honeycombe8]

44. What a generic answer! :) nt

[patricia92243]

15. Didn't look good with long hair when I was 20 - still don't. Age has nothing to do with it. n/t

[susanr516]

16. I'm 58

I've kept my hair long pretty much all my life. I really hate all the bother of going to a barber or hairdresser every couple of months. I don't dye my hair for the same reason.

[Honeycombe8]

21. I will never have gray hair, as long as there's a bottle of brown dye left in the world.

Well......maybe when I'm over 80 or 85. I may not live that long, tho.

[Arkansas Granny]

28. I feel the same way about the gray.

I don't like the thought of trying to maintain a color that is no longer natural for me.

[LWolf]

97. I get my hair cut once a year.

In the fall. Cut about the bottom of my neck, and let it grow out. By the time we get to hot weather, it's long enough to keep it up and off the back of my neck. When the heat lets go in the fall, it goes shortish again.

No color. I can't stand sitting in the seat and having someone mess with it; especially paying them to do so every 6 weeks, lol.

52. People assume I'm older than I am, because it's mostly gray.

[caraher]

19. It's up to the owner of the hair

The bottom line is that, regardless of my opinion or anyone elses, it's their hair!

As to my opinion, I don't believe in hard and fast rules. I've enjoyed the sight of glorious manes of white hair I'd hate to see trimmed, and I've seen short hair equally pleasing. I'd recommend following the mirror rather than the calendar in making such decisions!

[treestar]

20. we're going to see it because long hair was in when they were young.

My observation is that women keep hairstyles from their youth into age. That's why old ladies had 1950s hairstyles until now - now it's going to be the long hair - and we are more likely to dye it so it's not grey, too.

[Honeycombe8]

22. Oh, dear. That's what I was afraid of. Does it look dated? I'm remembering those old

1940s and 1950s hairstyles. My Aunt wore a 1940s hairstyle well into the 1980s. You know the kind...from during WWII.

OTOH, look at Rod Stewart. Same hairstyle all his adult life. He says that if you find something that works, why change it? He's changed it in minor ways over the years, but it's basically the same.

[treestar]

83. It's fun to see those rock stars

They try not to give up on their hairstyles. Mick Jagger is nearly 70- must dye hair or it would be a gray mop. The ones that go bald are stuck looking like old men anyway!

[Honeycombe8]

86. I think Rod Stewart's hair still looks good. Yes, Jagger's hair is dyed, a little too dark

if you ask me. Stewart is lucky in that he can go blonde. Easier to pull off a natural look for older skin.

Peter Frampton just died. But when I saw a pic of him I didn't recognize him. He was mainly bald, with some gray fuzz or something. A far cry from the shock of wild hair he used to have.

[Pool Hall Ace]

162. Peter Frampton just died??

I'm not finding anything on a search. Link?

[TwilightGardener]

163. I looked too, including his Wiki page. Nothing there.

[Honeycombe8]

169. He didn't? I swear I saw heard it/saw it in the news?

Let me look.
<
<
<
I'm back. Well, blow me down. No, he didn't die! I did see some references to it...looks like it was a farce, and I must've just heard that and didn't look it up. Or I have him confused with someone else (but I don't think so).

So....never mind! He's apparently alive & well and doing fine! Which I'm glad to hear.

[Pool Hall Ace]

175. Perhaps you were getting him confused with Robin Gibb?

Robin passed in May, and in more recent pictures, I thought they did look similar in a kinda-sorta way, especially when Robin was wearing sunglasses. And they were about the same age and were in that Sgt. Pepper movie together.

[Honeycombe8]

177. Oh, no...I'm very familiar with Robin Gibb. I love the Bee Gees. I'm guessing I got sucked

into the fake "he died" thing that looks like was posted on the net. I remember visualizing the Frampton commercial I saw on tv in recent years.

But I'm glad to hear he didn't die! I also saw him on some show - it's a guitar show if that makes sense, where some guy interviews guitar experts. Frampton was the guest one time. I was impressed with how knowledgeable he was. He wasn't just an old rocker who played a bit of guitar.

[TwilightGardener]

24. I think there's some truth to that--women born in the 30's and 40's

often had shorter hair, set with rollers, perms, etc. That was the style through the sixties (my mom is the same way). Baby Boomer women may be more loathe to give up their "high school hair". I know my hair is roughly the same length as when I was in high school in the 80's, minus the big-hair perm and poufy bangs. Funny how we get stuck that way.

[treestar]

84. I know! I think of my grandmothers and older aunts

They had the WWII/1950s hair, in gray, all the way! One of my grandmothers had her hair done once a week, at a salon, in a perm of a mid-1960s style. She remained a blonde to the end.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

23. in other cultures long hair is the norm for women at any age

so i dont know why it should be a no-no at any age, assuming the woman wants long hair

i for instance will have my hair long till i die or it starts falling off. whichever comes first

[Honeycombe8]

46. You make a very good point. And I think they look terrific!

In India, Polynesia, the Phillipines and some other cultures, the women often keep their long hair. I've always thought it looked great. At least as great as a short clipped cut would look on them. It's a tad exotic, too. The gray strands keep others from mistaking her for young from the back. Also, they tend to pull it back (which I won't do, except for getting it out of the way when I'm doing something).

[undeterred]

25. At what age can women finally do whatever we feel like?

[TwilightGardener]

26. Who said women can't do whatever they want? Of course

they can. The eternal question is, what LOOKS GOOD?

[undeterred]

31. A "no-no"?

[TwilightGardener]

32. In terms of what looks good, not in terms of society shunning you.

And it's not just for women. I consider comb-overs to be no-no's for balding men, for example. Ear hair...also a no-no.

[undeterred]

34. Its all subjective.

Combovers used to be ok, now balding men shave their heads. What looks good to one person looks silly to another. Not every man looks good with a shaved head.

[TwilightGardener]

38. Well, sure. There are no hard and fast rules. But there are

general guidelines. IN GENERAL, I think long hair on a woman beyond 50-60 becomes a little bit iffy. Some women can pull it off, others can't. If a woman doesn't give a damn and just wants a ponytail (which is pretty much why I have long hair), then that's her business. If she's desperately trying to look younger and sexier with long hair, I'm here to say it probably isn't going to work, except on a select few ladies with great skin and great bone structure (Emmylou Harris, Lynda Carter--see photo above).

[Honeycombe8]

58. I don't think combovers were ever okay. They were more common, maybe.

But everyone knew what it was....combing over to hide balding by someone refusing to accept a fact. Combovers were always the subject of comedy...Three Stooges, for example.

So glad men don't do that any more (except Trump, I guess).

[undeterred]

61. The other term for a combover is "wompage"...

You can have left unilateral wompage, right unilateral wompage, or in that unique case where someone combs over from BOTH sides, bilateral wompage.

A writer friend made that up.

[Arkansas Granny]

27. 66 years old here and I prefer hair shoulder length.

I like it at that length and at this stage of my life, I'm the only one I'm trying to please when it comes to hairstyle.

[Honeycombe8]

49. That's a good length. I have much longer hair, but will probably go to shoulder length in

the future. Then maybe chin length (that helps to hide a double chin). But never short or layered. My hair doesn't do well short or layered.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. I wore my hair fairly short for many years.

Then last winter I retired and I haven't cut it since. I dye the gray away and wear it in a ponytail. I don't have to pay for a haircut every few weeks, and anyhow, now that I'm old I don't give a shit what anybody thinks. And I want you kids to get off my lawn.

[LiberalEsto]

33. I'm 60 and wear it long-

and I use henna 3 or 4 times a year to give red highlights to my normal ash brown hair.

My mother insisted on very short "pixie cuts" when I was a kid, and I hated them.

[csziggy]

37. Are you channeling me?

I was the same as a kid - Mom insisted on pixie cuts and when my allergies kicked in, my fine hair was in my eyes and up my nose. As soon as I was able to over ride my mother, I have had long hair.

Since high school I can count on one hand the number of times I've had my hair cut professionally cut. I trim scraggly ends with my paper scissors a few times a year. I'm sixty and have very little gray - I have to hunt for those few silver strands. I'll let my hair do what it wants as far as color. If my genes hold, I will be like my mother who at 91 still has some brown hair mixed in with her gray.

[raccoon]

159. We must've all had the same mother! nt

[Honeycombe8]

52. Pixie here, too, when a kid. But then...

Mom decided to give us all perms. Those harsh stinky perms. Hair eventually had to be cut (back to pixies). Then a combination of bangs with weird layering, bangs with chin length hair. Awful. My Mom had no taste in hair. Her own hair always looked terrible, IMO.

When I got into my teens, I was able to handle my hair myself, and from then on, more often than not, my hair has been my best asset.

I like natural, no fuss, not time consuming, shiny, healthy, thick looking, going with the natural way my hair is (unfortunately, that is straight and fine). Gone are the days of trying to become a wavy haired vixen. The perm only works for a few months, and then the frizz takes over.

But boy, what wouldn't I give to have been born with wavy hair.

[pipi_k]

70. Oh, lord...

the hated pixie cut.

My mom always made us get the pixie cuts too. My hair was/is babyfine, so it would look all flyaway and pouffy.

That was after she experimented...on me, anyway...with the Shirley Temple curls.

Remember Spoolies? Those little pink rubber curler thingies... Then she did the pin curls with the bobby pins. So many nights I spent trying to get to sleep after mom had used them to curl my hair for school the next day and the pins would stick into my scalp.

I hated that stinking Shirley Temple hairdo.

[LiberalEsto]

96. Pin curls and home perms were inflicted on me too.

But the worst of my hair experiences took place when I was in 7th grade. I was secretly experimenting with Summer Blonde, this spray that gave you blonde highlights when you sat in the sun. I was still blonde at that age, but wanted to be blonder.

My mother forced a perm on me. Between the Summer Blonde and the perm, I ended up looking like a circus clown with tight frizzy curls in all directions. This was around 1962, long before those semi-Afro styles became popular. I did NOT want to show myself in school, but there was no escape. I was already a bullied kid, and that day was hell.

After school I went to Woolworths and bought some kind of hair-straightening stuff with my babysitting money. I secretly applied it when the rest of the family was asleep. Everything had to be done secretly. My mom was European, and kids did not argue back, period.

The result of my science experiment was a dismal haystack of badly damaged, listless hair. I told my mother I straightened it because I couldn't face another school day looking like a poodle. Even she realized that the perm was a disaster, and didn't force any more of them on me.

[pipi_k]

104. Summer Blonde...yes

I used that stuff too!

Then at 15 or so I started using the real bleaching kits. I forget the names but I'm sure they were made by Clairol. Each blonde shade was associated with a Nordic country like Sweden or Finland, etc. Midnight Sun? I forget...

I can sure empathize with you over the poodle head thing. Back in the 80s (and before) I was frosting my hair instead of doing the whole blonde thing. I had done a frost, then a week later asked a friend to give me a "body perm" since my hair was/is thin and babyfine.

Ahem.

Like you...poodle head. I made boyfriend go out and get me a straightening kit.

Like your hair, mine was ruined...although not at badly as the time I dyed it black and then decided to do it blonde with a two-step blonding kit.

The stylist had to cut my hair within two inches of its very life.

My hair and I have had a dysfunctional relationship for a very long time...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

133. I considered Spoolies to be instruments of torture

They were supposed to be easy to sleep on, but they weren't. If your hair was totally done up in Spoolies, you looked like something out of Star Wars.

[LiberalEsto]

143. I don't remember Spoolies, but we slept on hair rollers

When I was in high school in the late 1960s, many of us wore our hair in a "flip" style. Since my hair was fine and limp, I slept many nights on metal rollers an inch or more in diameter, which contained spiky plastic brushes inside to keep the hair in place. Ow, the agony! It took a lot of hair spray and Dippity Doo to keep my flip from flopping almost immediately after the rollers came out.

By the time I got to college in 1969, women were using two- or three-inch wide rollers, or even metal juice containers, to make their hair straight. Some of us also ironed our hair. A few young women at college had portable hair dryers that came in a case and had a plastic tube connected to what looked like a plastic shower cap. It had a lot of small holes inside. You put the shower cap on your head over your curlers, switched it on, and the machine blew warm air on your head to set the curls. My family could never afford one of those, but I borrowed one once or twice.

That's what life was like in the days before blow-dryers and electric curling irons. My mother owned a pair of metal curling tongs from the days when my grandmother heated the tongs on a stove and used them to crimp curls on her own hair and my mother's. She said that was torture, since you could easily burn your hair or scalp, and it took a long time.

[Honeycombe8]

172. What a trip down memory lane. I used Dippity Doo, too!

I had large smooth rollers that I'd use for body - my hair was already naturally straight, as was the style then.

I STILL have one of those dryers with the shower cap part and the hose. I also have a portable hard one that is in one piece, looks like the kind in the beauty shop, except you have to put in a table. I haven't used them in a few years, but I'm keeping them. They work great and produce a look you can't get with blow dryers. AND you have the benefit of being able to put on makeup or whatever while your hair dries. But I don't spend that kind of time, any more.

[love_katz]

109. Ugh. I remember those.

And the even more abominable poodle cut.

My mom inflicted one of those on my sister and I. Our dad was horrified when she brought us home and asked her how she could do that to her daughters?

[Baitball Blogger]

41. There's no reason why an older woman can't wear her hair long.

Not with the kind of products they have today.

Of course, the photos you posted are superlative.

[MineralMan]

45. If that's a rule, it's a stupid rule.

I say that women (and men) should wear their hair as they please. It's none of anyone else's business.

[RebelOne]

47. I am 73 years old and have long hair,

but I always wear it up. My hair is becoming very fine and thin. I can't control it unless I wear it up in a French twist. I am a blonde, but I don't even have to color it very often now. The gray blends in with the blonde, so it isn't even noticeable.

[Honeycombe8]

54. I love that look. Like Kim Novak in Vertigo. Blondes don't have to worry about gray so much.nt

[annabanana]

75. I wear my long hair up as well..

I determined a few years ago that I wouldn't "go grey".. So I'm "going a light auburn brown" instead.

[Honeycombe8]

82. I'm envious. I'm all thumbs w/my hair and can't seem to wear it up...

unless it's weekend casual. I have wisps all over the place (looks like I got caught in the wind), and I don't like my hairline OR my jawline from the side. And I seem to have so much face....pulling it straight off my face is not flattering, I feel. That's why long hair is flattering to me, I think....it cuts the width of my face.

[RebelOne]

166. I am fortunate as I was a wig stylist many years ago,

so I am quite handy when it comes to human hair. If you want to wear your hair up, tease (or backcomb) it first, pin it straight up the middle in the back, then just fold it over and pin with hairpins. Then just push your front and top hair around until you get as you like it. Then spray, spray with hair spray.

[Honeycombe8]

168. Ohhhhhhh. That's how you get that full look in teh back. Don't understand the front thing...

are you talking about letting it hang? It's about 13 inches long. So you do TWO twists/buns?

I need to look this up on the "internets." But then, that's why I don't do this. It doesn't come naturally to me.

[RebelOne]

171. No, try to combine the front long hair into the twist.

I pin my back hair up and then push the front hair around to look good and then spray it. My hair is not thick, so I can do this.

[Honeycombe8]

174. Oh, I get it. I get it. Maybe I'll try that this weekend. nt

[MiddleFingerMom]

50. !!!

.
.
.
.
.
Hubba!
.
.
.
.
.
Hubba!!!
.
.
.

.
.
.

[LiberalAndProud]

51. I went with short hair for a while.

The monthly salon visits were costly and tedious. The upside was the end of all the long hair strands wrapped around the vacuum cleaner head. That is tedious too. My hair seems to want to be long. It keeps reverting. I keep it in a braid and it looks okay as it gets grayer. I'll keep it.

[ismnotwasm]

53. Why not?

I'm 52----I keep my hair long partly out of a trade with my husband-- he will never try to grow that rat tail he tried to call a ponytail (once it was a beautiful ponytail) and keep his beard more or less trimmed, and I will grow my hair. It's pretty hair, long and curly, which is why he likes it I suppose, but the main thing is its much less work long for me than short or even-shorter hair.



As far as what it 'does for me' it's an incredible freedom to not give a shit.

[Honeycombe8]

55. "Much less work" than short hair.

You wouldn't believe the women who've remarked to me over the years how I can stand spending all that time on my long hair. Some people seem to be under the impression that the longer hair is, the harder it is to take care of. Like you, I have found just the opposite to be true.

[kiva]

57. It's weird, isn't it?

When I have shorter hair I need to blow dry it and usually use a curling iron, not to mention frequent visits to get it cut - I am worthless at cutting hair With long hair I put it up with a clip and walk out the door.

[ismnotwasm]

71. Exactly

What you two have said

When I go to a professional to get my hair cut, because its curly, the 'styles' they do are nothing I'd ever do at home.

If I want fancy I do a French twist or something--the work of a couple of minutes.

[GreenPartyVoter]

74. Seriously! Wash. Condition. Dry the roots. Put in my headband. Sooooo much easier than

all the styling and fussing I have to do when I have short hair, or even just long hair with layers or bangs.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

80. me too. when i had shoulder length hair the sheer amount of time

it took to cut it, style it, keep it from looking like a beehive drove me nuts

with my long hair, all i do is shampoo + condition. every 4 months i get a trim from my MIL.

SO MUCH LESS UPKEEP

[Lydia Leftcoast]

134. Exactly!

This morning, between the snow and a wardrobe problem, I was running late for pre-service choir rehearsal, so I just unbraided my hair, ran a comb through it, and put it into a clip. Ready to go in a minute!

When I had chin-length hair, I had to curl it somehow, or else I looked like this:

[pipi_k]

59. Oh pooh!!!!

I just turned 60.

My hair is waist length.

I wear it in a ponytail around the house, and when I go out I brush it out and use a fake pin on (butterfly clip) piece of hair after pulling the sides back.

I also have a bunch of other little pin on hair pieces for added versatility.

My skin/scalp are not as oily as when I was younger, so I don't have to wash my hair as often as when I was younger. If I did, I would definitely cut it. But I'm going to grow it as long as possible just because.

[fizzgig]

62. my mom broke 60 last year and wears her hair to her waist

she's got beautiful hair.

i wore my hair long for years, cut it off a couple years back and am going to wear it short until i die.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

63. Wear your hair in whatever style/color makes you happy.

Be who you are and let your sense of style be a reflection of that.

That's what I do and I have no plans of changing that to please others.

Be happy with who you are and don't let others set arbitrary guidelines on your individuality.

[Flaxbee]

69. On all ages, I think long hair looks better if it's thicker -- you'll notice Streisand and

Shriver have thick hair.

If I remember correctly, Emmylou Harris has thick hair, too.

Jane Seymour is an exception because she's genetically blessed.

I think longer hair looks better, too, if you do not have a long face -- long hair just pulls a face down.

But if it's thick long hair, it can work.

I think all older women look better with some volume. Stick-straight usually only looks good on the very young.

[Phentex]

79. I plan to have very long gray braids if I live to be old...

Right now I have long hair with some layers cut in because it is too thick and starts to get heavy. I have tried shorter hair but then I can look like I have a broom on my head. A little bit of length helps weigh it down some and makes it more manageable. My hair seems to be so dependent upon the weather! It can be stick straight but more often than not, it's Sasquatch unless I have product in it to tame it.

I like long hair. I feel more comfortable with long hair. But I am also not one to care much about fashion no-nos.

[Honeycombe8]

81. Just what is this "product" that people keep referring to?

I read a statement by Rod Stewart about his hair, and he refers to "product." Talking with beauticians over the years, and they'll mention "product." You have mentioned "product." Just what the heck is everyone referring to? Is everyone referring to the same thing? Or are they meaning a general term of "some sort of additive to add to my particular hair type for my particular purpose for my particular style"?

I mean...does it mean hairspray, sculpting gel, silk serum, spray frizz-ease, thickening gel....what?

I have several kinds of products, but am not quite sure what to do with them. Hairspray doesn't seem necessary for my long, straight style. I have some sort of gel....not sure what it's for or why I bought it. It's weaker than sculpting gel. I have several frizz-away type products....some sort of silk slicky serum and such. Those don't seem to work too well on me. When it's humid, my straight hair will have frizz, no matter what (except for one thing I can do, b ut which I don't do anymore: if I roll it on smooth rollers and apply warm heat, for some period of time....my hair will not have any frizz whatsoever, and will have a little body - but who has time to do that sort of thing any more?). I have a thickening gel which I love. It doesn't make my hair dull or sticky. I use just a tad in wet hair, and it seems to make my hair a bit fuller.

Is that product?

[kiva]

88. I think it's a generic term

for 'stuff that makes my hair do what I want it to do'. I've always lived in a dry climate and had to spend a few weeks in a humid environment for work - my hair went nuts, weird curls and twists - and I asked a women there how she kept her hair in line and she said "Lots of product."

[Phentex]

106. That's it!

Different products for different styles/weather.

[Tallulah]

76. Middle 50's here

Wore my hair short most of my life. Decided 9 years ago to quit cutting it. Down to my butt now. I don't care what anyone thinks. I like it.

[sammytko]

77. Back in the olden days, women always had long hair. My granma always wore a braid wrapped around her

head.

I'm letting mine grow and go gray!

[Kali]

78. fuck that shit, do what you want

age-approriate hair is bullshit

- 50-something two ponytails waistlength (if I still had a fucking waist)

put me in the column with long is easier to deal with. sure it gets caught in the brush sometimes, but last time I had shorter hair it was a total pain in the ass.

[GoCubsGo]

89. Yep.

50-something, chin-length hair. Sometimes, I'll grow it down to the shoulders. I just don't look good with long hair, especially in the rare times when I am down into "not-overweight" range, and my face is thinner. And, yeah, short hair is a pain in the ass, especially when you have a face shape that does better with layers. Layers do not grow out gracefully. I wish I could wear long hair. It just doesn't work for me.

[astral]

87. someone told me that too.

That people over 50 shouldn't have long hair. I may actually look better in short hair but am growing it out, it will be long and thick when I die!

... maybe ...

It is true short hair is a lot quicker to take care of, though.

How ever women want to express themselves is how they should look! Back in my mama's day women didn't wear blue jeans either, should we start wearing polyester pull-on pants too?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

90. I'm almost 70 years old (gasp) and my hair is long......Here's two pictures:

I've never colored it, and finally I love how it looks:

Down:



Up:

[NYC_SKP]

91. Long Hair Hippy Freak!!!111!!11

You, Peggy, are beautiful, with your lovely smile that betrays what's inside, a lovely spirit.

That blouse rocks, too, by the way.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

93. Aw, thank you, my dear NYC_SKP!

Yup, that's me! A long hair hippy freak!

Thank you for your generous compliments.......Psst...I made the blouse, a LONG time ago......

[love_katz]

119. CalPeg you are adorable.

And I think us long-haired hippy freaks need to unite!

The world seems to need us, lately.

[hifiguy]

153. Yep. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[livetohike]

151. Just beautiful CalPeggy!

I remember when you decided to let your hair grow and it looks great!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

156. Aw, thank you, my dear livetohike!

I am really enjoying how it looks, and how it feels!

[janx]

180. Peggy!!

I've seen the second pic, which is lovely on FB--but the first one I have not seen. You look so lovely with your hair down.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

181. Aw, thank you, my dear janx!

Believe it or not, that was my high school reunion picture........50 years!

[graywarrior]

92. Everyone knows where I stand re: long gray hair.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

94. And you look GREAT with it!

Here's to gray-haired old women!

[frogmarch]

95. Sure! If long hair suits

someone - or more importantly, if they like their hair long - then they should wear their hair long if they want to. Women of any age (men too) should wear their hair however they like.

I wear mine fairly short, because it's me and it's easy to take care of.

[GoneOffShore]

98. Depends on your face and style -

Emmylou Harris looks great.

[LWolf]

99. Fashion police: no-no.

Women doing whatever the fuck they want with their hair at any age: good.

Women not making choices for themselves based on societal or cultural fashion judgments: better.

[love_katz]

114. Brava, LWolf.

We agree!

"Taint nobody's business but mine, what I do with my hair or my body.

This principal has been badly attacked by fundy fanatics this year. Foo on them.

[DFW]

102. Here's someone at 60 that proves it's not necessary to try to be what you're not

[IMG][/IMG]

The woman in this photo has had the questionable judgment to stay with me for the last 38 years, but she is 60 years old in this pic taken earlier this year. At 60, you do with your hair just like you should be able to do when you are 16: whatever you want!

[frogmarch]

103. What a handsome couple you are!

Your wife is beautiful and her hair looks glorious.

And you don't look too shabby yerself.

[DFW]

140. She radiates

I'm just along for the ride.

[nolabear]

110. I turned 58 last week. My hair is long, thick and white. I really, really like it.

I'm not gorgeous but I have long white hair and blue-green eyes and I like it a bunch. Here it is minus about four inches from the length it is now. Dorky photo but you get the idea. White is pretty nice.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

118. You look great, my dear nolabear...

I love your hair, and your expression tells me there's a lot of intelligence and caring inside you...

[nolabear]

125. You're sweet. I think it's a poor photoshopping but I got stuck with it.

The photo itself isn't so bad but the photographer erased all the character from my face. It's too smooth. But there you go. LOL!

[Honeycombe8]

121. I love your hair!!! But I don't call that long. I call that medium, shoulder length.

Long to me means below shoulders. Mine covers my shoulderblades in the back (too long....it grew so fast).

But your hair is gorgeous. That is the length I'm considering going to. I especially love that you don't have those bangs across your forehead like so many. It looks good on some, but generally, no.

[nolabear]

124. As I said it'a about 4 in. longer now. But I agree on the bangs. I'd look awful.

My face is too round to be cut in half like that. I like that style though, and wear it that way for the most part. It's just easy. I dyed it for years and then gave up. It's nice and I don't sweat the toxins.

[Honeycombe8]

126. I have a full face. I was going to post a pic of my hair,.....

but I don't have one on this computer! Yeah, those dye toxins. Not good. But vanity won out. Plus, appearance counts in teh workplace; I think the younger you look (hair dye), it helps with getting paid more.

[nolabear]

130. Maybe. In a lousy world. I don't want to be ashamed of my hair color though.

It's what it is. Personally, I like white hair on anybody, young or old. That said I get a kick out of creative hair coloring and love the girls and women who have the courage to really rock a dye job with purple and burgundy and such. Given my professions I determine my pay, and though I might have an advantage as a writer if I was a young wunderkind, I'm not, and I'm working at being a really, really good 58 year old writer. As a therapist it probably helps sometimes and hurts sometimes, and it's still who I am and I like it, so I go with it.

[Honeycombe8]

141. Mine wouldn't be as much white as yours, though. I have I'm guessing maybe half and half?

That inbetween stage that can look so aging and unattractive (IMO). I've seen it on other women, then when they color their hair, what a difference.

Yeah, it's crossed my mind that I could go all white, when I AM all white, but that won't be for many years. I'm 58 and will be salt & pepper for a number of years to come, judging by what I have now and what my parents had. My Dad is over 80 and not quite all gray.

[nolabear]

145. LOL! And I hit the salt-and-pepper stage by 35, as did my father. Do what feels right.

I dyed until I hit about 47 or 48 and by then those roots looked really white, so I let 'er rip. That growing out year was really interesting. I lightened it as much as I could, but basically it looked after a while, and people assumed who didn't know, that I had dyed the tips. Dear Seattle; no one thought twice about it. I was just hip.

[DFW]

157. Ever since Emmylou Harris, I've known that white is beautiful n/t

[Taverner]

111. LET IT GROW!!!!

Locks, locks, golden, auburn, brown, black, strawberry, amber locks.

Even Silver Grey Locks!

It's all beautiful!

[pipi_k]

127. Oh, say can you see...

my eyes, if you can, then my hair's too short...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

120. One of the advantages of being self-employed and rarely seeing my clients

is that I don't have to look "professional" most of the time.

Since childhood, I have always felt that the real me has long hair, but my parents always had it cut short when I was a kid, and when I was a teenager, my hair was a source of screaming fights. I wanted it long, while my mother and grandmother believed that there were two kinds of hair: 1) long and 2) "cute." ("Cute" was their highest form of praise.)

While I was teaching, I felt that I needed to look "professional," so I had perms and short hair and all sorts of things, but once I went free-lance, that was over--except for one venture back into a short bob. However, shortly after moving to Minneapolis and its humid summers, I started pulling my hair back in order to keep it off my neck. I haven't cut it since except for periodic trims.

I usually wear it up, but sometimes I wear it pulled back, never loose.

[Blue_In_AK]

122. I get my hair cut shoulder-length every two years or so

and then let it go. That way when I get it cut, it's enough for "locks of love."

[Iggo]

131. Long hair on anyone...

...old, young, male, female...it's all the same. If you take care of it, everything's cool.

[applegrove]

132. I don't know what I'll do when I get to that age. Longer hair is much

easier for me to take care of. My hair grows like a weed so I hate it short. I can't really afford to go to the hairdresser every month. Maybe I'll just keep it up and be able to get by, unnoticed.

[WCGreen]

135. I'm almost 60 and I have the long hair...

Last edited Mon Dec 10, 2012, 03:44 AM - Edit history (1)

In fact, the people at the cleveland clinic asked me about it, said long hair is a sign of "depression".

I said, well, it's a fashion statement and I don't have to shell out a couple hundred bucks a year to get a hair cut.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

136. Depression? I don't think so.

Money is certainly an issue, and so is having enough energy to get out.

You look great with long hair.

[gkhouston]

137. Bullshit on that. I've never really liked getting my hair cut.

It takes up time, it can be expensive, and I'm not a fan of beauty shop chitchat. I tend to let mine grow until I can't stand it anymore (usually mid-back) and then get it bobbed up to the nape of my neck, and start the cycle all over again. The hair goes to Locks of Love.

[WCGreen]

138. This will be my third donation to the Cancer kids for hair....

It is crap.

[pipi_k]

142. What the?????

"Long hair is a sign of depression"????

I don't think hair length is a sign of anything.

More like dirty, unkempt hair. Of any length.

[WCGreen]

144. It blew me away when the Social Worker brought this all up...

[nolabear]

146. I HOPE the SW brought it up as a possibility and not a diagnosible certainty.

Hair naturally gets long if it's not dealt with, and depressed people find dealing with the everyday things hard. It's a conflation, but as with everything it could have nothing to do with it. My hair is long because I like my hair long. Cutting one's hair can also be a sign of depression, an impulsive desire to change everything.

[pipi_k]

154. Yep, same thing

with coloring one's hair. Well, not one color, really.

More like probably what I have done in the past. Lots of different colors in a relatively short period of time.

My hair has been just about every color imaginable, except for green.

I was trying to change myself. Looking for some different identity, I think.

I've stopped coloring it about five years ago, and let it grow and I even like the white strands that are showing up against the light ash brown of my natural color.

[DFW]

160. Long hair is a sure sign of.......

hair that hasn't been cut short in a while (and nothing else).

[av8rdave]

148. My SO is just shy of 60

She keeps it pretty short. I think she would look great with long hair, but she won't do it.

When it comes to issues of taste and style, she is rarely wrong, so I am assuming she has good reason to keep it short.

I'm happy with it any way she wants to keep it.

[Bucky]

149. How do you get from that picture to "didn't age well"? Katherine Ross looks good there.

She looks her age. If she's had any work done, it's not showing in that shot. She looks happy, not haggard. She sure as hell doesn't have that "unwrapped mummy" look of the majority of aging starlets who think pulling their skin back and having sponges inserted into their lips makes them look like younger humans. They're wrong on both counts.

[MissMillie]

150. Hair can behave very differently depending on the length

When mine is short it's VERY curly and not at all easy to manage. When it gets long, it gets a little too straight for my taste and still not at all easy to manage.

I wear mine right around shoulder length most of the time (though I did cut it very short last year so my twin and I could go to a Halloween event as "twins&quot . Takes me less than 5 minutes to blow it dry.

Of course, I'm not yet approaching 60, but when I get there I'll do what I think looks best and works best w/ my morning routine.

[livetohike]

152. I turned 60 years old this year and my hair is to my waist. I wore my hair in a shag (for those who

remember the style) in the early 70's and after that vowed that I would never cut it short again. My hair is too curly for a short cut and I prefer it long anyway. I can do so much more with it than when it was short.

[IMG][/IMG]

[geardaddy]

155. My mom's the opposite.

She hates long hair. I think it's because her father demanded she have long hair. She cut it off in high school.

[REP]

164. It can be a tremendous pain in the ass

But I keep mine long because it is easier for me to keep looking somewhat styled (ha! "styling" is washing it and going to bed, since it takes 3 hours to dry), and now that I'm old, I mind less being known for my hair.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

158. I think long hair is almost always more attractive on a woman

and granted I'm not a woman, but I find it impossible to understand why women who grow older would cut their hair, perm it, and dye it blue. I think a completely shaved head would be more attractive. I like the earthy nature of long hair on older women as it grows white. My mother had long hair until she hit 50 and then cut it short and curled it (it didn't suit her). Now in her 90s, she's grown it very long and straight again and it looks wonderful, kind of like a witch or female shaman (but in a cool way).

[raccoon]

161. I've thought of wearing my hair long, to save money--not having to pay for perms and cuts.

But I don't want to wear it loose--it gets in the way. My hair pulled into a braid or a pony tail--it doesn't become me at all.

So I gotta go with the perms.

[riderinthestorm]

165. Old woman here. My hair's long, thick, wavy and due to be cut again for Locks for Love

I let it grow and grow. Once I get the 10 inches beyond my shoulders, my husband cuts it for me, then I donate it.

I find long hair is much easier for me and my lifestyle. I almost always wear it up - bun, pony tail or braided. A baseball cap is pretty much a daily affair so having long hair that's pinned up means I don't have " hat hair" daily when I take off my cap. It always looks stylish, it never blows in my face during work outside.

[felix_numinous]

167. I love to see original and authentic people

happy in their skin, shaved, with dreads, colors, long hair, short hair--but what I have never liked is fashion police I'm 55 with very long hair and get compliments from some people and others say 'When are you going to cut it?' I would never dream of telling anyone what to do with their hair or clothes...let people express themselves the way they want. It's just hair.

[Digit]

170. Over 60 with long hair also

I just wear it up most of the time held together by clips.

I seem to have inherited the no gray gene from my mother and I remember how she
really, really WANTED gray hair. So much so that she got her hair frosted. I never understood
that, but it was what she wanted.

My own hair is blonde so gray wouldn't really show up anyway although I love the look of gray hair.
If I had gray hair, I would leave it alone, but that is just me.

I am just taking what I was given and I am not about to begin paying for salon services when I
could use the money for something else. Also I find that long hair is much easier to care for.

But by golly, at our age we can do what we damn well please and the fashion police be damned!

[Honeycombe8]

173. Well, so many of you have responded saying you have long hair...

that I'm fairly convinced I'm NOT weird for still having long hair. I guess it's because I know of no one else (well, I do know one person, but I rarely see her anymore...and she has blonde wavy hair, so her look is very different from mine).

I've just always heard, and I still read, that having long hair weighs the face down, ages you, dates you....that I wondered if I had lost my objectivity when looking in the mirror. Judging from pics of myself in the past wearing some awful outfits, I know this can happen!

But I guess it's not that weird, and as long as I feel comfortable with it, it's okay. My hair is healthy, shiny, and looks groomed & neat, so I don't think it's a failure to update. It just works for me.

[mainer]

176. Depends on your face shape. Some women get thinner faces with age

and long hair only makes your face look longer and older.

The women in the above photos have mostly round or square faces (exc. for Olivia Hussey) so they can go with long hair.

I think that a short cut (like Judi Dench's or Meryl Streep's in "Devil Wears Prada&quot makes older women look energetic and youthful.

[NewJeffCT]

178. I like short hair on women of all ages

and, I like long hair on women of all ages.

and, while I think some women look better with short hair vs long hair, and some with their hair up or down, curly or straight, etc, I think the most important thing is that the woman is confident in her appearance.

[Honeycombe8]

179. Great answer, NewJeff!

The older I get, the more I realize how important confidence is how you look or how you come off to other people.

[cui bono]

183. Who the fuck cares?

And why the fuck does it matter?

And why is there an age limit on how one wears their hair? Women, and men for that matter, should wear their hair any damn way they want to.

LEAVE WOMEN ALONE!!!




Seriously, even in the lounge, what is up with all the woman objectifying? What does it matter? Why are women always judged by what they look like above everything else? So tired of it. This is beneath even the lounge when it's on a Dem political board.

[TBF]

184. I'm in my 40s and have tried

short hair, bobs, bangs and the like - everything worked except bangs but I'm still keeping it long for now.

When it starts getting too thin for the length I'll go to a short little gray bob