Allure talks about hairstyles that are aging.
Let’s discuss!
A good hair stylist is hard to find
One of the hardest things to find is a good hair stylist, one who understands your hair, how you like to look, and keeps you updated. With a few exceptions, while you could live with a bad haircut as a younger person, the older you are, the more important it is to have a good cut and know your stylist is looking out for your best interests, as well as is keeping current with what’s happening with hair and hair products, including coloring.
Is it the hair or is it the total look?
Some of the styles Allure mentions haven’t really been in style for years, and if a model shoot includes these styles, or if they are done for a movie, they are tweaked to look more modern.
At the same time, it is hard to single out the hair, when we are talking makeup too. It’s a question whether their stylist (not hair stylist) picked the wrong look, or whether they need a stylist to help them choose their look.
But truthfully, how bad does a beautiful young woman ever look!
And how much is magic on an other wise ordinary woman?
And some of the women shown are older than others, so they have a tendency to look older anyway. We have to think in terms of seeing these styles on the same age woman — but even then we have to take into account bone structure, etc. It’s never just the hair — though hair plays a large part.
Severe updos
In the first picture of Kate Winslet, her foundation is heavier and matte. In the second, her foundation is dewy, and she is wearing a beautiful shade of red lippie. So not only did she have the hair against her, but the makeup, in the first picture.
Honestly, she is a gorgeous woman. But softer updos have been the style for some time now.
Book Girl had a severe, old-fashioned, updo for a dance, and I was not a happy camper. I expected better of the stylist. And then he charged more than a regular style. Double ouch. We have not been back to him since.
Limp and lifeless (too straight) vs. bouncy waves
Two pictures of Cheryl Crow. In the first, her hair is straight, looks dry, and the color is too dark. In the second, she has beautiful, long naturally looking blond hair.
No question which is better on her.
Medium length corkscrews vs. long, tousled layers
Leighton Meester is photographed in a style that Allure says has not been in style since 1986. I suspect she was growing her hair out — or not using extensions. The longer, tousled layers look great on her.
Reminds me of a time when I was going from long to short hair, but the first haircut aged me by about 10 years. I was about 34 at the time. I felt like crying! My hair stylist agreed with me. I went in the next day, she cut it shorter, and it looked great! Later, when I grew it out, for some reason it never went through the same awkward stage.
Blocky bangs vs. sideswept
Penelope Cruz is shown in the first picture with not only blocky bangs, but a severe updo. Two strikes against her. And her eye makeup is sharply defined. In the second picture, her eye makeup is softened by smudging, and she has a softer lip color.
Wasn’t it Katie Holmes who rocked a blocky bang look not too long ago? You just have to know how it works. I know two others who wear blocky bangs. They have totally different looks, but it works for both of them.
Yanked back hair vs. side swept bangs and softer do
Sarah Jessica Parker rarely makes a fashion mistake. But in the first photo, she looks like they snapped her going to the grocery store, yet you can see an elegant gown. In the second, her hair looks softly elegant.
Super high hair vs. side part and hair softer
It’s hard to catch Beyonce in a bad moment. In the first picture, her hair is in a high beehive. In the second, it cascades around her face in long layers. I’m not sure either is her best look.
OTOH, I really had to laugh at this one, because in the most recent Allure mag, several pages featured a truly ugly beehive, super bleached hair, and magna eyeliner on a model.
They should get their story straight. At least Beyonce looked somewhat natural with the do, whereas the feature article was done for effect.
Of course, everything ugly is beautiful, once you get past the shock of it.
Too dark and heavy vs. softer color
Scarlett Johansson’s hair is dark and somewhat auburn in the first picture. She is perfection in every way. Her makeup is balanced to the hair color. And it all looks too heavy and dark. We are not used to seeing her with this look. It’s hard to make her look matronly, but she does.
In the second picture, she has dish-water blond hair. Also, not her best look. But again, her makeup is balanced. This color is also darker than we are used to seeing her hair.
Too bleached vs. softer, warmer blond and style
What was Kate Moss thinking?
She looks like she took no thought to her hair to a fancy affair. Ditto for her makeup and her lack of jewelry. Kate can get away with bright blond hair, so it’s the style as much as anything. It’s not so much that her hair is bleached as that her roots show. If she had worn her hair down, they would have been camouflaged. And pulling it back, even if not as severely as some, doesn’t hide laugh lines.
In the second picture, her hair is around her face, as well as a softer color. She could use some color in her makeup. She looks like she’s having a hard night. She probably was.
Short curly hair vs. sleek and layered (this layers onto face)
In the first picture, Katie Holmes’ makeup is the wrong shade, and her eyes are sharply defined. It’s not just the hair. She looks almost unwell.
In the second, she is wearing the style heard round the world. And not only that, her makeup is gorgeous. Her lips are soft here too, but the color is better.
Retro vs. updated
Gwyneth Paltrow looks like she’s channeling Veronica Lake in the first picture. It is retro, but it also looks like it’s not the length we are used to seeing on her. It could be that her hair is tucked behind her shoulders. In the second picture, her look is softened and tousled. She looks fresher.
What do you think?
Do you agree a good hair style can takes years off your look – and conversely a bad hair style can make you look older? Has this ever happened to you? Please share with us! How do you like to wear your hair?
Karin
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2 comments ↓
I totally agree that the right cut can make you look and feel better. Maybe younger. But nothing is more aging that staying in a rut for decades…. I’m not sure I have the most flattering hair….but I just wash and let it dry. It curls in humid weather and waves in dry weather and it makes me feel sassy to see it have such movement. Only once have I used a flatiron to torture it into a sleek bob. It looked great that way, but is too high-maintenance for me.
I think that if you feel sassy, people perceive you as younger b/c joie de vivre (sorry if I mispell the French) is considered a trait of younger people…. but they are wrong…. I am much happier now in my 40s than I’ve ever been…
I agree with you, Natasha. I think movement, or perceived movement because the hair is softer, is one of the reasons each of the better hairstyles works better in the above.
My hair has enough curl that I cannot get it straight, there are always waves. My stylist can get it stick straight, but I don’t think that is my best look right now. It might be again, who knows!
I was thinking of Sheryl Crow’s first hairstyle. It looked like her hair was not healthy, very dry, and I didn’t get the feeling of any movement. But in her second picture, her hair looks healthy and softly waved. There is perception of movement even in the picture.
I agree too on having a hairstyle and products that work for the area you live in. We have a lot of humidity here also. I have a couple of products I rotate if I have any frizz when my hair is nearly dry. Some days I don’t have any. Other days, I need to use a drop or two of the product.
And yes, you have a happy, sassy, attitude! Your happiness shows.
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