For the first time in my life, my hair is almost, but not quite, down to the middle of my back, and I rather like it this way. I like the option of having my hair up or down to suit my mood. Dear old mom sigh suggests that since I’m nearly 40, I should cut it to no more than shoulder-length in an effort to appear more “professional-looking” (which hardly matters in academia, especially in the Earth sciences where jeans and a button-down shirt is almost the height of professional dress, but I digress). My married male colleague (age 45) has said he thinks long hair looks sexy regardless of age, but then a) his wife has long hair, so he’d better say that and b) he’s in my field, which likely has some non-standard ideas about what looks good anyways compared to the rest of the populace (e.g., grubby field clothes and wind-blown hair may qualify as sexy).
Now, I know we’ve had threads here before about the loathing for “soccer mom” and “American-style” hair, but I don’t remember a poll on long hair. So, if you please,
Tell me what you think of long hair on women.
Tell me what how you define long hair (to me, it’s shoulder-length or more), and if there’s a particular degree of length you like or not.
Tell me if you think there are age constraints to looking good in hair of a certain length.
And just out of curiosity, tell me your age and whether you’re male or female, because I’m curious to see if there’s a spread in opinion. Thanks.
I’ve always heard the same thing about older women with long hair. As a 32 year old woman with long hair, I’m not looking forward to buying into that (if I do). I have very curly hair, and when it’s real short, it gets fuzzy and ugly. That’s mostly why I grew it out in the first place.
I think that shoulder length and above is fine for any age. I think mostly when people talk about older women with long hair, they’re talking about longer than shoulder length (IMHO).
I think what’s more important is what you do with your hair and how it looks. Is it well taken care of? Do you wear it stylishly? Does it fit with your style? If so, I don’t think it matters how long it is. I have a friend who is in her late 50’s and she’s got long hair. Most of the time she wears it up in a twist, and it looks great. Every once in awhile she’ll put in a headband and let it flow back, and it also looks nice. However, even with her age, she’s hardly got any gray, and her hair is wonderfully healthy and thick.
If she had stringy hair, I might say she should cut it. But it looks good on her, so whatever.
Male, 38 – As long as it’s taken care of, long hair always looks good.
As to how long, my gut answer is “the longer, the better”. However, it really depends on the person. Thin, straight hair probably looks best no longer than mid-back, but if someone has very thick, wavy hair, then let it trail behind you as far as you can – it’ll look good no matter how long it gets.
As to age constraints, I don’t see it. Being 80 with long, gray hair may be a bit odd, but it can still look very nice.
All of this, of course, is entirely subjective. What looks good on one person may not look good on another.
I prefer long hair for the same reason the OP mentions - there’s a lot more you can do with it. I like mine to be a few inches past my shoulders, because if it grows any longer it just looks messy. But that really depends on the person - I’ve seen girls with waist-long hair that looks well-groomed.
It does have a sort of juvenile image, though (imho). Some people are able to pull it off regardles of age. Again I think it depends on the person…but if you like it and feel good about it, then that’s what matters, right?
I dig long hair on women. But, as I have had VERY long hair in the past I know how much trouble it can be to maintain. I think that’s the long and short of the sort of ‘mid-thirties cut’ we see on so many women. Get a career and a couple of kids and hair maintenance is something you can easily forego to buy some extra time.
I like long hair if it is straight. Wavy long hair has less appeal to me. Also should be brown. Blonde hair of that length wouldn’t look good. Forget about red. Don’t even think about grey.
I define long hair as at or below the shoulder blade. My upper limit for what looks nice is to the waist. Get below that and I start thinking about gross things like it dipping into the toilet water or flossing your butt.
I personally like it on younger women. Over 40 and that length doesn’t make it in my book.
Long Hair Lover here. I have always been most attracted to long hair.
My Wife has beautiful Waist long Brunette hair now with some White in it.
I can honestly say her long hair with a hint of a witches lock is what first caught my eye.
I have seen Old ladies with completely white hair and I think it is still a great look. The Blue Hair Puff make people look older.
Short hair can look nice, but I don’t think it is ever as eye catching as Long Hair.
My hair is thick and curly, and I wear it to mid-back, with some shorter layers in the front. I’m 35, and I have no intention of cutting it any shorter until my daughter and/or my best friend tells me I should, which they’ve promised to do.
The key to wearing long hair at any age, IMO, is to keep it current, get a good cut, and make sure it’s healthy and well maintained. **Do Not ** attempt to rock the same hairstyle you wore in high school. Do Not let it get ratty at the ends, or go so long in between cuts that it loses it’s shape. And Do Not try to wear it all one length. It *will * make your face look three feet long.
Please, please do not be one of those women who hasn’t cut her hair in five years and wears it all pulled into a huge brightly colored scrunchie placed on top of her head. Also, if you’re over ten years old, you are too old to leave the house gift-wrapped. Big bows should be banned from all of your clothing, and especially * from your hair.
I think hair is “long” once it gets about to the shoulder blades. Maybe a tad shorter. Really long is waist length and longer.
Some women look good with long hair and some don’t. Thin stringy never-cut hair that’s all wispy on the bottom is ugly, no matter how much the owner thinks it isn’t. Yes, it is.
There’s a livejournal community devoted to long hair - lots of people post pictures and some of the hair is gorgeous and some is extremely hideous - but of course nobody thinks that about their own hair. http://community.livejournal.com/longhair/ There tend to be a lot of people there who think that long hair - any long hair no matter how stringy, wispy, messy - is beautiful. I disagree and think quite a few could cut a foot or more off, still have “long” hair, and they would be so much better looking.
Over the last few years, I’ve worn my hair at varying lengths. I have found, for me, short is best because it requires the least maintenance.
Long hair can be very lovely if, as everyone else said, it is well cared for. Wavy loks better than straight once it grow past the shoulders. Darker hair IMHO looks better long than lighter tones.
Ultimately, only you can decide which hairstyle is best for you. What is most flattering to your face? What degree of effort are you willing to put in to get it looking just right? We can’t answer those questions for you. It’s your hair. Wear it however you wish.
I’d say that if you like it, and it looks good on you, then that’s reason enough to keep it long. Be aware that many women have thinner hair as they get older, also the hair just won’t grow as long with some older women. I used to be able to grow my hair almost down to my waist, and these days if I let it get a few inches past my shoulders it starts looking pretty bedraggled. So I have reluctantly decided to keep a shorter hairstyle, not because it’s age appropriate, but because my hair is no longer suitable for an extra long style.
I like long hair on women. I don’t like short hair on women (with a few exceptions). You ever notice some older women that get “man”-looking haircuts? Well, it works. They look just like men.
I’m a 35 year old female and I have straight hair down to the middle of my back. It’s all one length except for the bangs, which touch my eyebrows, and I quite like it on the days when I remember to brush it after it dries.
I know it’s a juvenile style and supposedly there will come an age when I’m not allowed to wear it anymore, but I don’t see changing it in the foreseeable future. No other hairstyle has ever looked this good on me, and it’s virtually maintenance free. (Wash daily, comb, forget.)
I will never surrender to the Blue Puff! I’d rather be the scary old witch lady.
Hooray, it is good to be different, but I didn’t think about what Lynn pointed out. For some maybe the hair just won’t support long hair after a certain age.
Allow me to toss out there that this is Lady Chance’s stated goal as well. To retire as the oddball old woman down the block who doesn’t fit it with the other old women.
To me, “long hair” is hair that reaches to the middle of your back or farther. I’m a 27-year-old woman and have hair that reaches to my hips, so I’m clearly pro-long-hair. Pro- regardless of age, even. Hey, you can always put it up in a twist, bun, or braids if you don’t think it’s professional to wear it down or merely pulled back.
I’ll echo the maintenance-free claims. I comb it out in the shower while I condition it, towel dry, comb out again, then (most days) just braid it and forget about it. If my hair were curly and full, though, I’d wear it loose. Sadly my hair is straight and because I’m far from a hairstylist I trust, I haven’t been getting it trimmed, so it’s kind of scraggly at the ends.
But I live on a reservation, and there are many women who wear their long hair poker-straight and loose, and it is gorgeous. Glossy, sleek, midthigh-length hair. Amazing.
and b) he’s in my field, which likely has some non-standard ideas about what looks good anyways compared to the rest of the populace (e.g., grubby field clothes and wind-blown hair may qualify as sexy).
