Waist-length hair over 35: how to style?

[Altowoman]

I'll bet you all have discussed this before, but I looked around a little bit, and didn't see it, so I'll ask -- and forgive me if I'm asking something you've already discussed ad nauseum!

I'm 38 and very young-looking for my age. That's really okay, being young-looking, most of the time -- but I do frequently finding people my own age dismissing my thoughts and ideas because it's assumed I'm at least a good 10 years younger than I am. I'm very short, so that doesn't help! Nothing I can do about that -har! - but I have beena advised on numerous occasions that I would look more my age if I were to loose the long hair.

I've decided not to do that, though. I'm looking for a way to wear my waist-length hair that helps me look my age, but not "frumpy," know what I mean? I have had long hair all my life, so you would think my repretoir of hair styles would be more expansive than it is, but all I've really got are the standards: ponytail; traditional bun; English, Dutch and French braids. That about covers it. :rolleyes:

I know there are some women over 30 here; how do you wear your hair?

--Michele

[Xandergrammy]

Oh boy, have you hit the jackpot! My advice to you is to relax and just look around. Read threads, look at photo albums and blogs and have fun. Welcome! :flowers:

[MsBubbles]

I'd be tickled pink if anybody told me to look my age :D. Have you looked at all the hairstyle links and articles (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=category&categoryid=1) in the articles section? That might be a place to start, and you can look and see what styles look like respectable 38 year old styles. LOL!

Really though, don't try to look 38 just because other people tell you to.

[Euphony]

I've come to be accustomed to my hair being 'frumpy' in a way. I wear my hair up most every day to work, mainly to protect it, then when I wear it down on the weekends - my hair is in stellar condition. I'm also 38 and have been told I look young for my age. I wear colorful sticks and forks to hold up my hair, that really helps me to rid the 'frump' of my 'do. Another thing I do with my hair for an up style is twist it up in a peacock twist, but it's of course way too long for it to be a 'peacock twist', it looks much like a ponytail but much, much shorter.

[Natalia]

There are some beautiful variations on the classic french twist in the articles section <3 I adore those. I have never been able to do a proper twist because of either my length or texture so i was thrilled to find them. Happy searching!

[Delilah]

I am 30 and still wear my hair in two braids if the mood suits me, and don't have any plans to cease doing so because of my age :D
Generally I wear a bun of some sort or down.
Low buns and french twists look more mature in my opinion.

[sneakybea]

If you ask me, you don't need to change your look, it's your colleagues who need an attitude adjustment! However, I am just a couple years older than you are, and am also young looking, though I work at a college, so even if I looked ten years younger, i would still seem old!
I also have waist length hair, and tend to wear it in a figure eight bun most frequently. I worry that it may be frumpy, but I like to dress it up with fancy sticks, and I also tend to wear dangly earrings. I think that a french braid can look professional, particularly if you tuck it under (hard to do at our length though), fold it under, or stop braiding at the nape and use a simple barrette or ponytail holder to contain it.

[lynnala]

Flaunt it baby! I'm 52 and mostly wear my hair in a single braid over my shoulder, sometimes pigtails, sometimes down. I've had friends who've known me for years, through the shortest hair phases, tell me that I look better than ever now. Heck with what other people say, you should wear your hair the way that makes you feel the best!

[invisiblebabe]

Enjoy looking and feeling young... when I get to be 38, I sure hope I look 28! :thumbsup:

I hear you about it getting annoying how people don't take you seriously, though. I just turned 25 and am told I look about 19-21. People older than I seem to underestimate my intelligence, which is very frustrating.

[PatGear]

I'm in the exact same situation you are, down to the same age and I'm 5' even. In professional situations, I almost always wear some variation of a bun. Very rarely ponytail or braid on days I'm feeling extra playful. :D

I was going to say that you can check out my public photo album for some ideas, but I think you may need 25 posts for that....

[Carolyn]

Almost any bun variation with a sophistcated hair toy is grown up. Avoid little girls poofy things and bows. I really don't think buns are frumpy. There are those of us who love the "librarian" look :D I think the important thing for work is to keep your hair contained in some way. Save the wearing it down for after work and weekends.

[misstwist]

A well executed, sleek french twist is seen as a serious hairstyle. Others have already mentioned looking in the articles section for hairstyle instructions, but I would specifically commend to you Hypnotica's french twist variations article. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=116

I'm just brushing waist again and have had to change how I'm making a french twist.

I currently use the rolling method Hypnotica illustrates, but stop twisting when the top is positioned where I want it. I tuck the ends by turning them up and tucking a portion in then turning them down and tucking a portion in, then just stuffing in the leftovers.

I usually secure this with a french twist comb or with two Good Hair Days tuck combs. http://www.goodhairdays.com/hand-crafted-files/40072.jpg

Sometimes I stop there, sometimes I decorate the tuck by sticking a chignon pin or hair fork into it. This is the best holding variation of the french twist I have used.

Good luck!

[snippet]

Ficcare Ficcare Ficcare

I have one with me at all times, for those occasions when I need to look 'normal business like'

[daydreamer]

I'm 32 and also look much much younger -- most people assume I'm a college freshman, heheh.... I don't mind though! A bun will probably help with a professional look, and there are SO many buns on these boards to try out. Don't feel like you have to, though -- wear your hair however way you are happy with! My lovely aunt is in her 50s with glorious waist length hair, and she'll often go for the double braids, Laura Ingalls style. Her youthful spirit is one of the best things about her.

[CinnamonCurls]

Well, I am not 30, YET. But I am cery close, *gasp*

But my main thoughts are that I don't let society tell me how I have to wear my hair and such. My mother who is 50 now has waist length I think....I don't know, haven't spoken to her in years....but it used to be tailbone/classic in her 30's and she refused to never cut it just because society tells her it looks better, it's terminal length has shortened up a great deal as she aged. I sure was shocked when my MIL (60) cut her hair from a bit below shoulders up to "old lady short". She just doens't look as pretty, and from the back, she looks like EVERYONE else. Stand out, be you, and insist on being the little old lady with white/grey hair who has the 9" diameter bun....well, that's what I think. Do what ever suits you best, not what is adviced by society.

There are so many links and articles here, but my favorites are http://www.dressytresses.com/hair/gallery/default.asp (http://www.dressytresses.com/hair/gallery/default.asp) and
http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/index.htm (http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/index.htm)

Good luck!!

[Botticelli Gold]

I agree with most of what's been said so far.
I'm 34 and am also told I don't look it.
But really i'm quite thrilled I look younger than my years, it means I can get away with things others cant necessarily. But I think even when I do start looking my age i'll just do what I want anyway. Part of the reason I grew my hair was that I love to play around with it.
I think long flowing hair looks gorgeous no matter your age, and definitely check out some more buns and updos as these look understated and elegant in my opinion. Just check out the articles on styles and decide whether or not the style is too young and girly, or more sophisticated (i'm guessing this is what you're going for?) and go from there. Personally I love to have a wide variety of styles in my repetoir from young and funky, sweet and girly, to elegant.
As others have said, rejoice in your youthful looks, they won't last forever.

[GoddesJourney]

I'll be 25 this year and some people still mistake me for a teenager. I understand how it feels to have people not take you seriously. It's difficult to remedy because I have a very assertive voice, which apparently comes off "rude" or "unfriendly" as a female. I just don't buy into the whole "upspeak" thing. I know what I'm talking about and don't want to sound like I'm asking a question all the time. I think it's really up to other people to decide if you're intelligent or not. If I go for a job interview, I will put my hair up in a twist. Otherwise, braided is good for excersize, walking my dog, and daily activities. Down is good for everything else. I love my hair and see no reason not to show it. Why would you not show your beautiful hair? Enjoy looking younger. These same people are probably jealous because they know you look youthful and always will. Just think, you'll still look 40 when they're all menopausal. Live it up. My mom is like this and she's gorgeous.

On the other hand, I find YouTube is a great place for long hairstyle tutorials. Some of our members are on there with various fun styles. That's how I found out about LHC. I was trying to educate myself on YouTube!

[ilovelonghair]

I'm 35 and people think I'm in my 20's, but I don't do anything to look older. When I was in my 20's I did try to look older, because I looked like 15.
In my opinion I wouldn't change anything, but if you want to look more serious, buns are the way to go :)
The only thing I watch out with is pig tails, I love them, but there are places I can't wear them to because they ask me for identification :p

[Masara]

I'm 42 and apparently I look quite a bit younger.

I don't really think about age appropriate (or not) hairstyles. I avoid "cute" looking hairstyles, but not so much because I think they are age inappropriate, but because they just aren't me. I didn't even wear them as a teenager.
I do wear a lot of buns and braids. I'm pretty sure they don't look frumpy. I get 15 year olds asking me how I did them (especially anything braided, including braided buns- they love them)

[CinnamonCurls]

On the "I look younger than I am" topic, but not trying to derail by any means...it was a few days before I turned 28, and I was rushed off to the hospital for a possible complication with one of my medical conditions (either I needed surgery before I died, have a pulmonary embolism...turns out it's the traditional "we don't have a clue", anyways)

So I am a synchronized swimmer now that I've retired from my ballet career, and I was wisked off to the hospital, still in costume, still wet too! My husband is hanging around obviously, and the girl comes to get me for my PE scan. In conversation while being wheeled to nuclear medicine, she asks something about if my father had wanted to come along with me, that she forgot to ask......ummmm...I am a few days shy of 28, and he's my husband..he was only 31 or 32 then....poor husband...

So enjoy these years, look younger than the rest...when time comes, use ficcares and other sofisticated hairstyles like french twists, herringbone braids, etc...but don't change the length of your hair just because society tells you to. Just learn how to act, dress and look your age when you need to...and enjoy all the crazy stories...(I'll never forget the days of having people not believing you're nearing 30 and actually didn't just graduate this year...yeah...only the person thought I had graduated from HIGH SCHOOL, not even college!! They were asking if I'd decided where to go to school next year....I was like school?? I haven't been in school in 9 years!!)

So enjoy these days of looking younger than everyone and having such gorgeous hair that sets you apart from every other boring, stuffy, business lady in her classic grey suit.

[Milui Elenath]

I'll jump on the bandwagon! I identify completely, I work with girls 10 or more years younger who constantly forget that I am not their age and wonder why I am so serious :rolleyes:
I do find it amusing and I like looking younger but occasionally it gets to me -

I also vote for the french twist, its classy, it stays. Sometimes I do a poofy grandma bun, pushed forward, it is a bit frumpy but it helps to age a bit. All that aside I wear whatever style I'm in the mood for but when I need to be professional nothing beats an updo.

[Ursula]

I generally wear a bun for every day. What type of bun varies depending on what holds well, which varies depending on length and the amount of taper (funcitons of how frequently I trim.)

These days, it tends to be an inside-out bun or a heart bun. I trimmed 2" a couple days ago, pre-trim, an inside out bun was more stable, post-trim, a heart bun. Log rolls, held with a flexi-8, also work fairly well. For a cinnamon roll, I need to pin the inner and outer spirals separately to get it to stay flat these days, which is a bit more fussing than I want to deal with most of the time. When I want something very, very stable I'll do a dutch-braid base braided bun.

There are a lot of variations on the basic bun - the process of twisting all the hair into a coil and aranging the coil on the back of the head.

[almudena]

I'm over 35 and I pretty much look my age :wink: I wear mine loose most of the time :)

[Feye]

I am working in the corporate world and have been experimenting with elegant updos. Take a look at my profile and the albums if you'd like some inspiration that you might not have thought of before :)

[lorig713]

Flaunt it baby! I'm 52 and mostly wear my hair in a single braid over my shoulder, sometimes pigtails, sometimes down. I've had friends who've known me for years, through the shortest hair phases, tell me that I look better than ever now. Heck with what other people say, you should wear your hair the way that makes you feel the best!

I also mostly wear my hair in a single braid over my shoulder and get compliments about my hair often. Wear your hair the way in which it makes you happy! :)

[Firefly]

I'm in an almost identical situation. When I'm looking for a more "mature" look, I will bun or twist-- for all other people know it could be shoulder length! Really, most people can't tell how long it is when it's up (unless they've seen it down, of course).

[hellkitty]

I never wear my hair down simply because I'd end up getting mugged by my own hair. I have no idea how you ladies keep your hair down and eat without eating your precious locks! I've worn my hair up for years and years now, and the key, I think, to staying stylish, age appropriate, but also not frumpy, is sophistication. If you head to the articles, there are a bunch of super easy super cool buns you can try that look very visually appealing that aren't your gramma's boring bun (no disrespect to gramma!). If you've mastered the cinnabun, an infinity bun or a figure 8 bun are about thirty seconds away.

And there's always, of course, *hairtoys*.

Above all--it's *your* hair, have fun with it!

HK

[Altowoman]

Y'all are awesome! :) I am so happy I found this place because I am finding so much encouragement here.

Yes, most of the time, with friends and family, etc., I have no problem just being thrilled to be young-looking. There are times, though, when I need to be taken seriously and present a more "professional" image, and not have people taking 10+ years off my experience-level.

I'm so excited to see all the hairstyles here. Would you believe, even though my hair has been long literally all my life, I have been pretty unaware of ways to style it . . . or of all the ways of taking care of my hair I'm learning here!

Gee, did I mention how happy I am to be here? :)

[skay]

Y'all are awesome! :) I am so happy I found this place because I am finding so much encouragement here.

Yes, most of the time, with friends and family, etc., I have no problem just being thrilled to be young-looking. There are times, though, when I need to be taken seriously and present a more "professional" image, and not have people taking 10+ years off my experience-level.

I'm so excited to see all the hairstyles here. Would you believe, even though my hair has been long literally all my life, I have been pretty unaware of ways to style it . . . or of all the ways of taking care of my hair I'm learning here!

Gee, did I mention how happy I am to be here? :)


That's awesome you're seeing a lot of options for your hair here. Welcome!

My hair is not that long, but I tend to wear it in a bun to look more "professional".

The French twist suggestions given here sound great.

Overall, you don't need to cut & style your hair in a certain way and look older & matronly (no offense to any matrons reading this ;) ) to be treated in a professional manner. :) Yup, just keep your length and find a few stylish updos. :)

[LadyEliza]

I know there are some women over 30 here; how do you wear your hair?

--Michele

However I like! :)

[Stacy_E]

I'm 45 and wear my hair all kinds of ways. I'm still learning the styles. One of my favorite bun variations is the single french braid folded up twice and secured with a Ficcare or Flexi-8 onto the back of the head. Comfortable, pretty, safely contained.