fighting the typical "mom cut"?

[YoginiCelestial]

I found this article on Shine (yahoo), and thought I'd share it
I think Demi Moore has better hair now that she ever has. Love it long! :)
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/who-says-middle-aged-women-cant-have-long-hair-2402323/#photoViewer=1

[Harriet]

it looks beautiful! My mum keeps wanting to cut her hair back short, but I won't let her! I don't know why people think they need to go short once they've hit a certain age.

[YoginiCelestial]

it looks beautiful! My mum keeps wanting to cut her hair back short, but I won't let her! I don't know why people think they need to go short once they've hit a certain age.

Good for you! Remind her how beautiful long hair is! :)

[JulietCapulet]

I think older women should just take a stand and fight this idea that older women have no right to be beautiful.

[DecafJane]

Thanks for sharing that - it was interesting. I like it when they point out how lovely these women look with long hair. It immediately undermines the strident opinions of people who say that women over 30 should have shorter hair. :D

[Dolly]

Love this article!

I have had a bunch of people tell me that AT MY AGE, I shouldn't have my hair waist length and beyond, and I shouldn't color it such an intense red.....my response? When my hair is on YOUR head, you get to make the decisions about it.....until then, zip it!

[skaempfer]

Oh, I dunno.
I think this article is kind of a failure. Bear with me, here:

It's not the same for Hollywood types like Sarah Jessica Parker or Demi Moore to have long hair at "middle age" as it is for us normal types. They've got the whole "fighting middle age" apparatus in place to go with it- personal trainers, face lifts or just facials and what have you. I'm not cracking on Hollywooders, really, I'm just saying, having social permission to try to look like you're 29 when you're in your 40s is not the same as it being socially acceptable to do what you like with your own hair at any age, right?

I mean, if Demi Moore's face was as wrinkly as it might be at the age of 47, and she wasn't dyeing to cover her grey (assuming she is, as most would be, at the age of 47), instead of all around trying to fulfill the Hollywood requirement (especially for women) of trying to look no older than 30, would she be getting all this praise?

What do you guys think? Seems to me it's as taboo as it ever was to be a real middle aged woman with long hair. Middle aged 29 year olds just don't count!

[missmelaniem]

I think there is such a thing as "age appropriate" long hair. As I get older, I want to do less to it. I'll keep coloring and so forth, but I will probably never have hair shorter than BSL.

I agree that you need to take care of the rest of yourself and also even dress simply and classically. I think its more about taking care of yourself than looking young.

And many of these people havent had face lifts. Again its self-care and staying out of the sun (this and exercise are huge factors)

[mellie]

I liked the article, their hair looked nice. I do understand what you mean though, Skaempfer! It would be REALLY refreshing to see beautifully kept long hair with the silver hairs in there that we know they are dyeing over.

[Messy Cook]

Skaempfer, we were thinking the same thoughts here.
Although it is good to see 'older' women with long hair still, most of the women pictured in the article are very into looking as young as can be.
Maybe for good reason because of the criteria of the business that they are in but still.
I agree that the real taboo is still out there; growing older with all that naturally comes with it: wrinkles, grey hair and gravity.

In my opinion being young is very important in the US, and the emphasis, especially on women to be young and 'flawless', is great.
And the same time, young girls have to look at grown up as possible in order to look 'hot' or 'cool'.
There seems to be a very small age window in which you can be 'safe' and right in the middle of looking good

I saw a part of the preview of The Housewives of Beverly Hills in which a seemingly 'flawless' woman expressed her concern that her husband might leave her for a 20-year old. What a lot of pressure she must feel.
It was not as if her husband would really 'match' the 20-year old :rolleyes:

Never ceases to amaze me...

[kitschy]

I'm 54 and I don't really look good in my long hair, ......but after a lifetime I have found that it is much more manageable long. Like the article said, I can pull it back in a pony or bun (which looks really severe and bad, but fits more into the societal norm).

[Carolyn]

I liked the article. It's good press for older women who have kept their hair long. We need all of that we can get. And there is nothing wrong with covering your grays and silvers :flower:

[CherrySilver]

I agree that you need to take care of the rest of yourself and also even dress simply and classically. I think its more about taking care of yourself than looking young.

And many of these people havent had face lifts. Again its self-care and staying out of the sun (this and exercise are huge factors)

Agreed, missmelaniem. It's very easy to assume that a woman "of a certain age" looks good because she's succumbed to the knife or has an unlimited budget to pay for beauty treatments. It's soooo much easier to do nothing and criticize that rather than practising the very basics you so aptly described (self-care, staying out of the sun and exercise).

[skaempfer]

Well, just my take, of course.

I didn't mean to imply that there is something wrong with covering greys and I have nothing against any of the women in the article. And of course, they have every right to groom themselves however they wish.
I just meant that it doesn't feel like much of a "long hair is now acceptable on middle age women" revolution, when the women in question are such high maintenance celebrities who have had surgery/been airbrushed/whatever, with the obvious, undisputed goal of appearing as young as possible.

Missmeliniem, I don't believe that any of the women in the article have not had either surgery, photoshop or at the very least an army of hair and make up experts all over them doing a fantastic paint job. Call me a cinic :D

As far as I can tell, the standards haven't changed. The prejudice is still there against middle age women having long hair, the exception being if they don't show obvious signs of being middle aged. I look forward to long grey hair and wrinkles being acceptable someday. We'll see if we ever get there.:pumpkin:

[YoginiCelestial]

I've been more observant lately when I'm out and about, such as at the mall or grocery store, and do see many more women my age growing their hair out longer. I really think that the underlying message here about the article that I posted is that I believe we are seeing a trend of women growing their hair out longer. And it's really encouraging to me, especially since I'm now in my 40's.