Same basic hairstyle forever?

[GlennaGirl]

Hey, all. I think I'm just kind of looking for confirmation here...and if not, then some good advice.

I'm 43 years old, will be 44 this summer, and have really been wearing variations on the same hairstyle for...oh wow. Better than 20 years. I'd say...hmmm. About 22, 23 years.

Basically: it's medium-length in the back, but this varies; however, this one part hardly varies -- the bit of bang I have. I have tried every hairstyle in the book, I swear, and I never like anything but my somewhat wispy, slightly parted in the middle bangs, with the hair just beyond the bangs pulled back or somewhat up (not uber-poufy or anything...that was a little MORE than 22 years ago...did it and admit it... :p ).

I have tried to "update" it with the times. A few years ago I started wearing it as mini claw clips (the part that's held back). I've tried a little more and a little less bang; a little shorter and a little longer. But I always come back to this same basic thing. The really long bangs that have been so stylish look bad on me. So do the rather short, China doll bangs that I love, BTW (on me, though...ughhh...not good). So I come back to the same thing. And then my hair lies very flat, so there's always the putting-back thing.

This past year I've graduated from claw clips all the time for the two bits at the sides, to occasionally that "rolled" sort of thing...I don't know, it's like French braiding but you just twist back with each addition...KWIM? I don't have much hair so these are very thin but along with bobby pins instead of claw clips, maybe it looks at least a little updated...I hope? I also cut just a few wispies along the canopy just below ear-length for a modification of "layers" without losing too much hair.

I'm in my 40s. I don't want to look like I'm holding onto a high school or post-high school style. I really don't. But I just can't find anything else that I like as much. :(

Truth. Honest truth. Is this something that looks dorkolicious and idiotic on an almost mid-40s woman? And is it weird to really keep going back to the same basic hairstyle?

Would love input. I know there are other "bangers" on here. :P And those without bangs try different styles, obviously. So...thanks for reading...

[enfys]

Lots of people have the same hairstyle forever. I see my friends parents wedding photos and they have the same do as that on their silver anniversary.

If you are happy and it doesn't date you so everyone thinks you're in a rut then there's no issue. Your style doesn't sound dated and it works for you. Enjoy it and congrats on finding what suits you!

[jasper]

I always wear bangs. Since I was 2 at least. But I don't feel like my hair has been the same forever. And my hair was different every year of high school with look I would never want to repeat :cheese: I wonder how I managed to get rid of that 10th grade mullet, now that I think about it.

[Shermie Girl]

Glenna Girl, if your hairstyle makes you happy then why change it? Granted there are things that should be updated a bit, now and again, like the early nineties behind the bangs pouf (oh, yeah, I did that one, too... :o) but it sounds to me as if you have a classic, pretty 'do, nothing too trendy or outdated. Just lovely and flattering to you. So, enjoy it. :D

[krissykins]

I agree with everyone else: if it ain't broke, don't fix it :D

[GlennaGirl]

Thanks so much for the answers. :) I'll keep it then!! I really do like it...for me.

[sweet&sourkiwi]

I'm just so glad you said "dorkalicious." I said that to my bf the other day and he accused me of making up words (again)...but clearly I'm not the only one! :)

I too had 15+ years of wearing the exact same style, every single day...and I'm glad I finally let it go. It took me a little while to get used to something different but I too was feeling a little dated and ready to try (hesitantly) something new. I don't think your style sounds bad at all but sometimes it's nice to switch it up a bit. It sounds like you've found what works on the bangs but you could certainly try new things with the back...maybe just every once in awhile on days you're feeling dangerous. :)

Now I've been doing more or less the same style for the last 3-4 years so I should have a new rut soon to break...

[mellie89]

I've basically had the same hairstyle in varying lengths for the last decade. Parted down the middle with long layers, usually somewhere around APL to BSL. Every time I do something different, whether it be cutting it shorter, or blunt, or adding bangs, or attempting a side part, I end up regretting it. There's no harm in sticking with the tried-and-true! :)

[Noula]

A lot, perhaps even most, of the old women I meet at work have pretty much the exact hairstyle they have on all their old pictures. The men are more of a mix, some have the same hairstyle they had when young whether they have less hair or not, some (both the balding ones and the ones who are not) just cut it really short so it will take longer to grow out to a length where they feel it needs another cut. I think it's fairly common for people to stick with the style they know best and feel most themselves in.

[sibiryachka]

Here's a thing that has always stuck with me: When Bonnie Raitt was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, Melissa Etheridge gave the introductory speech. She described Ms Raitt as "a woman so self-confident, she has not felt the need to change her hairstyle in 30 years". 'Nuff said. ;)

[marzipanthecat]

I've had the same hairstyle for pretty much my whole life! It's just a bit longer now. I feel happy with it (I'm kind of easy-going about it) so I feel no need to change it.

If you are happy with your hair, keep it that way.

I looked at your photos and you look jolly nice!

I admit that I look kind of weird in everyday life, but that is simply my own choice. I dress funny... even my mother said I look odd, but it is just how I am! (She meant it in a good way!)

You don't look odd or dorky to me, not at all. Like I said, you look nice.

[darklion]

I think you are just having your midlife crisis. I recently went through that too. "am I trying to hold onto my 20s?" Naw. We just like our hair longer and see no reason to change it.
Although it's a similar hairstyle, you don't wear it the same way you did when you were younger. Now, you wear buns and braids more... right? See? You're doing things differently.
Hurray for longhaired 40-somethings!!!

[Fairlight63]

I just looked at the pictures in your profile & I think that the way that you wear your bangs looks really good on you, I wouldn't change it if I was you. You look very pretty!
There are a lot of people that wear the same hairstyle all the time for years, especially if they wear it short, not too much change you can do with it if it is short.

[Oz]

if you are looking for a change.. why not the colour? semi perminant..
or.. some hats.

[GRU]

I've had the same basic hairstyle since I was 11yo. I'm almost 43yo now... 3+ decades! :blueeek:

The only changes I've made in all that time was layers to no layers, bangs to no bangs, and overall length -- previously I was a SL-APL, now I'm around waist.

I think the only time you're going to be seen as "high-school-wannabe"-ish is if you're copying the latest fads or doing the REALLY big hair of the 80s/90s with the "uber-pouf" on top and the "wings" on the side and/or a crimping iron for the length.

From looking at your album, I think your hair suits you just fine.... I see no reason to change unless you want to. And I'm totally envious of your French Twist -- always wanted one to look like that, but my texture has different ideas. :rolleyes:

[SheaLynne]

Ooh, I've been through this...I kept going back to bangs, whether my hair was permed (alot 20 years ago!) or natural, I would try different bangs or growing bangs out and it never seemed to look right on me.

Finally, adding glasses full time (can't handle the contacts anymore!) made me decide the bangs were crowding things on my face, and now my bangs are grown out to shoulder length, and I'm happy with it all for the first time ever. I was truly tired of trimming bangs!

BUT...another thing I have learned is accepting what your own hair does well. Just because something is the style or someone else wears it well doesn't mean it is for you, and if you have found what fits your face and that your hair does well--congrats!! So, if you find something else that you are happy with, great, but if not, stick with what makes you happy!

(If I ever cut bangs again, they will be the same old bangs I had for years!)

[elaiesusandavie]

That's the fun of growing out... lol

[misstwist]

Here's a thing that has always stuck with me: When Bonnie Raitt was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, Melissa Etheridge gave the introductory speech. She described Ms Raitt as "a woman so self-confident, she has not felt the need to change her hairstyle in 30 years". 'Nuff said. ;)

Ha!

If I had Bonnie Raitt's hair I wouldn't change it either.

GlennaGirl, I don't think there is any need to "update" a hairstyle unless you are following the current hairstyle fashions.

[Fufu]

I think it's fine to have same basic hairstyle forever. ^^

[Mesmerise]

Well I have the same basic hairstyle I had 20 years ago too ;) It has changed somewhat over the years, but what I've got now is pretty much the same as it was at 17.

Really...who cares? You wear your hair the way YOU like it and not what current fashion dictates for someone of your age (blech...I hate being told how I should wear my hair lol). Sometimes there's a good reason why we keep our hair the way we do!