While the first official day of summer isn’t until June 21, what if we use this time to give ourselves a more youthful, modern update to our hair and nails? For starters… Teasing, helmet hair (hair with not a hair out of place) and too much hair is aging.
BTW, I’m talking to myself about teasing.
HAIR
My hair is very thin. I have big cowlick on my crown, and the back of my head is flat as a board. While teasing can help alleviate all of these, sometimes I get carried away. I… we… need to remember, “Youthful hair moves when we move.” It’s not teased to Tulsa and back and then plastered into place with heavy hairspray.
Too much hair… I don’t have that problem, but Marie Osmond in her Nutrisystem TV commercials is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Because she has way too much hair, it’s obvious she’s wearing a wig and/or mounds of hair extensions. If she went for a subtler more modern look with her hairpieces, she would look a thousand times better. “Less is more.”
If you’re going lighter with your hair color, be careful it doesn’t turn a brassy shade of red or yellow. Ask your hairstylist about a gloss you can apply and rinse out every time you shampoo. It keeps your color from turning brassy and/or fading plus it keeps your hair shiny. I’m a fan of Rita Hazan’s “True Color Ultimate Shine Gloss” that comes in several shades. I was a regular client of Rita’s for almost three years (2015-17). Even though I’m a brunette, she suggested a “Blonde” gloss on me. Rita gave me blonde highlights. They’re gone now, but I still use the Blonde gloss, and it looks great.
Youthful and modern hair starts with a great haircut that has layers and movement.
One of my favorite women is actress, Dame Judi Dench. I love her short, layered hair, long on top and short on the sides. She can add a little product and fluff dry with her fingers. Longer on top and a bit messy is what makes it modern.
Helen Mirren’s hair is longer on top and in the back and shorter on the sides with soft wispy bangs. Wow!! She’s stunning!
A layered bob looks good on everyone, and it has movement.
If you have fine, thin hair, this feathery layered cut is a good way to add volume and movement. Kind of like the cut Juan Carlos gave me.
If you want longer hair try this layered cut.
Here’s a product I’ve been using for volume.
Nexxus is a “Comb Thru Touchable Hold Finishing Mist” You can find the four-pack 1.5oz travel size on Amazon.
NAILS
Many women have problem feet that includes corns, bunions, ingrown toenails and rough heels, which means we need to work harder to make our feet look soft and pretty and well-groomed.
I’ve noticed classic stylish women like Aerin Lauder, Style & Image Director for Estée Lauder, always wear nude or soft pink polish on their hands and feet.
- DITCH BLACK POLISH ON YOUR TOES: The Black polish trend is so over, plus it’s harsh looking on most of us. If you like dark polish, try a true red. Or how about something more summery like coral or a soft pink like Essie’s “Ballet Slippers.” For a soft glam look try Essie’s “Buy Me a Cameo,” which is a soft coppery shade… my personal favorite.
- KEEP YOUR FINGERNAILS SHORT & OVAL: Square cut fingernails are too harsh for aging hands, plus they’re not feminine. Instead, slightly round the side edges of the square cut for a more modern look like in the photo above or below… where the nails are a bit longer but still rounded on the side edge. I prefer the length on the first photo.
- SAY GOODBYE TO FRENCH MANICURES: French manicures are visually jarring. Try two coats of a soft pink like Essie’s “Ballet Slippers.”
And no French Manicures on your toes!!!
28 thoughts on “MODERN YOUTHFUL HAIR AND NAILS FOR WOMEN OVER 50”
Great photos and info on hair and nails for women of a certain age….especially love your comments on Marie Osmond’s hair.
Thanks Karen! Thanks for reading and letting me know. Brenda
I love your haircut. My hair is naturally straight and would hold your style for about 15 minutes before letting go. I have an Anna Wintour cut, no curl needed. The bangs cover the forehead wrinkles.
Helen Mirren and Judi Dench are excellent role models. For longer hair, see Juliette Binoche (55) and Isabelle Huppert (63).
FYI, in France, a French pedicure is called an American pedicure!
TOF, Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Huppert are always so natural and chic, and Anna Wintour’s hair is a classic. I wish I had enough hair that mine would do that. LOL! We want what we can’t have! “An American Pedicure?” That’s funny… It’s tacky… Perhaps appropriate in many ways. I’m always shocked when I see over 60 women wearing toe rings and garish decorated toenails. For most of us our feet aren’t our best asset, so I’m always puzzled when women want to show them off. Love your comment. Thanks! xoxox, Brenda
I agree with this tips 1000%! Hair should have movement and nails should be a soft nude color. Also draws less attention to aging hands.
I think I suffer from too much hair but it’s natural. I love the Rita Hazan gloss too!
Lauren, Before breast cancer and having all the estrogen sucked out of my body, I, too, had thick hair with a lot of natural curl. So much so I had to have it thinned regularly or it looked like a bush. xoxox, Brenda
I agree with you that mounds of hair (real or fake) on women over 50 is not at all attractive. Helen Mirren is gorgeous and I agree that her style is perfect for her.
Good nail tips, too!
Thanks Candi! I appreciate that you took the time to read my blog and give me your feedback. So great!! Brenda
I think all of these looks are great and I love Helen Mirren! I wear my hair short-ish and “loose” but it’s naturally wavy, curly at the nape of the neck. It will not hold a nice layered, straight style. It will go its own way. How about some looks for gals with more curl in their hair?
Hi Lorraine, I should have said, my hair doesn’t stay the way it is in the photo. I have lots of natural curl so it goes it’s own way as well, and I’ve learned to embrace it and now think it’s easy and pretty. Even though I have curl, I like the layered cut with my hair. xoxox, Brenda
I agree with you about the nails. I go with red on my toes and pale on the fingernails. I recently went through a painful ‘so long’ to my fave hairdresser in Philadelphia. I had continued to go to him, and only him, to get my hair done after we left the city but, the drive became a bit much for me. It’s 2 hours each way. ugh! But, I stayed loyal to this amazing man for over 4 years, and he never charged me a thing! I would bring him flowers from our garden and wine, every trip. He deserved it! When I decided to find someone here in Cape May I ran into a woman at church who had a great cut. Kismet! I asked her who did her hair and she gave me their card. I made my appt. and was pleased with the results. Then I had to tell my friend, Rick. I reached out to a mutual friend, who is a floral designer, to make a fabulous bouquet for Rick and get a good bottle of bubbly. I sent him the $$ and immediately got a heartfelt ‘thank you’ from Rick. As it turned out, my timing was perfect. Rick was closing his salon and merging with another. That made me feel even better!
Isn’t it amazing how close we can become to these amazingly creative people?
xob
Barbara, What a loving gesture! I did something similar years ago when I left a hairstylist. We develop deep relationships with our hairstylist and saying goodbye is almost like a death in the family. That plus great haircuts makes it hard to leave for any reason. For three years I timed my NYC business trips around getting an appointment with Juan Carlos. I would walk over broken glass to have him cut my hair. People like to play the “what if I win the lottery game.” If I won the lottery I would give most of it to good causes I believe in, keep just enough to make sure I won’t be living in a cardboard box under a bridge somewhere and then have enough money for me to go back and forth to NYC to see Juan Carlos. No round the world trips. Just Juan Carlos! xoxox, Brenda
Excellent post! Those of us of a certain age can use all the help we can get. Just ordered the got2b mousse. Thanks for the tip! Ah yes, less is more when it come to the volume of hair.
Donna, I hope you like the mousse. Here in Texas women have always been known for their “big hair” and the saying is “The higher the hair, the closer to God.” LOL! While I don’t see as many women with big hair as I used to… mainly my mother’s generation… there are lots of them left. xoxox, Brenda
Always love reading your posts. Thanks Brenda.
Thank you, Christina, and I always love seeing you here! Hope you’re well and your summer is off to a great start. Thanks, again, for stopping by and letting me know. I appreciate you! xoxox, Brenda
At almost 72, my once wavy hair has gone straighten and flat. I keep it short (ala Dame Dench) but have been unable to find a product to give it body that holds without feeling sticky (yes, I’ve used gels & paste – ugh). Going to try the got2B mousse you suggested. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Donna, I hear you!! Mine has gone thin and flat but at some point in the day, the ends curl up and I have no choice but to wet my hands and encourage it. Some days I have the curly hairdo of a three year old, other days it looks pretty good–the top is still flat–but I have no way of controlling which days it looks good. Grrrr…. xoxox, Brenda
At 71 my short hair is very thin now. Always looking for thickeners that won’t weigh it down. Had some success with beach salt sprays but recently had great luck with Moroccan Oil Root Boost. Adds lots of texture. Only available at salons.
Thanks for the input, Lynda. I’ll be 70 next week, so I’m right there with you. I would pass right on by anything with “oil” in the name for fear it would weigh my already thin hair down, but I will research this. Thanks so much! xoxox, Brenda
Your article was on point! I was contemplating my hair length and style earlier today…making a salon appointment ASAP!
Evie, The good news about hair is that if you don’t like a haircut… It will always grow back, plus I’ve discovered that as it grows back, you might find ANOTHER length you like even better and stay with that one. xoxox, Brenda
Spot on. Those are lovely hair options. (Dame Judi Dench and Helen Mirren exude style.) My own hair grows very fast (not a complaint), and seems to grow out my medium-length slightly layered cut so fast! Maintenance can get very pricey, and as I’m thoroughly unwilling to give up professional color for my six (ahem, cough) gray hairs, “painting” tends to trump the cut. One of these days — “in future” — I’ll go silver. But that future date keeps moving.
Amazing really – if we feel good about our hair we feel so much better about everything else, don’t you think? A good hair day works wonders.
DA, Maintenance of our hair is so expensive. It makes me think of these celebrity couples who, when filing for divorce, say they need $2,000 a month for hair and nails and $3,000 for dermatology. Even if I had that much money to spend, I’d hate to be that self-consumed or feel I needed all of that to look “presentable.” My, my, my… And going grey? I tried on a grey wig and I looked like death warmed over. No thank you! I’ll be brown bottling it all the way. xoxox, Brenda
Great advice !!I don’t have thin hair but agree with Taste of France feathered bangs to cover the wrinkles a must. I do a short rounded manicure in a soft gray to match my hair. I am kinda boring!!
Hi Cindy, My celebrity makeup artist friend, Sandy Linter, has always said bangs are youthful. She’s now in her early 70’s and still a blonde goddess with bangs. About the gray polish… I’m not sure how that trend got started, but personally… I’m going to be honest here… For your consideration… I think it’s one of the most unflattering looks on any woman. A gorgeous 40-something friend, with blonde hair and blue eyes, wears gray polish and her hands always look sickly as do all of the women I see with gray nail polish. Gray nails are the opposite of youthful. Gray hair occurs naturally, but gray nails do not… that goes for any shade of blue, yellow and green. xoxox, Brenda
Good morning Brenda. You’re spot on about hair and nails. My hairdresser keeps me up-to-date without being trendy, amazing what a little tweak will do! I’m a coral-on-the-toes girl and lighter shades on fingers. Taupes, beiges… nudes of any kind on my nails makes me weep, makes me look dead! And French manicures are so 15 years ago lol (at least that’s when I had my nails done like that)
Hi Lea! It doesn’t take a lot to give us a new look! I agree with you about the taupes, beiges… greys…. Even on young women, I’m not crazy about it. You hit on the right word. “Trendy.” Too many of us get sucked in to a style or a look because it’s trendy. Our judgement flies out the window and we go back and get it again. Thanks so much for reading and leaving me your thoughts. xoxox, Brenda
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