What Are the Best Haircuts for Women Over 50?

The classic shag is a low-maintenance, messy-chic style that can take years off your look. Unlike blunt cuts, it features wispy ends that soften facial features and help smooth out fine lines. Stylists often use a razor to create chunky, textured layers, which is perfect for adding volume to fine or thinning hair.

Flipped-up ends are having a moment again. This retro look, made famous in the 1960s by icons like Mary Tyler Moore, still brings a touch of bounce and fun to shorter styles.

Today’s version skips the bouffant. Instead, a soft flip at the ends adds shape and movement to an otherwise simple bob.

To get the look, spray clean, dry hair with hairspray, then curl the ends outward using a large-barrel curling iron. Let the hair cool completely before breaking up the curls with your fingers for a more natural finish.

No curling iron? Try a round brush and blow-dryer, or even a flat iron in a pinch.

Curls weighing you down? Consider lightening your load by lopping off a few inches. Short, curly hair is not only cute, but it's also freeing — you stay cool when temperatures fluctuate, use less product, and cut way down on styling time. It's an easy-breezy, low-maintenance hairstyle that will keep you light on your feet and add a spring to your step.

Just make sure you keep your spirals loose and bouncy so they frame your beautiful face.

Long, straight hair might be the end goal of flat iron owners around the world, but it can be a hard look to pull off, no matter what age you are. Blunt-cut tresses tend to drag down your entire face, which ⁠— let's face it ⁠— is the opposite of what you need right now. Chopping in a few long, softly angled layers below your chin will give your whole look an instant lift.

To style, simply blow dry your hair with a round brush for smoothness and to create a slight curl at the ends.

The voluminous short-layered bob made famous by Olympic figure skater Dorothy Hamill in the 1970s has a new lease on life in the 21st century. Modern variations of the classic wedge still have the density the cut is renowned for. These days, however, the options are truly limitless. You can choose from asymmetrical or A-line shapes, different stacking techniques, graduated layers, or tapered backs. And, instead of smooth lines, tresses can take on a textural quality from the addition of waves, choppy layers, and highlights.

The updated wedge is perfect for women who want weightless, wash-and-wear hair that's effortlessly elegant.

If you're looking for a haircut you can rock at concerts and cocktail parties alike; a muted version of the mohawk might be the ‘do for you. A portmanteau of "mohawk" and "faux" the faux-hawk commandeers the spiked-up heights of the classic punk cut without buzzing off the hair on the sides of the head. Think of it as a nod to counterculture minus the commitment.

The perennial pageboy might be the classic go-to, no-nonsense 'do, but the blunt cut often ends up looking like helmet hair — and that adds years to your look like nothing else.

If you want a more youthful take on this simple style, go androgynous and add a little oomph with short, wavy layers.

Who said short hair had to lie flat to be flattering? Take a page out of Cynthia Nixon's book and add a little height to your short hairdo with the pompadour pixie. This look is easily achieved by sweeping hair upwards and away from the face and around the sides. A dab of strong-hold styling gel will keep your coiffure shaped and in place.

Ever since it was immortalized on the sitcom Friends in 1995, "The Rachel" has been synonymous with the 90s aesthetic. Now that the decade is back in a big way, people are rediscovering why the hairstyle was such a universal hit. Choppy, face-framing layers look good on everyone, at any age. Not only can they be customized to flatter any face shape, but they add volume to thin hair and shape and definition to thick hair. Add a few highlights, and you're golden.

To bring the iconic look into the 21st century, make sure your stylist doesn't cut any layers above the earlobe.

If the thought of bangs gives you flashbacks to bad DIY haircuts of your youth, it might be time to reconsider them. Long, choppy, side-swept bangs that fall below your brow can take years off your appearance. They call attention to your pretty peepers and away from potential problem areas such as your forehead and neckline. This ultra-flattering, casual chic hairstyle is so popular in France, it's known in beauty circles as the "French Fringe."

To achieve the "undone" look, simply move your bangs from side to side with a round brush as you're blow-drying them.

Bobs have been huge since the 1920s, and they show no signs of slowing down. Bobs can bring definition to your face while also framing it enough so that if you’re conscious about your skin, it shouldn’t matter. Diane Keaton wears the classic bob incredibly. Whether she wears it beach-choppy or sleek, this is a woman that knows the power of the bob. The classic bob lands just below the chin, and with some carefully-styled undercurl, sophistication will bow to you.

The kids don’t get to have all of the hair trends. Asymmetry has been a big thing for more than a decade now, and it doesn’t seem to be petering out any time soon. As we age, our hair can become thinner and more brittle. Having an asymmetrical ‘do can do wonders for volume, and they are also ridiculously simple to maintain!

Sometimes, having short hair is the best decision. It’s a lighter load; there’s less maintenance due to less hair. Furthermore, there are some aspects of life that require it. But just because you have short hair doesn’t mean you’ll look any less womanly or less stylish. On the contrary, taking the chop is brave and, to be honest, almost always looks amazing on women over 50.

Pixie cuts aren’t limited to 20-somethings in Andy Warhol’s Factory. They are actually timeless, and you don’t need to be a specific age to have one. Jamie Lee Curtis’s pixie cut has been a staple for her throughout her career, and it’s possible that no younger actress could ever look that good. Pixies complement mature faces incredibly well. In fact, I challenge you to name one young person who looks quite as good.

The misconception that women over 50 should avoid having long hair is stupid. Long hair, like short hair, has no expiration date. There are plenty of women who are taking that misconception and putting it where the sun don’t shine on anyone who thinks they can’t have long hair. Women like Julianne Moore and Sarah Jessica Parker have redefined all of these silly notions. All longer hair over 50 means is that you know how to take care of it. And for that, you just need a good conditioner.

Waves can make anyone look younger, fresh-faced, and ready-to-go. Including those in their 20s and 30s. Like the bob, waves are timeless and look great on long cuts and short cuts. They are also great for that just-got-out-of-bed look, as well as a tidier, more classic approach. Waves not only add volume to thin hair, but they can also give definition to the face that short, blunt cuts simply could never do.

Unlike waves, loose curls take a little prep. Whether you go to your stylist to get a loose perm or curl it yourself from home, however, they will always guarantee that awards show, contemporary chic. Curls hit all the right spots for you looking in the mirror and anyone that sees you. Just their existence has the possibility of feeling good. Just be sure to condition them regularly.

The lob is the industry term for a long bob, and we’re sure it’s not the first time you’ve heard it. If you like having long hair but don’t want the pressure of maintaining too much length, the lob is an ideal shoulder-length that still appears long. Lobs can be wavy, straight, or curly, but either which way you wear them, they’re going to look classy.

Despite the misconceived idea that volume in your hair will have you looking like Paula Deen, that could not be further from the truth. A little volume hurt nobody, and if you have thinner hair, it can be a way of making it look thicker. Volume isn’t always a hair-raising prospect. On the contrary, it can make you look like a million bucks.

Retro styles can be anything from pin curls to victory curls; there are plenty of options to choose from. Back in the day, women wore their hair the way they wanted to and the way that they could. Now, we have legions of products that can help us to achieve those same looks. And you know what? They can look great. After all: Why be Greta Garbo when you could be Margo Channing or Norma Desmond?