Keep Hair Out of the Face?
A: When styling for signs of aging, the most important factor is ensuring the haircut complements your face shape and its evolving contours. Rather than trying to rigidly hide behind your hair, wrinkles and changing facial structures simply become key features to consider when choosing a flattering hairstyle.
The strategy of your haircut depends heavily on how your facial structure changes over time:
• Forehead and Eye Area: Fine lines on the forehead, furrows between the brows, or slight creping around the eyes can be beautifully softened by a wispy, textured fringe that sits just below the brow bone. If you prefer not to wear straight-across bangs, a side-swept fringe provides the same camouflaging effect with a softer, asymmetrical line.
• Mouth and Nose Area: If you are looking to minimize deep creases around the nose and mouth, avoid long, pin-straight hairstyles. Straight vertical hair acts like a parallel line that reinforces and mirrors downward facial creases. Instead, opt for soft, curving layers, gentle waves, or loose curls. These introduce fluid movement, breaking up the focus on harsh lines and lifting the overall appearance of the face.
• The Jawline: If a loss of firmness around the jawline is your primary concern, you can counter this by adding strategic volume to the upper sections of your hair. A style with shorter, tapered sides and a lifted crown draws the eye upward. This volume creates a visual illusion of an inverted triangle, making the lower half of the face appear more tapered and masked. Even a subtle lift at the roots can dramatically rebalance facial proportions.
• The Power of Length: Hair that cuts off exactly at the jawline requires careful handling. A blunt bob ending right at a sagging jaw acts like a visual marker, drawing direct attention to that area. It is often much more flattering to choose either a shorter cut that completely exposes and lifts the jawline, or a longer style (like a long bob) that falls well below it. Incorporating face-framing layers will also prevent the hair from settling into a heavy line right where you want to minimize bulk.
Finally, while keeping hair away from the face can brighten your appearance, avoid pulling it back too tightly. Slicked-back ponytails, tight buns, or severe updos remove all softness, exposing every line and creating a harsh effect. Furthermore, tight styling can strain fragile, aging hair roots. Instead, look for styles that gently frame the face with soft layers, offering a much more youthful finish.
©Hairfinder.com
See also:
Age appropriate hairstyles
Hairstyles to look younger
A Look at long hair and the mature woman
Do bangs make you look older?