Women should stop cutting their hair short after 50 – I look better with long locks at 52
Recently Cher, 77, revealed that the two things she doesn’t plan on doing as she approaches 80 are stopping wearing jeans or cutting her hair. I’m with her on both counts – particularly the long hair, which she discussed in an interview with Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain. I know it’s an big debate, but having had both a Reid-style choppy bob and longer Cher-like hair in the past 10 years, I won’t be returning to the shorter bob any time soon.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love a bob – who doesn’t? Anna Wintour, Margot Robbie, Debbie Harry all look magnificent. But I don’t have the cheekbones to pull it off and it just made me feel 50-plus and frumpy. A bit too Fulham Mum on the run. Interestingly, my teenage children fully agreed with me and both begged me to grow out my “Italian bob” I had cut just after I turned 50 two years ago and return to the longer hair I had when they were little. Not because they’re sentimental; they just said it suits me more. And I agree.
I also agree with Cher. It’s not really about wanting to look younger. So far, I love being in my fifties and am quite proud of it. It’s more about the uplift, the aesthetic and the feeling that long hair gives me. It makes me feel a little bit like Sarah Jessica Parker in New York meets Catherine Deneuve smoking a Vogue Menthe, with a bit of beachy Catherine Zeta Jones (in California more than Mumbles). And now that the likes of Helen Mirren and Chaka Khan are on board, I’m probably not cutting it ever again. I just have to pause for a moment to ask have you seen the new Autumn/Winter cover of the Gentlewoman magazine featuring Chaka Khan, looking utterly resplendent, chic and cool at 70, with her long flowing hair?
In a nutshell, for me long hair is escapist. I definitely feel more glamorous with longer hair and when it’s “done” it makes me feel like an Italian film siren – even if I’m buying veg from the market and doing the school run. And on a grey day in November, I’ll take the uplift wherever I can get it.
“Having shorter hair as we get older is still quite a British thing,” says Zo? Irwin, the creative director of John Frieda, “and I really don’t think it should be. Look at how amazing some older Indian women look with their beautiful, long, glossy hair. I find that really inspiring.’
Sam McKnight agrees, as does every hairdresser I spoke to, from Adir Abergel in Los Angeles (he does Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Garner) to my stylist, Michael Charalambous in Sloane Square. “The landscape for women of a certain age and their hair has opened up,” says McKnight. “Women no longer need to cut their hair shorter as they get older and I think it’s amazing. People in this country are getting more adventurous, but the one consideration is the condition. It has to look healthy, particularly if it’s long.’
Irwin adds, “Longer hair can be so much more flattering, as it can hide a neck that has gone a little bit thicker with age and can also disguise a jawline that has softened. Honestly, I have no idea why so many people go shorter as they get older.”
All the stylists I spoke to agree that condition is the thing. It has to look glossy, smooth and healthy or it’s a disaster. For perimenopausal and menopausal women (as I well know), this is no easy feat. Before I started using oestrogen gel, I definitely noticed my hair was becoming frizzier and more brittle. Better-condition hair (and skin) is just one of the many benefits I’ve noticed since I began taking HRT a year ago – of course it’s not the reason I started taking it, but it’s a pleasing side effect.
Irwin is a big fan of the latest hair oils (which are much lighter than previous versions and so can even be used on fine menopausal hair) as they strengthen the hair and give it a lovely glossy sheen. “Using something like Virtue Healing Oil, ￡42, as an overnight treatment will make hair reflect the light so much better. And it even works on blondes which are really hard to make shiny.”
For Irwin it’s simple: “If you want midlife long ‘Cher hair’, you really have to invest and think about your hair products like good skincare. You need to use a weekly mask,” she tells me. She loves Sam McKnight Deeper Love Treatment Mask, ￡48, and the new Beauty Pie Super Healthy Hair Elastic Repair Treatment, ￡40. “But you must use it weekly,” Irwin insists.
“And a pre-blowdry spray is good, too.” She likes the Biolage Professional Strength Repairing Leave-In Spray, ￡19.20, and Matrix Total Results InstaCure Anti-Breakage Porosity Filler Spray, ￡16. “They’re like a facial mist for the hair,” she says. “I use one on my hair every morning and I let it air-dry for a nice, smooth, relaxed wave. They are also great for de-frizzing afro hair or coils.
Irwin’s final tip is to invest in a good hairbrush and keep it in your handbag. She’s a fan of the beautifully crafted La Bonne Brosse, ￡95, which a friend gave her as a present, but Mason Pearson hairbrushes, from ￡62, are also good. “I remember my mum would always take out her hairbrush and brush her hair throughout the day, and it’s something we forgot about during the Wash & Go era. I’m all for bringing back this little grooming ritual to keep looking polished.”
Colour is important too, and Irwin suggests that after a certain age, “It’s important not to go too light if you’re blonde, particularly next to the hairline. I’ll often put in a softer, darker root with blonde highlights, which can make the cheekbones and jawline look more contoured. Clever highlights and caramel colour tweaks will keep long brunette hair looking healthy too.”
Michael Charalambous, my hairdresser for the past 25 years, who has cut many long-haired greats including Ursula Andress and Britt Ekland, says that the key to keeping long hair looking good is a blunt cut every 8 weeks (at least) to “keep its swing”.
“You also must consider how tall you are,” says Charalambous. Cher-length hair on my 5ft 4in frame would swamp me, so he keeps my length long but in proportion to my body.
For him, it’s all about the volume. “Hair becomes thinner and just looks flat without a few tricks after a certain age,” he says. Charalambous is known for his va-va-voomy undetectable hair extensions (he uses ones which can last up to a year) and he also uses discreet hair pieces (Ursula Andress was a fan) for extra body on long hair.
But for me, his long-lasting, voluminous blowdries have given my hair enough oomph that I haven’t needed hair extensions so far. They give my hair a richness – a bit like putting on a full-length Max Mara cashmere coat.
Charalambous suggests, when having your blowdry ask your hairdresser to add a few rollers to ramp up the volume. His tip for at-home maintenance is to invest in a set of old-fashioned heated rollers. He gave me a set and they are now one of my most prized possessions. When I can’t get into the salon, I’ve become an expert at doing a rough blowdry, spritzing each section with Sam McKnight Cool Girl Superlift Volumising Spray, ￡26 – just wow – and finishing with 10 minutes with the heated rollers. For the record: I’ve got them in as I type this! Now please excuse me while I put my feet up, pour myself a Campari and pop on my Moonstruck DVD.
Tools for the job
Left to right: Sam McKnight Deeper Love Treatment Mask, ￡48; Beauty Pie Super Healthy Hair Elastic Repair Treatment, ￡40; Matrix Total Results InstaCure Anti-Breakage Porosity Filler Spray, ￡16; Biolage Professional Strength Repairing Leave-In Spray, ￡19.20
Left to right: Mason Pearson hairbrushe, from ￡62; Sam McKnight Cool Girl Superlift Volumising Spray, ￡26; Virtue Healing Oil, ￡42; La Bonne Brosse, ￡95
