LONG HAIR AFTER 50
It feels like women and hair is its own lifelong story, doesn’t it? And I know I’m not the only one—so many women my age have their own versions of it, with different phases, experiments, and opinions along the way.
If I had to sum mine up simply, I’d say this: I’ve always loved short hair… and I’ve always ended up with long hair.
It probably started with family influence more than anything. My mom has always worn her hair short, and so have my aunts and cousins. It was just kind of the “normal” in my world growing up. I’ve also always loved that clean, bouncy, easy kind of short haircut—the kind that looks effortless but still put together.
As a kid and teenager, though, I was also very influenced by whatever was practical and popular at the time. I swam a lot when I was younger, and that alone shaped a lot of my early hair choices. A “wash-and-wear” style wasn’t just convenient—it meant I didn’t have to wrestle my hair under a tight Speedo Lycra cap every time I got in the pool.
In 4th grade, I remember getting the famous Dorothy Hamill haircut. At the time, she was everywhere—an Olympic and world champion, and basically someone every young girl admired. I thought it was the coolest thing. But once I actually had it on me, I realized something important: I loved it on her, and I loved it on other people… but I didn’t quite love it on myself. So after a while, I let my wedge cut grow out and moved on.
Then came high school in the 1980s—the era of big hair. And I mean big hair. I can still picture standing in the school restroom, surrounded by girls teasing and spraying their hair until it practically had its own personality. Layers lifted, volume pushed higher and higher, and everything locked in place with what felt like half a can of Aqua Net. It was almost like everyone was building their own version of hair that could take flight.
While all of that was happening around me, I was doing the opposite in my own way—trying everything I could to make my hair look more curly, more soft, more defined. I wasn’t chasing height; I was chasing texture.
That love for curls stuck with me for a long time—through my 20s and 30s. I kept it going with perms, crimping, curling irons… whatever worked at the time. My hair had a whole journey of its own.
Then in my 40s, things shifted again. I started noticing more hair shedding, and eventually learned it was connected to my thyroid disease. That explained a lot, even things I hadn’t connected before.
Around that same time, I also started hearing the old idea that “older women shouldn’t have long hair.” But the funny thing is, I’ve actually found the opposite to be true for me. The longer my hair has gotten, the easier it is in many ways. I can wear it down, braid it, twist it into a bun, pull it back into a ponytail or pigtails, pin it to the side, or just let it be like in the photo I shared. It’s flexible in a way short hair never quite was for me.
It’s definitely thinner now than it was when I was younger, and I do what I can to care for it—things like biotin shampoo and gentle routines to help strengthen it. But I’ve also reached a point where I’ve stopped trying to force it into something it’s not.
I was actually thinking about all of this while watching I Am Woman recently. There was something in it that made me pause and reflect on how much of our identity gets tied up in appearance, especially for women.
And I think I’ve landed here: I’ve surrendered to long hair for now—not as a compromise, but as a choice that works for me today.
Because in the end, I really do believe this—women should wear their hair exactly the way they want to.