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Ready to try something new with your hair? Find dozens of hairstyles for women over 50 in our photo guide, plus learn a few key styling tips that can make you look younger. Let’s dive in!
Looking for Hairstyles for Women Over 50?
When it’s time for an update, your hairstyle is one of the most noticeable changes you can make. For women over 50, the way you cut, color, and style your hair is important.
The wrong choice can add years to your face, but the right one will flatter your best features, slim your face, and brighten your look.
In this guide, we rounded up 30 of the best hairstyles for women over 50. These styles range from ultra-short to medium-long in length, so no matter your length preference, there’s a style here you’ll love.
We made sure to look for styles that can fit various hair types and textures, from baby-fine hair that won’t hold a curl to coarse, curly locks that tend to frizz (and we’ve got tips to nix the frizz, too).
Most importantly, we wanted to look for hairstyles that perfectly suit women over 50.
This means bringing in the most flattering elements from current trends and blending them with classic, tried-and-true styles that won’t have you feeling like you’re pretending to be 20. Ready? So are we.
30 Hairstyles for Women Over 50
We found cuts, colors, and styles that are just perfect for women 50+. See which ones you like best in the photos below!
1. Layered Lob
You’ll find that a medium-length lob is one of the most versatile styles there are for women over 50. Add in some long layers that begin around the chin to remove weight from the ends and make this style flattering for round, square, oval, or heart faces.
2. Braided Low Bun
Low buns are a staple style for last-minute plans or days when your hair won’t cooperate. Adding a braid to the bun makes it more fun! Secure with bobby pins for a style that won’t budge.
3. Chin-Length Bob With Side Swept Bangs
This fun and flirty style is low maintenance and gorgeous on any face shape. Light colors like this white-blonde can take years off your face.
4. Curly Crop
Curly-haired ladies, keeping the length short makes styling so much easier! Leave just enough length to allow your natural curls to fully form, and use a dab of your favorite curl cream to hold the shape. Touch it up with a curling iron if needed!
Read Next: Best Products for Curly Hair
5. Wavy Long Pixie
The pixie cut might be one of our favorites for women over 50, and this slightly longer version nails it. The back and sides are nice and short to keep you cool, while the top is long enough to showcase any natural wave or curl in your hair.
6. Salt and Pepper Bob With Bangs
When gray and brown meet, you get this pretty salt and pepper look that adds dimension to your color. And we love how cute accessories like these rounded glasses can make you look more youthful!
7. Silver Short Shag
This one is great for women who don’t mind spending some time styling in the mornings. A short shag has many layers to help create that rise in volume on the top of the head. In a natural silver color, it’s perfect for women over 50.
Read Next: Short Shag Haircuts
8. Shoulder-Length Lob With Piece-y Bangs
A shoulder-length lob can visually lengthen the face (perfect for round or square faces). It hits at a flattering point on the shoulders to make the neck and face appear slimmer.
9. Chin-Length Bob With Full Fringe
Bangs are one of the best ways to instantly look younger, and they look great with this short style. The model’s natural gray color perfectly complements a chic chin-length bob.
10. Short Feathered Crop
If you love the Farrah Fawcett look, this short feathered crop will be right up your alley! Short layers are cut in the front, then curled away from the face and set with a little hairspray.
11. Casual Lob With Split Bangs
Bangs can make you look younger, and with a little split in the middle like this, the effect is intensified. Keep things casual with your air-dried texture.
Read Next: Curtain Bang Inspiration
12. Side French Braid
If you’re growing out bangs or long layers around your face, pulling them to the side and securing in a French braid is a pretty option. This style takes only a few minutes to do, and you can secure it with a pretty barrette for an added boost!
13. Twin Twists With Barrette
These double twists are easy to do and work for almost any hair length and type. Accessorize with your favorite barrette to make this style a little more fun.
14. Long Waves With Middle Part
You’ll be turning heads and have people convinced you’re years younger with a trendy style like this. Long face-framing layers are softened with curls around the front for a flattering style.
15. Wrapped Ponytail
Take your ponytail style from gym-worthy to gala-worthy with one simple trick: Wrap a strand of your hair around the elastic a few times and secure it with a bobby pin.
16. Half-Back Curls
Steal the show with pretty curls that add vibrance and movement to your hairstyle. Secure half of the hair with bobby pins at the back of the head to achieve this look.
17. The Cougar Lob
Dress up a basic long bob with a full fringe and wispy, layered ends that curve inward to flatter your neck and face. We love the blonde, but any color would look beautiful in this style.
18. Stylish Quiff
When you have a super-short haircut, leaving a longer section on the top is called a quiff. You can style it to fit your mood for the day – hot rolled, curled, straight, slicked-back, or parted to the side!
19. Long Glamour Waves
This is a style that lets everyone know you: A) Still got it and B) Aren’t getting rid of it anytime soon. It works for any hair texture (fine, medium, or coarse).
20. Twisted Messy Low Bun
Perfect for formal events, this twisted messy low bun keeps your locks secured. It has a casual twist thanks to the tousled loose strands in the bun.
21. Curled-Under Bob
If you’re not a fan of pin-straight bobs, try a bob with the ends curled under. This little tuck in the ends changes the look and pairs perfectly with lots of layers and a salt-and-pepper natural gray.
Read Next: What Is a Lob Haircut?
22. Long Blowout Style
A good blowout gives you tons of body and volume appropriate for daily wear or special events. Master an at-home blowout with the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer, or visit a salon for an effortless style.
23. Layered Natural Curls
If you don’t have a stylist that specializes in cutting curly hair, get one! Adding layers to naturally curly hair really lets the curl pop and adds volume where you want it.
24. Low Half-Up Style
Gathering sections from the front and pulling them together at the back for a low half-up style is sure to be one of your go-to styles. Kick it up a notch by adding dry shampoo or volumizing powder to your hair before securing in a half-up ‘do.
25. Blonde Side-Swept Crop
Softness creates a youthful look in any hairstyle, and we love how the bangs gently swoop across the forehead to melt the years away. If you have a round face, letting the longer face-framing pieces hit at the cheekbones will slim it up.
26. Bob With Flipped-Out Ends
This low-key style is a basic chin-length bob haircut with the ends flipped out for a fun twist. You can use a round brush and hair dryer or a curling iron to achieve this effect.
27. Spunky Spiral Curls
Spiral curls give off that Marilyn Monroe vibe, especially in light blonde, gray, or silver tones. Use a small curling iron to create symmetrical curls that curve in the same direction for this style.
28. Sleek Bob & Trendy Hat
For days when you’re not sure how to style your hair, a trendy accessory can be the key! Throw on a hat over your sleek bob for a youthful touch.
29. Short Brunette Crop
We love this style for women with fine or thin hair because it’s sleek and doesn’t require much volume and body. The deep brunette shade perfectly suits this style!
30. Chic Pixie Crop
If you’ve always been drawn to chic, modern hairstyles, this ultra-short pixie crop is perfect for your 50s and beyond. Younger women are spending hundreds to get this natural silver color!
5 Hairstyle Tweaks to Look Younger
The styles above are a great start, but did you know that there are a few ways to tweak any hairstyle to make you look younger? Give some of these tips a try to take years off your face.
- Try bangs. Bangs can always turn back the clock! Any type of fringe will perfectly frame your face, hide forehead wrinkles, and give you that youthful glow you’re after. Choose a straight-across wispy style, blunt bangs, soft side-swept bangs, or choppy layered bangs to update your look.
- Avoid too-dark hair dye. Dying your hair dark to cover grays is tempting, but the experts say you’re better off going lighter instead. Dark hair can age you dramatically, especially if you have very fair skin. If you’re naturally dark-haired, you can try adding in some highlights to brighten up your face.
- Add in some layers. Stylists recommend getting layers as you get older to restore some of that luscious volume and give your hair more movement. Layers can make you look younger by giving your hair additional volume and framing your face at flattering points.
- Embrace your gray. You might consider gray something that gives away your age, but gray and silver tones are so popular right now. With the right haircut, gray won’t age you. If you’re going gray or are already fully gray, now may be the time to stop coloring and start embracing your sparkling silver tone!
- Add volume and body. Most “youthful” hairstyles are full of body and volume. Something about the illusion of dense, thick hair equates with youth. So take advantage of that and work extra body and volume in! You can use volumizing shampoo, texturizing mousse, big waves, dry shampoo, and layered styles to do this.
Hairstyles for women over 50 don’t have to be boring or predictable. Switch things up by opting for fun, flirty, and voluminous styles.
The styles in our guide mirror current trends while incorporating age-reversing tactics like bangs, light colors, natural gray, layers, and tons of body and volume.
You’ll look so good with these 50+ styles, you just might find yourself getting carded next time you order a glass of wine!