Your hairstyle can dramatically impact how old you look. While some cuts and styles might seem trendy or comfortable, they could actually be adding years to your appearance without you realizing it. Understanding which hairstyles might be aging you can help you make better choices for a more youthful look.
1. Outdated Heavy Bangs
Thick, blunt-cut bangs that hang heavily across the forehead often create shadows that highlight wrinkles. They can make your face appear droopy rather than lifted.
Wispy, side-swept bangs offer a more flattering alternative that draws attention away from forehead lines while maintaining a youthful vibe.
2. One-Length Bob
A sharply cut, one-length bob without layers can create a helmet-like effect around your face. This rigid shape emphasizes jawline sagging and neck wrinkles.
Bobs need movement and texture to look modern! Adding subtle layers softens the overall appearance and brings life back to this classic cut.
3. Overgrown Roots
Dark roots growing out from lighter hair scream “I’ve neglected my hair care routine.” This stark contrast draws attention to your roots rather than your beautiful features.
Regular touch-ups or opting for balayage techniques create a more deliberate, maintained look that appears intentional rather than forgotten.
4. Severe Center Part
A harsh, straight-down-the-middle part creates symmetry that actually highlights facial asymmetries that develop with age. It can make thinning hair more noticeable too.
Slightly off-center or diagonal parts create visual interest and can disguise areas where hair might be thinning, instantly providing a more youthful appearance.
5. Outdated Layered Look
Those choppy, heavily layered cuts popular in the early 2000s instantly date your appearance. Short, spiky layers around the crown scream “soccer mom from 2005.”
Modern layers should be longer, more blended, and create movement rather than choppiness. Think soft transitions rather than obvious steps in length.
6. The Super-Tight Ponytail
Pulling your hair back into a severe, tight ponytail creates tension that emphasizes fine lines around your eyes and forehead. It creates an instant face-lift effect—in the wrong direction!
Looser styles with gentle volume around the face soften your features and provide a more relaxed, youthful appearance.
7. Super Short Pixie
Very short, boyish pixie cuts can emphasize facial fullness and neck wrinkles that come with age. Without softness around the face, every contour becomes more prominent.
Adding longer pieces around the face or textured layers on top creates softness that’s much more flattering for mature faces.
8. The Perfect Pageboy
Remember those rounded-under pageboy bobs? They’re unmistakably dated. The uniform curve under the chin creates a helmet-like shape that ages your overall look.
Modern bobs have movement and texture, with ends that may flip out, curve under slightly, or simply fall naturally without forced styling.
9. Excessive Teasing and Backcombing
Big hair achieved through aggressive teasing screams “stuck in the 80s.” Overly teased styles not only damage hair but also look outdated and artificial.
Modern volume comes from layered cuts, volumizing products, and proper blow-drying techniques—not from creating a rat’s nest underneath the surface!
10. The Perfect Blowout
Those perfectly rounded, super-smooth blowouts beloved by politicians’ wives often look too controlled and matronly. The uniformity and stiffness read as unnecessarily formal and aging.
Hair with some natural movement and texture appears more youthful. Even luxury blowouts now incorporate casual waves or textured ends.
11. Ignoring Gray Coverage
Patchy, inconsistent gray coverage creates a spotted effect that draws attention to your hair for all the wrong reasons. Poorly covered grays look neglected rather than intentional.
Either embrace your grays fully with proper silver-enhancing products, or maintain consistent color coverage with regular touch-ups. Commitment is key!
12. The Over-Processed Perm
Tight, uniform curls from traditional perms create a dated look reminiscent of the 80s and 90s. That “poodle perm” texture instantly adds years to your appearance.
Modern perms create looser, more natural-looking waves that move. Today’s techniques focus on creating texture, not uniform curls from root to tip.
13. Too-Long Straight Hair
Extremely long, straight hair without layers or shape can drag down your features as you age. Hair that hangs limply past your shoulders creates a heavy, aging effect.
Adding face-framing layers and keeping length at or above the collarbone lifts your features. Movement and shape are more important than length!
14. Harsh Highlights
Chunky, stripy highlights create a stark, unnatural contrast that instantly dates your look. Those thick, alternating light-dark stripes were trendy in the early 2000s.
Modern highlighting techniques like balayage or babylights create subtle dimension that mimics how hair naturally lightens. The effect should be sun-kissed, not zebra-inspired!
15. The Perfect Coif
That perfectly set, never-moves hairstyle beloved by grandmothers everywhere screams “senior citizen.” Hair that’s sprayed into submission looks artificial and aging.
Modern styles embrace some movement and natural texture. Even formal styles now incorporate softness around the face rather than helmet-like perfection.