Choosing the right hairstyle after 70 isn’t just about looking trendy—it’s about finding that perfect balance between style, comfort, and age-appropriateness. As a stylist with 25 years of experience, I’ve seen firsthand how the wrong cut can add years to a beautiful face. Let me share the hairstyles to avoid and the common mistakes that might be aging you more than your birth certificate does!
1. Super-Short Pixie That’s Too Boyish
Honey, there’s short and then there’s ‘I let my grandson practice with scissors’ short! While pixies can be fabulous, an overly masculine cut strips away softness around your face.
Those harsh lines emphasize every angle and wrinkle instead of celebrating your feminine charm. Keep some length on top for movement and style!
2. Stick-Straight Long Hair
Though I admire your dedication to maintaining lengthy locks, poker-straight hair hanging past your shoulders creates a dragging effect on mature features. Gravity’s already doing enough work, darling!
Without layers or movement, this style emphasizes thinning and draws attention to neck wrinkles rather than your gorgeous smile.
3. The Helmet Bob
Ah, the infamous helmet! Nothing screams ‘I’ve given up’ quite like that solid dome of immovable hair sprayed within an inch of its life.
Where most stylists see hair as fabric that should move and breathe, this rigid style seems determined to withstand a hurricane. Softer lines and gentle movement would serve you so much better!
4. Tight Poodle Perms
If your hair resembles a poodle’s coat after a trip to the groomer, we need to talk! Those tight, uniform curls aren’t doing your beautiful face any favors.
The dated, overly processed look adds years and screams 1985 called and wants its hairstyle back. Modern, looser waves create a much more youthful, natural appearance.
5. The Wedge Cut
While some women looked adorable with this triangular cut in the 70s, carrying this style into your 70s is a different story altogether!
The severe angles and heavy stacking at the back create a dated silhouette that emphasizes jowls and neck concerns. Softer graduation would flatter your features much more gracefully.
6. Blunt, Heavy Bangs
Whoever told you that thick, straight-across bangs would hide forehead wrinkles was not your friend! Instead of concealing, they’ve created a harsh frame that draws more attention to aging concerns.
Heavy bangs also emphasize thinning hair elsewhere. Side-swept or wispy fringe would soften your features beautifully instead.
7. The Mullet Comeback
Business in front, party in back? More like confusion all around! Though this style has made a trendy comeback with the younger crowd, on mature women it’s simply unflattering.
The disconnected lengths create visual chaos instead of the harmony your features deserve. Let’s leave this one to the teenagers and rock stars, shall we?
8. Ultra-Thin Wispy Layers
Honey, when your hair already battles thinning, cutting it into whisper-thin layers is like bringing a feather to a sword fight! These insubstantial wisps only emphasize what’s not there.
Instead of creating the illusion of fullness, they highlight every sparse patch. Moderate, strategic layers would give you the volume you’re seeking.
9. The Short Pageboy
Nothing announces ‘I haven’t updated my look since the 1960s’ quite like a pageboy with perfectly rolled-under ends! This dated style creates a heavy, uniform curtain around your face.
The lack of movement and rigid structure emphasizes rather than softens aging features. Your gorgeous face deserves a more modern frame!
10. The Severe Center Part
While Gen Z might rock a middle part with confidence, after 70 this unforgiving style tends to create symmetry where we might prefer some strategic distraction!
A harsh center part draws the eye directly to any facial asymmetry that comes with aging. A soft side part or gentle off-center parting would be infinitely more flattering.
11. The Overgrown Shag
Though Stevie Nicks made this look iconic, an overgrown, shapeless shag on mature women often resembles neglect rather than bohemian chic. Without proper shaping, these random layers can look messy rather than purposeful.
The excessive volume around the face tends to overwhelm delicate features instead of enhancing them.
12. The Overly Teased Crown
Higher is not always better, darling! That 1960s bouffant with enough hairspray to deplete the ozone layer isn’t fooling anyone about your height or your age.
Excessive teasing damages already fragile hair and creates an artificial silhouette that screams ‘dated.’ Gentle volume at the crown? Lovely. A beehive? Let’s leave that to the actual bees!
13. The Wash-and-Go Gray
Embracing your gray is beautiful, but surrendering to an unkempt, shapeless cut is quite another matter! Natural gray deserves proper styling to look intentional rather than neglected.
Without regular trims and some thoughtful shaping, even the most gorgeous silver strands can look dull and aging. Your silver crown deserves royal treatment!
14. MISTAKE: Choosing Harsh Black Hair Dye
Oh honey, that jet-black box dye might cover the gray, but it’s highlighting every line on your beautiful face! Severe black creates harsh contrast against mature skin that naturally loses pigmentation.
The unnatural darkness creates a mask-like effect rather than a youthful glow. Softer browns or dimensional grays would complement your complexion so much better.
15. MISTAKE: Neglecting Conditioning Treatments
If your hair feels like you could strike a match on it, we’ve got problems! Mature hair needs moisture like desert needs rain, yet I see so many women skipping deep conditioning.
Dry, brittle strands age you faster than any wrinkle. Regular hydrating treatments transform straw-like texture into silky strands that reflect light beautifully.
16. MISTAKE: Over-Processing With Heat Tools
That flat iron might have been your best friend in your 40s, but now it’s betraying you like a gossipy neighbor! Excessive heat styling strips mature hair of precious moisture and elasticity.
The resulting damage creates frizz and breakage that ages you instantly. Embracing more air-dried styles with strategic heat-styling would preserve your hair’s vitality.