While helping a client the other day, I remembered that she has been coming to see me for twelve years. When she sat down, she told me, “I feel like everyone expects me to cut it short now that I’m older, and I just don’t want to.” I seem to hear some version of that all the time. I have no idea when or how the custom of saying this to people after a certain age started, it’s ridiculous.
Hair that is styled properly, even long hair, can look great on women over 70. I don’t mean styling that will require hours of work each day, or a lot of time spent maintaining the look. I mean getting some good layering cut in, the right texturing, and some strategic highlights that work with your skin and not against it. Some of the most beautiful hair I’ve been lucky enough to work with in my career were on women in their 70s who just refused to stop growing it and trusted the process. Being able to say that hair belongs to you is an expression of your personality and hair that you truly love shouldn’t feel like a chore. All of these looks embody that very idea.
#1: Long Layers with Soft Face-Framing Highlights
I always love doing this type of cut! The way the layers move is amazing and the face-framing highlights give that little extra pop! The color work here is so nice, refreshing, and easy. It is not overdone and just brightens the hair around the face allowing the longer pieces to show. This type of layering is ideal if you have medium or finer hair as it allows for movement without roughing up the ends too much. Just a little advice, you will need to stay on a regular trim schedule. Long layers can look tired if that means to open up the ends.
#2 Loose Bun with Soft Face-Framing Pieces
What I adore about this style is how it looks like she simply twisted her hair. And that’s absolutely on brief. The face-framing layers give a lot of softness, and relax the whole look even if the hair is tied back. This style is great if you have fine or medium density hair as it won’t pull everything down as tight a bun would. Just a little texturing spray before you twist it, and some scrunching is all you need to do, so don’t think too much about it.
#3 Half-Up Style with a Decorative Clip
When I’m styling longer silver hair, I enjoy doing a half-up look. It gives me such an effortless yet pulled together vibe. The waves look so natural, and the clip adds just enough to the look without it being too much. This is a great option for those with thick hair because it provides a nice amount of volume at the back while keeping everything off your face. The color is perfection in the light, and it looks much more beautiful at this length than it would if it were shorter.
#4 Long Layers with Warmth and a Little Tousle
The first thing I notice about this one is that the texture gives it personality. It’s not trying to look perfectly smooth. There’s some tousle through the layers that makes it look like real hair that someone actually lives in. I prefer this to someone to hair that looks like it just came out of a salon photoshoot The highlights bring some warmth that is really flattering especially if your skin has started to lean a little more cool-toned as you gotten older You do need to stay on top of trims with this cut though because those layered ends will split if you let them go too long.
#5 Sleek Long Hair with a Headband
I think the hairstyle is simple, but having a simple hairstyle doesn’t mean you look bad. The look of the hairstyle is very clean and slightly shiny. The headband makes the hairstyle look nice and keeps the look put together. The headband look best The hairstyle best look headband the look When the hair is naturally a little straight. If you have a lot of textured hair that you need to fight with to get it smooth and straight to get it looking like it does in the picture this hairstyle, it’s probably not worth the effort, but if you’re straight hair this hair style is one of the styles that you can do in about 5 minutes and look polished all day.
#6 Long Waves with a Decorative Clip
This hairstyle does a great job of showing off wave patterns! I’ve also added a clip with the style included. The outer layers should be medium to thick so that the curl doesn’t get pulled as a result of fine layers at the ends. All in all, this is a really nice style if it is done correctly.
#7 Gentle Layers That Frame the Face
This haircut has great potential to look unique on each person. The soft layers bring gentle dimension to the face without creating any harsh lines. The versatility of this style is also fantastic; you can wear it to lunch and out for dinner afterward and it will suit the vibe at both places. This style is also a great option for thicker hair since it will remove some weight while still keeping a good amount of length.
#8 Long Layers with Warm Waves
I can appreciate what the warm tones are doing here. It adds ample richness to the entire ensemble and shows that the effort was deliberate. It is also very nice to see how the layers fall around the face. They are unstructured enough and show a softness to the look that I think is very complimentary to more mature skin. If you still do color touches on your hair, or even do a gloss, those warm tones should help it all look a lot healthier. Given the amplitude of the waves, I would say you could easily achieve them with a large barrel curling iron and a bit of brush work.
#9 Half-Up with Gentle Silver Waves
I enjoy hairstyles that are practical and allow you to show off your length while getting it out of your face. Silver hair can look quite contemporary and, as these pictures illustrate, I think many women with grey hair tend to underestimate this. Wavy hair looks so carefree, it’s almost like she woke up and braided her hair and then unbraided it. If your hair is fine you may need to do some teasing in the half up portion to avoid it looking flat. Aside from that, this style requires almost no effort compared to how beautiful it is.
#10 Layered Waves with Soft Highlights
Layers and waves give a great illusion and show off the highlights really well. The additional dimension from the waves and the light bouncing off the highlights is great. If you have fine or medium hair this will work great. It will give you the illusion of a lot more hair. Make sure, if you plan on wearing your hair this way often, you get a good heat protectant. Your hair will dry out a lot if you don’t, and if your hair is already mature it’s even more fragile.
#11 Long Face-Framing Layers, Kept Simple
When I compliment a cut, it’s because the best ones blend in. It’s clearly a good haircut, and the layers are meant to create movement and frame the face without being too face. It gives off the impression that someone could look at you and think “she looks really great”, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, and that is usually the definitive mark of a great cut. It would be good to have a hydrating serum here as it would help keep it all smooth and shiny, just a little through the ends.
#12 Classic Long Layers with Silver Highlights
I have to say that while I’ve been even more excited about other options, this one does have a certain simple and dependable vibe that I appreciate. The cuts are nice and the movement created by the silver accents is fresh and modern. The timelessness of this look means that you won’t regret any throwback photos. If you want to look polished but want to take the more understated route with your hair, this is such an easy and lovely option.
#13 Long Flowing Waves with Natural Volume
I love the volume in this style and how natural it looks! With medium to thick hair, when you let it wave like this it creates a soft look that isn’t too heavy. The aim here is to keep it product free and let the waves form naturally. Everything beyond encouraging the waves and letting them be is excess. For styles like this a gloss treatment every few weeks is really important for shine. It can especially make or break this style.
#14 Long Textured Hair with Soft Waves
This looks like that careless “I woke up like this” look, which as we all know, no one ever just really wakes up like this. What is going on here is that the waves are just a little bit lifted the layers are just enough to provide some texture to keep it interesting. If you have thinner hair this look is ideal for you! This is a perfect style because you don’t have to do a lot of work, you are really just enhancing your natural hair. The soft color of the hair is either natural, or a very light highlight, either way, it looks very natural.
#15 Soft Waves with Subtle Highlights
I really admire the placement of the highlights. They frame the face and go through the mid lengths and just… glow. This is the type of work that separates good colorists from great colorists. It’s not about being daring and avant garde, it’s about looking like the best version of your natural color. Soft waves and a silky texture is a combination that looks great in real life and photographs really well too, so it’s always one of my go-tos. There’s not much more to say on this one, it is just pretty and really well done.
#16 Silver Layers with Soft Bangs
I think getting bangs is exciting. They completely change the whole look of your hair. Softer layers are not as bold as what bangs do. The silver color is awesome. It’s a bright, almost radiant silver. The silver combined with the layers creates an elegant silhouette which shows a great balance. It takes a lot of commitment to get bangs because they have to be trimmed every 3-4 weeks, otherwise they get shaggy and cover your eyes. If you don’t like to visit the salon frequently, then this most likely isn’t the look for you. If you do not mind the commitment, then it will be stunning.
#17 Silver Layers with Soft Movement
This look is very clean and highlights the strands perfectly. The understated layers create movement and prevent the cut from appearing too dramatic or chunky. For finer hair, this is an ideal cut as it creates an aesthetically pleasing shape without removing a lot of bulk. I believe the styling here is minimal and likely involves a simple round brush blowout, which is a good thing because it means you won’t be spending a ton of time each morning attempting to recreate this look.
#18 Long Waves with Volume and Highlights
I can feel the fullness and richness throughout. The waves give body from top to bottom and the highlights are dimensional. If you have gray/silver hairs coming in and want to work with it instead of cover it up, this is a great technique as the blend beautifully. There is a significant amount of volume though. This is not a wash and go hairstyle, you will need to spend some time with a hair dryer and likely a round brush to achieve this much body. But the end result is pretty undeniable.
#19 Long Layers with Silver Highlights, Straight and Smooth
Straight hair with silver highlights is a bit of a gamble. But, layering the cut adds a bit of movement (and flow), which is great. Thin, silver highlights in front of the face even help give a more healthy and put-together appearance, which is a bonus. This cut will look the best right after a blowout, but, it will become more relaxed and casual day by day, which is how people wear their hair most anyway. Plus, it probably won’t take more than a couple of days to get there.
#20 Sleek Silver Long Hair
Straightening your hair makes it look good but is time consuming and it showcases all of your imperfections. When your hair is frizzy, the ends are split, or portions are dry, straightened hair makes those flaws more visible. You do need to ensure your hair is in good condition overall, especially to create more sleek and classier looks to pull it off, which is certainly possible. The trim you got won’t be visible for the next few weeks, and it will eventually look scraggly if you do not keep up with things. If you need to pull off a more polished look, ensure you are using quality hair products and are up to date on trims, of course, as that is more work, but straight hair is a stunning look.
#21 Glossy Layers with Face-Framing Bangs
I love how shiny and healthy all the strands look, and the face framing bangs give the look some softness and really do blend nicely with the layers. If you’re straight and shiny naturally, this is the cut that will show it off. The layers add tons of movement and a soft divider look, which is good because that can really drag down your face as you get older.
#22 Silvery Long Layers with an Airy Feel
The hairstyle is effortless and not overdone. The hair is beautiful and healthy. The silvery hue is bright and with the right amount of layered texture the hair will move nicely. If you have gray hair and want to wear your hair long without it looking unkept and witchy this is the way to do it. It is simple, clean and really pretty.
#23 Cascading Waves with Dimension
Given the soft and natural waves, this hairstyle is very friendly, and approachable- the sort of person you’d want to sit next to at a dinner party. With easy to manage, effortless style, this cut offers a good balance of versatility and ease, and would work well on most face shapes.
You could also dress it up with some styling, or – if you’re feeling more messy – leave it in a looser style; either way, this cut would look fantastic, and would look even better with some highlights to really add some depth and dimension.
#24 Silver Waves with Soft Body
The waves look so effortless and the silver tones are so modern yet timeless. Many women with longer grey hair feel like it can look dated, but this style doesn’t have that problem. This has enough volume in the hair to give it life but it isn’t puffed or overdone. I also like the length, it’s long but it’s not so long that it becomes impractical. If you’ve been thinking about letting your grey grow out and keeping the length, this is a great photo to show your stylist.
#25 Silver Layers with Soft Blunt Bangs
I admire the long silver hair and the blunt bangs. It takes a lot of confidence to own a more unique style. The bangs give an editorial and more modern touch, something we usually don’t see on women over 70 which makes it more interesting. The rest of the layers are nice because they bring a sense of balance and keep the bangs from being too overwhelming. I do have to point out that bangs are very high maintenance! They have to be styled every day and trimmed every 2 weeks so if that seems like too much, you could always start with the layers and see how far you want to go! However, if you’re all for it, that style is definitely worth it!
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