Oh boy. Hair is hard, y’all. There’s so many styles, cuts, and colors to choose from. And if you get it wrong, you have to live with it for a long time.
So what style suits you best? What look do you want to rock? And what if you end up with a cut that makes you look older than you are? Well, if you like it, then that doesn’t matter. Live your best life, dude.
But if you’re not into it, here’s a couple mistakes you can avoid.
Never changing up your look
An easy way to age you is to just…never change your hair.
For the record, I never change my hair, so we’ll just look “old” together. Changing the length or color definitely helps freshen things up, though.
Growing it way too long
Wow, I also have done this. Guys, I might be old? Anyway. Gorgeous, long locks are always #hairgoals, but I think we all know that there is such a thing as hair that is too long. Even Rapunzel took that advice.
Hitting a trend a few years late.
Dyeing your hair in an outdated, “trendy” way is a surefire way to look older.
However, as we all know, trends go in and out of fashion, so honestly…do whatever you want. (With apologies to @grav3yardgirl, who did not deserve this roast but who has the exact hair I wanted in the early 2000s.)
Going grey the wrong way
Grey and silver hair is all the rage right now, but wow does it have to be done right.
Grey hair needs dimension in order to not look flat—and it can’t be too dark or green.
Dyeing your hair too dark
Skintone can help dictate what hair color looks best on you.
If you have very fair skin, dyeing your hair jet black will bring your face down and make your features shrink.
Not trimming your ends
I know it’s annoying, but it has to be done.
Dry, split hair automatically ages you, and it looks fried as hell. Stop into your hairstylist for a quick trim every once in a blue moon.
Don’t be me and trim your own split ends.
Not adding dimension
Even DIY color needs dimension. Look for colors that aren’t flat orr monochromatic.
Real hair isn’t all one shade, so your boxed look shouldn’t be, either!
That’ll age you for sure.
Chunky streaks
Please. For the love of God.
Don’t let you or your hairstylist give you chunky monkey streaks.
Not only does it look unnatural, it looks so dated. Get some texture or balayage into your life.
Parting your hair straight down the middle
A harsh middle part can frame your face in very unflattering ways.
Figure out what kind of face shape you have, then experiment with which part you like best. Chances are, the middle part is too harsh.
Bang style
Slippery slope, fam.
While bangs can be gorgeous and flattering, they can also age you. I mean, age you in that the bang style could have come right out of the 80s.
We all know what bang style I mean.
Hair that is pageant big
Big hair is good…giant hair is bad.
If your hair has the potential to create its own orbit, or there’s more hairspray in it than in the musical Hairspray, it might be time to put down the teaser.
(The only exception to this rule: drag queens and Dolly Parton.)
Hair flatter than the prairies
There’s too much teasing…and then there’s none. If your hair is flat to your head or hanging limply around your face, it may be creating shadows or pulling your features downward.
Layers may help, or just a tiny bit of hairspray for volume.
The talk to the manager haircut
We all know this haircut.
We’ve met this haircut.
Don’t get this haircut…unless you want to become a living, breathing meme to your friends and family. Looking at you, Kate Gosselin.
Not using the right shampoo
As you age, your hair has different needs. If your hair is starting to grey — or you’ve dyed it grey — you’re going to need a toning shampoo to keep brassiness from creeping into your gorgeous color.
Keep it healthy
Whether your hair is dry, normal, or oily, it has unique needs. Not dealing with them can make your hair look unkempt, which is a surefire way to age up—and not in a good way, like in The Sims.
Keep it healthy: dry hair
Regular split end trims and hair masks are going to be your best friends. Find moisturizing conditioners and use leave-in sprays, like It’s a 10 (maybe I use it and maybe it’s a miracle).
Keep it healthy: oily hair
Frequent washing (no more than once a day), gentle scalp massaging (no nails), and conditioning just the ends of your hair go a long way to helping solve oily hair problems.
There’s always the universal savior, dry shampoo, as well.
Bad hair day solutions
For those days when it just isn’t happening, here’s a bunch of tips to keep your hair under control and help it chill out while you get through your day (or catch up on some articles, am I right?).
First up: a hat, dudes. The universal fix-it.
Braids all the way
Is your hair just not having it? Braid it and go, simple as that. If you’re bored on the internet at 2AM one night, you can also teach yourself how to do different types of braids, like fishtail or multi-strand ones.
High pony
Ariana Grande didn’t invent ponytails (duh), but she did help make the super high pony cute again.
A simple brush through your hair and a hair elastic, and you’re good to go. For an extra flourish, find a cool elastic clasp.
Messy bun it
My preferred form of “I don’t care about my hair today and it doesn’t care about me,” style is a messy bun. There are endless tutorials about how to do stylized ones, so you can check those out instead of bunching your hair up in a little nest and then throwing an elastic around it.
Half-up, half down
So, say you want cute hair, but you only want to put half the effort in. Man, I have great news for you—you can quit styling your hair halfway through. Just throw the rest up and call it a day.
Throw a headband on
Bangs being difficult? Hair greasy? Just need to get all that stuff away from your face? Find a cute headband and make it look like you did your whole look on purpose.
Make Princess Leia proud
Some call it the Sailor Moon, some call it the Mickey Mouse. I call it the Princess Leia, and I think we all know why.
Simply twist your hair into two little buns and secure with bobby pins, hair elastics, or scrunchies.
