Long hair on older women

Yuk, I hate to see long grey straggly hair that looks like it has never had a comb through it. It is aging and unattractive.

I sometimes think women are hanging onto their youth when they don't do anything with their hair. The fear of looking their age if they get it cut - a bit like the bald man with the combover.

You see them in the supermarket with their hair caught up in a hairslide or a bobble (or both) like a child, and you know if they had it cut shorter into something trendy and smart that they can actually manage, those woman would feel so much better.

Get it cut, get it coloured and embrace life. Life's too short for living in the past.

IMHO

When I was younger I had long hair, but as I got older the long hair was not in keeping with the rest of me. I'm not a wild child any more, and neither is my hair.

Harsh, but food for thought! nonnie

Long straggly hair isn't a good look on anyone - it's not an age thing, nor to do with colour!

Define "straggly"

Oh, I can't argue any more. I never go anywhere so what does it matter if I look like Worzel Gummidge? I've given up. Spent too many hours when younger trying to look attractive and for what?? Sorry to seem self pitying

wot I love your hair

Mary Beard doesn't give a stuff how she looks. Good for her.

As to the rest of us....personally I prefer shorter hair on both young and older women. But it has to have volume and style, imho. Many women (particularly older ones) end up looking like Claire Balding.

Don't give up, Wot! We are expressing our individuality .... and I'm sure you must go SOMEWHERE!!!!

Yeah, Tescos, Lidls, the doctors and the local tip!
The park keeper [parkie] once called my friend and me "Bloody little individualists" because we where wearing no shoes and long, straggly hair! [1964]

Surely one advantage of being old is that we become invisible?

not if we have wild wizard hair!

Yes, we're only invisible until we look 'different' for some reason. Then we become figures of fun...

I think Clare Balding looks ok and prefer her hair to Judi's.

I have always said that, with few exceptions, hair does not grow old gracefully.

I think Judi Dench's hair looks great.
I admire Mary Beard for not bothering what people think, but I long to get scissors to her hair!

Funnily enough there's a couple of ladies I see who, recently, have let their hair grow longer. They've now both got shoulder length straggly hair. They both look so untidy and unkempt
One has slides in and it does look ridiculous, like I had when I was about 9!

Vanessa Redgraves hair looks so scraggly and unkempt. It also makes her look very old!! I know it's her business, but with all that money, surely she could at least avoid her hair looking so untidy and unattractive!

Just reading through the comments there's an awful lot about being 'attractive'. Attractive to whom? and why is that seen to be so important? Surely, at any age, our personality is the most important thing about us? It shouldn't matter to anyone how long our hair is, what colour, style or even how many times a day we (look in the mirror to) comb it! If we're happy in ourselves then that's all that matters imho. It does worry me that society is obsessed with looks.....

Attractive to ourselves. I don't feel good if my hair is all straggly.

Why do associate long with straggley? It ain't necessarily so.

Agree with you Wot - mine's long and the colours of the rainbow, but straggley/scraggly it ain't. It's like calling all short hair mowed.

So short hair enables you to look in the mirror and think "oh, I look attractive!"

All down to personal choice in the end. As long as we're not feeling pressured to look a certain way then it's all good. I don't think my longer hair could ever be described as straggly, still quite thick thank goodness. I wash it every day in the shower, comb through and leave it to dry naturally into waves. It's not what you would called 'styled' in the modern sense, as that's not my style but it's clean and shiny. Does anything else matter?

I think your comments are very fair, carol58.

It takes me a couple of minutes to get my short-ish freshly washed and blown dry hair to the stage of straggly that I want. A lot of finger twisting going on while using the hairdryer.

Only my opinion but I think that Clare Baldwin's hair looks old fashioned.