Hair Envy: How to have that perfect long hair as you age.

The last few years have seen the confident breakage of many strict “rules” for style… pretty much, think of every style “rule” you’ve ever heard, and I can show you a fashionista who has broken it glamorously in the last 24 months. People started wearing white jeans in December, white shoes before Easter, fringe bangs that are no longer perfectly straight but carelessly unkempt, hats indoors, pairing navy with black, tennishoes with couture gowns… And long, sexy hair well past age 40. And not just for J.Lo and Julianne Moore.

When done right, long hair in your 40s can make you look healthy, vibrant, comfortable in your own skin, and youthful.

There is still a bad way to do this, don’t get me wrong. We’re going to address the trouble spots here, and show you how to outsmart them all.

You’ll need a good, savvy stylist, as well as an armory of the best products to keep you from just chopping it all off in desperation. We have gushed before about the UNITE hair products used and sold by the stylists at Blo, the Blow Dry Bar on Selwyn. Jo Cowan (owner and Franchise Partner of Blo Charlotte) helped us find some products that are specifically targeted to the top trouble spots for 40 year old hair.

What are the trouble spots? Lets begin!

1. THE CUT – aka How Not to Look Like a Skinny Witch.

Take Emmanuelle Alt, for instance.

You’ll notice that her hair isn’t all one length. In fact, none of the women who successfully wear their hair long into their 40s have one-dimensional hair. You need texture and updated face-framing, especially if you are thin.

If you are keeping yourself as Parisian Chic Thin as the Editor-in-Chief of Paris VOGUE, you probably have realized that this has its downsides… your face becomes more gaunt and drawn with the combination of age and skinniness.

Jo adds that volume is key in steering you well away from a drawn, pinched look from being thin with longer hair. Her recommendations are the Volumizing Shampoo + Conditioner, to be used with the Expanda Volume Spray and Dust for crazy good pop.

* To get a better understanding of the insane technology behind these products, you really need to stop into Blo to see it demonstrated. The EXPANDA is literally a fine dust of a powder that, when rubbed into your scalp, lifts the hair from the root!

“Poker-straight styles are too harsh,” says stylist Byron Williams, famous for his work with Demi Moore. Los Angeles stylist Chris McMillan advises parting hair on the side. “It will open up your entire face and give you a fresh, wide-awake look,” he says. via

Alt’s face-framing, piece-y look highlights all the right things – her lovely bone structure, firm chin… and none of the wrong things. And she doesn’t look like Rachel Green, either. Its a totally updated layered look.

2. The Color… Covering the greys while flattering a changing skintone.

Covering grey is tricky. Its best done with highlights like LSD’s, or a mix of single process AND occasional highlights. 

Its also good to keep in mind if you go blonde –  if your hair gets too ashy looking, it will wash you out (your complexion having lost a good bit of its rosiness of yore). But if it’s too brassy it will look harsh and unattractive.

The best option is to get it done at the salon, and to protect the color with a good toning shampoo. Especially as we’re getting into the summer months very quickly here! Nothing ruins that expensive color like the Carolina sun!

Jo has a reco for this as well.

“The shampoo is Blonda and it’s fabulous for protecting the cool tones and preventing the brassiness that can come with lighter hair. I absolutely love it.”

Which brings us to Problem Area 3…

3. The Texture… getting coarse from that perfect color?

The biggest challenge to making long hair look good in your 40s, is the health of that hair itself. Not only does your hair grow much more slowly as you age – meaning that hair at the bottom has seen more years of processing than it would’ve in your 20s! – but it also, most likely, has to be colored more frequently to keep the greys in check. This can mean a lot of dryness, and with that, tangling and thinning.

Jo says:

“Older hair tends to thin, and then tangle. The 7 sec detangler is my absolute go-to and by far our best selling product. It gets rid of tangles and is a gentle conditioner and powerful heat protector, which is necessary for thinner/older hair.”

Long hair that looks old will, shocker, make anyone look older by association. However, long hair that is lustrous, shiny, thick and bouncy will have a youthful, sexy, confidence-boosting effect on anyone!

Another good treatment for healing and protecting your hair’s texture is Argan Oil. UNITE’s Argan is exceptionally pure and concentrated. Much of the Argan Oil out there doesn’t have Argan listed as the first or even second ingredient! Not this stuff. It is powerful. 

4. Style… Not Your Daughter’s.

You want it to look fresh and modern. You definitely need a style that doesn’t belong in iCarly… because this will contrarily make you look dated. But this does not mean you need a Mom-Cut.

Both Sheryl and Teri are sporting layered cuts very similar to the one we started with on Emmanuelle Alt. Layered, piecey – but not shaggy. They fall nicely, and help the hair look thicker.

And they’re the perfect cuts with which to do the Holy Grail of Hair Styles this year:

The Beachy Wave.

Beachy waves are generally low maintenance – perfect for your days of back-to-back carpools and swim meets and soccer games, late nights at the office and early mornings at FlyWheel – and plus they are sexy as hell.

Youthful-looking with sophistication. Confidence with relaxed ease. Especially with the right products.

I personally own the Beach Day Spray from Blo. It is truly amazing.

A few scrunches always do the trick. If your hair needs a little extra help getting that piecey, tousled look, talk to one of the Blo stylists about a cream to mix it with (my hair girl calls this “Cocktailing”). A good cream is Conundrum:

Or you can also just use the Argan and 7 Seconds to add a dimension of moisture with the Beach Spray.

To get started on your best sexy hair for 40 and beyond, get your butt over to Blo to check out these products. And you can get the perfect wavy sultry blowout that will last for days while you’re there.