This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
I wish I could tell you that I had thick, glossy, titian curls. But I don’t. Mine is more of the very fine, straight, mouse-coloured variety. On a positive note, fine hair can be quicker to style as it doesn’t need much blow drying. However, it can be difficult to keep curls or natural-looking volume in place for any length of time. Worry not. If you are searching for good hairstyles for women over 50 with fine hair, I have a few tricks up my sleeve that work for me so I’d like to share them with you…
Styling Fine hair needs clever cutting and often looks best when short to medium length. Pixie crops look amazing if you have defined bone structure and often come high on a list of hairstyles for women over 50.
Or there is the universally flattering bob. I have had every length of bob going. It is the one style that every single hairdresser I have ever known recommends for fine hair.
If you like to wear your hair long, wear it up. You can add a hairpiece for more body, arrange it into a sleek and sophisticated chignon, or check out Annabel’s post on stylish hair accessories.
Get layers An all-one-length cut will weigh your hair down. Adding light layers will give your hair shape, texture and movement. However keep the ends of your hair blunt cut; this will make your whole head of hair look thicker than if the ends are wispy.
Fringe A fringe may be troublesome as it can go flat and, possibly, oily quite quickly. A wispy fringe may suit you and that’s great, but a thicker blunt cut fringe will make your hair look fuller.
Parting If you usually go with a middle parting, try switching to a side parting. Or, if you typically part it to one side, try the opposite side. Your hair gets stuck in the routine of falling in the same place every day, so changing up your parting will immediately give you some lift.
Highlights and lowlights When your hair is all the same colour, it appears thinner. Adding highlights/lowlights definitely adds dimension to your hair, making it look and feel thicker.
Condition your hair before you shampoo Conditioner is great because it makes your hair easier to comb through, but choose a volumising conditioner. Washing your hair in the reverse order can help with adding volume – or so a good friend of mine tells me. She uses Tresemmé’s Beauty-Full Volume reverse shampoo and conditioner, which was designed with this concept in mind.
One of the most common mistakes people make when washing their hair is applying conditioner from root to tip. Actually, you only need to condition the ends of your hair.
Or you could try not using shampoo and conditioner – no, I’m serious. Apparently the challenge for people with fine hair is that shampoo dries it out and conditioner weighs it down. There is a growing body of people who prefer a detergent free solution, in particular, New Wash from a company called Hairstory. It washes and conditions your hair in one step. To begin with, it can be an odd experience washing your hair without any lather, but people rave about the results. Read why it might suit you here.
Mousse Every hairdresser I have ever met uses mousse to get volume into limp hair. These days, mousses are light and non-sticky. Use an egg-sized dollop worked evenly through damp hair, roots to ends.
Use the right brush I find that if I roughly dry my hair first, using either my hand or a brush, I get more volume. Also works if you flip your head upside down and give it a blast with your hairdryer. This is because when you lift and heat your roots simultaneously, you get a fuller result. Then I style my hair using a round mixed bristle (not paddle) brush with my hairdryer on medium speed. A round brush makes it easier to grip hair and create more tension so you can get more lift.
Velcro rollers If I am going somewhere special, I often pop in a few velcro curlers after drying my hair. I use hairspray on them before I take them out. Works really well even after they’ve only been in for a few minutes. Great selection of vented Velcro rollers here.
Spray your roots with dry shampoo In between washes, use dry shampoo. It adds grip and volume to your hair. Spray some on your roots to delete grease (which can make your hair look stringy) to uplift your look.
Thinning hair If you have any hair that is thinning or patchy, you can create the illusion of having a more voluminous hairline. Either use a little matching eyeshadow and a small blending brush, or try L’Oréal’s Magic Roots concealer root spray
Add some waves If you have wavy hair, try embracing your natural texture, or add some waves with a curling wand. The added texture will make your hair look fuller.
Hope you will find at least a few of these tips work for you. If you have any other suggestions you’d like to share with other A&G readers, please comment below. Thank you.
Read our post about stress induced hair loss here