Your hairstyle will make you look younger or older depending on what it is. I met up with an old friend of mine named Daisy. Daisy and I had been friends since middle school, but I had not seen her since high school. Life had taken us on two different paths. Life seems to be this way. Life separates you from the people you care about. I had not seen Daisy in 10 years, so I was eager to see her. As luck would have it, we went to work in different cities and never got an opportunity to meet up in all these years. Her recent job change and her curiosity on Facebook had made our reunion possible. We decided on a coffee shop, and we decided to meet.
Had it been 10 years since we last met at our high school reunion? I couldn’t even remember. The difference in looks between being thirty-three and twenty-three isn’t supposed to be much. At least, that’s what I thought would be the case when I saw Daisy. When I first saw her, I had to force myself not to look shocked. She looked a bit worn, and I was dumbfounded as to why. We were only a couple of months apart in age. Why did she look so aged? In short. Her hairstyle.
Luckily I’m in the hair biz, so I eagerly waited for her to bring up the subject of careers. Once Daisy brought up professions, I shoehorned suggestions regarding her hair. I secretly feel that her idea of meeting with me was to have a hair consolation.
I was grateful that she was asking for suggestions on how to improve her hairstyle. I was tactful in letting her know what some of the issues may be. Although I am not a hairstylist or a barber, I have been around the industry to know a thing or two. In investigating the trouble with her hair, I had several theories, but I thought the advice would carry more weight if she heard it from a professional.
Since she seemed curious to know how to improve her hair, I called a hairstylist friend of mine, and we headed to her salon so that we could improve on Daisy’s appearance. Daisy had been making loads of hair mistakes, making her appear older. After a detailed conversation, we finally got to know about some of the common hair mistakes that might make anyone appear older. This is what our friendly neighborhood hair stylist shared with us.
Mistake 1: Center Parting
This is one of the most common hair mistakes made by anyone. To look younger, your hair must-have volume in the right places. Parting your hair down the center apparently takes away the ability to create a volume on the top of your head.
Moreover, another aspect that contributes to aging slower is owning an accentuated bone and cheek structure. This will allow your eyes to look lifted. But parting down the center adds more volume to the sides of your face and less on the top. This consequently brings your eyes down and makes you look older.
Simply knowing this fact will erase decades of aging.
Mistake 2: The length of your hair
We have all heard that having long hair makes you look younger, and shorter hair is a sign of old age. However, that is simply just a traditional mindset. In actuality, keeping your hair long doesn’t contribute to making you look young. After hearing this from my stylist friend, I realized that my whole hair life had been a lie.
That’s because it’s natural for your hair to thin down as you grow old, so your hair volume is like a huge red billboard of your age range. The longer hair you have, the more the thinness will be highlighted. I can really see that billboard over your head right now.
But don’t worry! If you shorten your hair down to just the right length, it can be appropriately layered, and the volume will appear to be increased. Focus on increasing the volume!
Mistake 3: Putting volume on the wrong places
As you can probably tell already, your hair volume is very important because of how many times I have mentioned it. And only increasing the volume is not enough; the volume must be focused in the right area. But how to determine the right spot and the wrong spot?
It actually depends mostly on your face shape! That’s right, we all have different face shapes. Some of us have a round face, some oval, some long, some square. You need to have a proper idea of your face’s shape before deciding on the best hairstyle for you.
If you have a long face, you don’t want there to be a huge volume of hair on top of your head while almost none on the side. If you have a full face, the best option is to add more volume on the side and just enough on the top to balance it out.
It differs from face shape to face shape. Consult your stylist seriously about this before getting your haircut! Remember that the correct hairstyle according to your face shape can greatly accentuate your features and make you look younger.
Mistake 4 – Using a highlighter to cover gray hair
Many people make the mistake of repeatedly using highlighters to hide their gray hair and appear younger. Gotta hide those pesky gray strands! Gotta look young! Am I right? While it does have a temporary positive effect, this is not good for your hair in the long run.
Overusing highlighters can make your hair look very dry with overly processed strands, especially if you own a darker complexion. And this is one of the biggest aspects that contribute to making you look older.
Instead of highlighting your hair strands, do a single process color. You can use subtle highlights a couple of times per month for the sake of adding dimension. Request a depth in the roots. You will find yourself with healthy and shiny hair while simultaneously looking young!
Mistake 5 – Not using Hydration-packed products
I never knew before how important it is to use hair products with hydration. As I mentioned before, dry and damaged-looking hair will make you look older than you are or prevent you from looking as young as you want to.
This is where hair care products that are formulated with hydration do the magic! It will add more shine and moisture to your hair, making it appear younger and healthier. And you know what that means — you will look more youthful!
Mistake 6 – Not getting the right bangs
Another thing Daisy had been doing wrong was getting the wrong type of bangs compared to her face shape. There are many types of bang types – curtain bangs, baby bangs, side-swept bangs, and more. But which one is right for you?
Our stylist passed me another great tip! When making your bangs, take three factors into consideration — your lifestyle, your hair texture, and your face shape. The perfect bang for you will depend on these three points. So keep these in mind!
Mistake 7 – Not Recognizing the Benefits of Color
Natural hair color is not one solid color. Hair naturally has striations or various tones of hues in your head. One thing many people tend to neglect is the benefits of dying your hair. Through color, you can add different color variations that naturally appear. Adding dimension through highlights in your hair will make your hair appear youthful. The different tones in the hair will give the hair more movement. The addition of highlights and low lights or dark color at the roots will give an added dimension. These different colors will direct your eyes in different directions. Volume is key in order to make your hair look more youthful.
Daisy and I walked out of the salon with a head full of hair knowledge. Daisy was able to take advantage of my stylist talents. The stylist also implemented some of the tips we had been talking about. I was glad to see Daisy after all these years and promised to stay connected. We said our goodbyes, and we went our separate ways. Once I was back in my office, I thought of two things. How much Daisy’s look had improved and wondered if our meeting was just a hair consultation.
