A great haircut can shave years off your appearance, but the wrong one can add them back in a flash. An unflattering or outdated hairstyle can age you quicker than you realize. Choosing a haircut that flatters your face shape, works with your hair texture, and reflects current trends is key. Here are 15 haircuts that might be doing the opposite, leaving you looking older than your years.
1. Harsh Pixie Crops
Super short pixie cuts can be too harsh as you age. They highlight facial features like wrinkles, fine lines, or imperfections you may want to downplay. With little volume or texture, these cuts can look flat and severe, making them less flattering and more aging.
2. Choppy Layers
Layers add texture and volume, but they can look choppy and unnatural if not blended properly. Jagged, spiky layers create a harsh appearance that highlights wrinkles or skin imperfections, adding years to your look instead of softening it.
3. Dated Curls and Perms
The tight perm may have been all the rage in the ’80s, but it’s far from fashionable now. The style adds unnecessary volume and can dry out hair, leading to flyaways and frizz. Tight curls add bulk to the face, emphasizing its width and making it look less youthful.
4. The Pageboy Cut
This old-school look gives off a helmet hair vibe that is anything but flattering. The straight, even-length style makes your face look rounder and your hair flat, which can emphasize aging features. Avoid the “bowl cut” at all costs.
5. Long Lifeless Styles
Long, straight hair may be easy to manage, but it can weigh down your face without layers. The lack of volume makes hair look limp, while the length can emphasize a receding hairline or thinning hair. Go for soft layers and volume to give your look a boost.
6. Tacky Streaks
Harsh streaks of color, especially in bold or contrasting hues, scream “outdated” and can make you look older. Over-bleached hair also becomes dry and brittle, further aging your appearance. Opt for softer, blended highlights to maintain a fresh, youthful look.
7. Super Short and Heavy Bangs
Bangs aren’t for everyone, especially thick, heavy ones that can overpower your face and make it appear fuller. Super short bangs can drag your face down, making you look older by highlighting your forehead and fine lines. Try long layers that can be swept to the side for a softer, more youthful effect.
8. Short Blunt Bobs
A sharp, blunt bob that ends at the jawline creates a harsh, aging look. The severe cut can highlight a double chin or widen your face. Opt for a shoulder-length bob with a soft part to add more sophistication and youthfulness to your style.
9. Dry, Brittle Gray Hair
Gray hair can look stunning, but only when well cared for. Dry, brittle gray hair will make you look older than you are. Keep your gray hair hydrated with nourishing treatments, and use toners to combat yellowing for a more polished, youthful appearance.
10. In-Between Lengths
An overgrown, shapeless hairstyle is worse than an outdated one. In-between lengths look unpolished and sloppy, making you appear older and less refined. Regular trims and updated styling will ensure your hair looks its best and stays healthy.
11. Mullets and Undercuts
Though edgy in concept, mullets, and undercuts create stark, unbalanced lines that are unflattering and difficult to grow out. These styles can emphasize imperfections and make you look older, especially with their unnatural contrast between short and long sections.
12. Asymmetrical Cuts
Once trendy, asymmetrical haircuts now look dated and harsh. The unbalanced style is difficult to maintain and can throw off the natural symmetry of your face, making you look older. Stick to more classic cuts that flatter your natural features.
13. The Shag
Shaggy, overly textured cuts can look messy and hard to manage, which isn’t great for maintaining a youthful appearance. The unstructured style creates unnecessary volume and can promote frizz, making your hair look older and less polished.
14. Severe Side and Center Parts
Harsh center or deep side parts can elongate the face and highlight asymmetry or skin imperfections, making you look older. These parts also draw attention to graying roots. A softer, side-swept part will create a more natural, youthful look.
15. Overplucked Eyebrows
Your eyebrows frame your face and are crucial to your overall look. Overplucked, thin eyebrows can create a harsh, dated appearance that ages you. Keep them full and well-shaped, using a brow pencil if necessary to give them a youthful, defined look.