Went darker, multiple people said I look younger

[Anonymous]

So conventional beauty wisdom seems to be that as you get older, add blonder highlights.

Well, I got divorced, and XH’s new girlfriend is 10 years younger than me and had blonde highlights. She is in her 30s and I’m in my 40s. We both have tan/olive complexions.

I was getting annoying comments joking how she looked kind of like me, so I went to dye my hair back to its natural color instead of balayage, which I’ve had for years. I also added bangs. My main motivator was to not look like ex and get these comments. And hey why not try a new hairdo too…

Since then, I have had multiple people say I look younger. An added benefit, although unplanned. So, I’m just curious if anyone else found that was true by going against conventional wisdom to “highlight hair as you age”?

[Anonymous]

Most people look best with their natural hair color. It makes sense that as you age, this is even more important.

[Anonymous]

It’s conventional wisdom because maintaining dark color on greying hair is hard. The grey resists dye, permanent color often looks red/brassy, and it requires a lot of upkeep for roots.

Highlighting to blend grays is typically way easier and affordable and allows for more time between visits. But it doesn’t look better on most.

[Anonymous]

Whenever a person does anything to their hair, it makes them look older

[Anonymous]

It's possible that if you like the new cut and feel good, your demeanor is more cheerful.

I had a boss who got a "Rachel" (quite a style change). It was a shock because it was quite different. I still remember how she looked like she felt cuter because of it. Like she felt good about herself. The hair cut was actually the first clue that she was on the path to remarrying.

[Anonymous]

Bangs these days are a younger hairstyle- and so is not doing the damaging highlights so it does come off more current/less aging. And if you have forehead lines, it covers them up.

[Anonymous]

Dyed blond usually is aging, because it doesn't complement the natural skin tone.

[Anonymous]

It was probably the bangs. Somebody told me that I looked ten years younger after I had them done and that was when I was in my 30s and didn't care about looking younger. Covers up all the forehead wrinkles.

[Anonymous]

It’s been conventional wisdom for so long that now only 45+ ladies have blond highlights anymore. So people now associate it with older ladies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dyed blond usually is aging, because it doesn't complement the natural skin tone.

THIS ^^. Every woman I know over 50 seems to go blond - regardless of their coloring. It's just a sea of bleached blond women who all look the same, and some look worse because the blond is the wrong tone for them.

[Anonymous]

I think it just varies by individual, OP. We're Asian, and what I notice is that many Asian women who didn't have jet-black hair to begin with, look a little weird if they start dyeing their hair that color - it's too harsh. I try to match my natural hair color (very dark brown with reddish tones) as much as possible. Luckily, henna plus indigo have exactly that result on me! Dyeing with henna and indigo is an all day process, though (but dirt cheap).

One of my red-headed friends looks great when she dyes her hair golden blonde, even though it isn't actually her natural color at all. So go figure.

[Anonymous]

I went back to my more natural brunette hair too and also think it makes me look younger - got a lot more compliments too. Only problem is the $$$ to maintain!

[Anonymous]

It's always very obvious to me when someone is highlighting to go blonde vs highlighting to cover grays. The women who highlight to cover grays look old because they ARE old. There is no hiding your age with hair color, fillers, etc., it's very obvious to everyone how old you are and that you are just trying to cover it up.

- I dye my black hair brown

[Anonymous]

Dark hair often looks healthier and shinier than blonde which is youthful.

But also- when you make a big change to your hair people will comment, and they’ll tell you it looks great, you look younger, etc etc because that’s people being nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dark hair often looks healthier and shinier than blonde which is youthful.

But also- when you make a big change to your hair people will comment, and they’ll tell you it looks great, you look younger, etc etc because that’s people being nice.

Or maybe they really think she looks younger. That's not usually something people say if someone gets a new hairdo.