Top Tips On Caring For Aging Hair – Keep It Healthy After 40

Have you noticed how your hair is changing as well as everything else? And not necessarily for the better huh? Is it thinner than it used to be? Less shiny? More unmanageable?

Are you spotting the first grey hairs? Thick, strong and determined to get noticed right on your hairline? Do they come back even stronger if you pluck them away? Or are you already fighting a constant battle to cover-up those grey hairs. Or embracing the grey and keeping it natural?  Thank goodness it’s no longer fashionable to have a blue rinse!

Color choices

Lara says if your hair is losing its color you basically have these choices:

• Leave it as it is and embrace the grey
• Get highlights to lift your natural color
• Color and disguise any grey
• Get a whole head hair color

Our top tips for caring for your aging hair

• If you have highlights, get them re-done every 8-12 weeks depending on your rate of hair growth and to accommodate hair changes.
• If you have a full color treatment, new hair growth will likely mean your roots need to be touched up every 4-6 weeks. Watch our for any scalp irritation or impact of long-term use of hair dye – avoid chemical treatments if you can.
• Grey hair is more porous, thicker and not as shiny, so more care is needed and less aggressive, more natural hair care products are recommended, such as a more gentle shampoo.
• Lack of moisture in grey hair can also become an issue, so you may need to replenish natural oils. Use moisturizing products, such as a leave-in treatment, hair masks or coconut oil, for example, to maintain the moisture levels of grey hair.
• Use thickening products if hair thinning becomes an issue. Thinner hair, and even hair loss, can become more common as we age, particularly if we’re also dealing with hormonal imbalances. A good haircut can help to counteract this, as well as specialist products, so be sure to discuss any concerns at your favorite hair salon.
• Take good care of your hair by not over-using your hair dryer, flat irons, or curling irons, for example. Your skin will likely get more sensitive as you get older and so might your hair too. Hot tools may not be your friends any more!
• Choose natural hair color shades that suit your skin tone as you get older, to avoid an obviously dyed look unless that’s what you specifically want!
• If you choose not to color grey or white hair, use a product like Aveda’s Blue Malva shampoo and conditioner which won’t turn your hair blue (!) but will make the grey or white brighter and reduce any brassy tones.
• If you choose to stay grey, keep your hair tidy as this looks more elegant – it’s easier to become wild hair lady with grey hair!
• As with all aspects of overall health and any other part of your body, a healthy, well-balanced diet is crucial. Protein and vitamin C, E, B vitamins 7 and 3 are all important for hair health, and making sure you have enough of these in your diet is going to encourage healthy hair growth. Nutritional deficiencies added to hormonal changes after 40 can all impact the state of your hair. 
• As your hair ages it becomes ever more important to get a good regular haircut – any haircut loses its shape after 6-8 weeks.
• If you find a good hairdresser, keep them! That’s the best way to maintain your crowning glory!

If you’d like to evolve to natural grey or silver hair, but don’t relish the transition, check out our post on Removing Hair Color To Go Grey. More great tips on how to look fab with silver hair can be found in How Women With Silver Hair Can Look Gorgeous.