Health

Lovely at 60: Maintaining your hairstyle

Margaret Woodberry

Jun 14, 2015

MAINTAINING A SHORT STYLE – Straight Hair

If your short hairstyle is straight, spray hair each morning with a vodka spritz to dampen. This is made with water and a dash of vodka. A vodka spritz will add a vibrant boost and improve the look of your hair.
Roll up as much hair as you can in the smallest sized velcro curlers following the direction of the style. The curlers will make your hair manageable rather than curly.
Spray with hairspray.
After about 20 minutes remove the curlers then brush, backcomb and style with your fingers rubbed with a dab of styling product.
Check the back of your hair with your hand mirror and arrange the hair so that no scalp is showing.
Finish with hairspray and hey presto! A salon look.

MAINTAINING A SHORT STYLE – Curly Hair

Keep it shortish and have it trimmed every three or four weeks to maintain the style you have chosen.
Don’t try to straighten it – celebrate your curls which will help you to keep up a prettiness around your face. You will never have to worry about looking too severe.
Use styling products on your fingers when arranging your hair style each morning; backcomb here and there if necessary.
A little hairspray if you like but for a natural and youthful look allow your curls to bounce and bob.

TOP TIP: A friend of mine, with a mop of thick curls wears her hair in a short bob – shaped into the nape of the neck, thick on top and a touch longer at the sides. She keeps her hair in A1 condition and it looks wonderful bouncing and bobbing and catching the light around her face. She includes a few gold coloured streaks in her medium brown curls.

FRINGES

Arrange fringe, spray with hairspray then don’t touch it again.

REGROWTH

Retouch roots every three to four weeks, but when the sides begin to show regrowth, touch-up daily to prevent the receding hairline look. There are various pens and water rinses available for this. Avoid hairstyles which involve a part.

WASHING

Try not to shampoo and condition every day. The more often you shampoo the more quickly the oils build up again. Every three or four days is good. If you want to change from shampooing every day to every three or four days, you may have to stagger the process to save going about with oily hair during the change-over.

If you are not bothered by thinning hair, finish with a short rinse of cold water to close the hair cuticle and make hair look smooth and glossy. Dry with the hair dryer on the medium setting.

TOP TIP: If you like, miss the shampoo from time to time and just rinse your hair with warm shower water, condition and rinse again. The result is soft as if you had used shampoo, but with more “body”.

MICROFIBRE TURBAN

Especially useful for removing water from shampooed hair and cutting down the length of time using the hairdryer. Mine came from the Avon catalogue but they are also available at variety stores.

TREATMENT AND PRODUCT

Numerous treatments and products are available. Have fun with them if you like. Use a styling mousse after shampooing to give body and help to hold the style. A tiny amount of Moroccan oil rubbed into damp hair adds shine and softness. Volumiser will transform thin hair to thicker hair instantly. Experiment with how much to use.

TOP TIP: After spraying on the volumiser, rub the hair between your fingers briefly to rough-up the hair cuticle and add even more volume. You will be astounded by the extra thickness.

TRIMMING

Short styles need trimming every three to four weeks. Frequent trimming keeps the quality of coloured hair in good condition because old and damaged ends are constantly removed. It is difficult to trim your hair yourself, leave this to your hairdresser.

THINNING HAIR

A common problem that comes with age is thinning hair exposing the scalp; especially common at the back of the head. If this is a problem for you, it is definitely time to change your hairstyle. Volumiser is about to become your favourite hair product!

THINNING STRAIGHT HAIR

Here is my solution for thinning straight hair:

Choose a style that leaves the hair about two and a half to three and a half inches long on top.
On non-shampoo days, moisten dry hair with volumiser and rub it into the hair.
Roll up with the smallest velcro curlers.
Spray lightly with hairspray.
Do this first thing before your shower and remove the curlers last thing – say 20 or 30 minutes later.
Brush out hair, backcomb a little, rub some styling lotion on your palms and arrange your hairstyle, carefully covering the thin spots.
Check and recheck with the hand mirror, backcombing a bit more until you are satisfied. The result won’t be really curly, just softly waved on top.
You probably won’t be able to use the velcro curlers low on your head because of the extra short length of the lower hair.
Now spray with hairspray and a bit extra over those thin spots.
On shampoo days apply styling mousse and volumiser to towel dried hair.
Rub in the volumiser.
Dry off a bit more with the hair dryer.
Work in a little Moroccan oil.
Now put in the velcro curlers.
Spray with hairspray.
You may have to leave the velcro curlers in a little longer than on non-shampoo days. This is quite a lot of product I know, but it is the product that will make each hair thicker and give the illusion of thick hair all over.
Finish and style in the same way as on non-shampoo days.

THINNING CURLY HAIR

For thinning curly hair choose a shortish style – say about four to six inches long when the hair is wet and pulled out straight, but allow for the curl take-up. The routine for curly tops with thinning hair is almost exactly the same as for thinning straight hair.

On non-shampoo days use volumiser to dampen your hair before styling, remember to rub it into the hair.
I am suggesting that you too roll up with velcro curlers, but not necessarily the smallest size – choose a size that will give fullness but not frizz. Using the curlers will make your hair more manageable.
Put in the velcro curlers before your shower,
Spray lightly with hairspray.
Twenty minutes later remove the curlers.
Brush out the hair and backcomb a little, especially over the thin spots.
Rub some styling lotion on your palms and arrange your hairstyle, carefully covering the thin spots.
Check and recheck with the hand mirror, backcombing a bit more until you are satisfied.
The result might be very curly. Love your curls.
Spray lightly with hairspray – it is nice to leave a bit of bob in the curls, but put extra hairspray on any places where you have covered thin patches.
On shampoo days add styling mousse.
Rub in volumiser to semi-dried hair.
Work in a little Moroccan oil.
Roll up with velcro curlers.
Spray with hairspray. Finish and style as on non-shampoo days and enjoy your froth of curls.

As with straight hair, quite a lot of product is used to make each individual hair thick and to give an overall appearance of stronger, thicker hair.

WIGS

If the thinning is really noticeable and the above regime is not helpful enough, investigate wigs. You will be surprised how natural they can look nowadays and how comfortable and secure they are. Your appearance can be transformed instantly.

Share your thoughts below.

health-beauty-tips-for-women