5 Midlife Hair Helpers

There are so many hair challenges that arise as we age. It can be aggravating trying to deal with the hormonal changes that cause hair to be simultaneously greasy and dry. It’s time-consuming and expensive to wage the never-ending battle against gray roots. And don’t even get me started on finding a bald spot on the back of my head. I finally understand why a majority of women chop off their locks during their 50s and 60s.

Whenever I feel sorry for myself about how dehydrated and lifeless my midlife hair has become, I take some solace in knowing that I’m not alone. I love this quote from supermodel Cindy Crawford about her mini-me daughter Kaia: “I look at my daughter and notice that her hair is shiny and healthy looking—she has my old hair, and I want it back!” I know that feeling. Every time my teen complains about her hair I want to screech: “Fool! Enjoy it while you can! It will never be this good again!”

Cindy expands on this envy in a recent interview with InStyle saying, “Everyone tells you your skin will age, but no one tells you your hair will age too. I think we all expect to get gray hair, but I wasn’t aware that the texture was going to change, it was going to become more brittle, it was going to shed more, and basically just be lackluster.”

As our bodies lose estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, our hair follicles are affected, spending less time in the resting phase, and shedding strands sooner. Stress, environmental factors, and hairstyling choices like bleaching and hot tools all add up as well, resulting in hair as tired as we are. Now I certainly haven’t cracked the code on mature hair, but these are the things that have made it possible for me to go outside without crippling shame.

2-Inch Round Dryer Brush

My first suggestion is to get yourself a big-barreled dryer brush. I know these have been around forever, but I only started using one a few months ago and this tool has been a game changer for me. (I’m using the Infiniti Pro by Conair Spin Air Rotating Styler, but I honestly just bought whatever they had at TJ Maxx.) The secret is to rough dry your hair until it’s 90% done and then go in with the dryer brush to finish. I have frizzy, wavy hair and zero styling skills, but with this I can get blow-out level body and smoothness. It is so much easier than trying to wrangle a blow dryer and round brush. The results might not be 90s Cindy Crawford hair, but they’re as good as I’m going to get.

IGK Good Behavior Spirulina Protein Anti-Frizz Smoothing Balm

This was a blind purchase at Ulta, but it has been an absolute blessing for my fried hair. It’s a heat-activated, heat-protective blowout spray that starts as a thick cream but disappears into wet hair. I only need a small amount, maybe the size of a nickel, and I make sure to brush it through completely before drying. The results are like a temporary keratin treatment giving my hair nice sleekness and shine. It has Spirulina protein to strengthen and nourish, as well as shea butter to deliver moisture. No animal products, parabens, sulphates, or mineral oil. The tube is pricey, but it lasts FOREVER.

L’Oréal Paris Magic Root Cover Up

Let me preface this by saying this spray should not be an everyday product. It’s very much a surface coverup and it will transfer onto clothes or hands if you’re not careful. But it’s clutch for between salon visits or color sessions when you need to cover the gray roots FAST. I like it because you can find it anywhere, it’s cheap, and it doesn’t make my hair sticky or flat. L’Oréal Paris Magic Root is formaldehyde-free, aluminum-free, and mineral oil-free, and comes in a good range of shades.

Dove Dry Shampoo

One of my new methods for taming midlife hair is washing only two or three times a week. This took some getting used to as, pre-pandemic, I used to spend an hour every day before work to clean, dry, and style my hair. The reality now is that my hair is much too fragile to take all of that stripping and heat styling, and it needs a lot more pampering. That means less washing, more hair masks, and a lot of dry shampoo in between. Now, not all dry shampoos have worked for me and I have my gorgeous sister Marissa, who is a hair stylist, to thank for this recommendation: Dove Dry Shampoo Volume and Fullness. There’s a caveat to this brand—only get Volume and Fullness type in the purple packaging. The rest of the products in the line don’t work as well if you want to soak up oil and get a lift at the roots. Also—great tip—spray into the base of your hair before you go to bed and brush through the next day. This diminishes any white residue and gives the product time to do its thing.

Prose Hair Care Shampoo and Conditioner

Even though this feels a bit bougie to recommend, ordering custom hair care through Prose has really helped with my overall hair health. Their website makes everything very easy. You basically take an in-depth survey explaining your needs, lifestyle, and environment, and they’ll create personal, made-to-order solutions and mail them to you. One of my issues is the extreme hard water we have in our area which made finding the right cleaning products a chore before Prose. I’m not so fond of the styling solutions that they made for me, so I just stick to their shampoo and conditioner and have been really happy. Because I wash less I’m able to justify the cost by making the products last longer. And even though I know it’s just marketing, it’s a small serotonin boost to see the bottles lined up in the shower with my name printed on them.

I hope these suggestions help! Let me know your hair helpers in the comments below. And remember, if all else fails, the French bob never goes out of style.

Main photo by Giorgio Trovato at Unsplash.