Can You Ever Be Too Old To Go Natural?

I recently saw a senior citizen sporting snow white Afro curls and thought ” Wow, she exudes class”. The flecks of light from the sun bounced off  her angel soft silken strands, giving the impression that her head was crowned in a radiant halo.

As I sat behind her on the bus, I couldn’t help ogling. I was so engrossed in admiring her shock of hair that even when she had exited the bus at her stop, I found myself craning my neck to catch one last glimpse of her majestic crowning glory.

O.k., I know it comes across a bit corny, but it has been a while since I’ve seen a mature woman wear her natural hair out. It seems that many try to cover it – scarves, hats, weaves* and wigs*, you name it, the real mane is very often hidden in women over forty.

It got me to thinking about why more of our older black sistas don’t rock their natural textures more often.

I’m not saying that many don’t have natural hair, it’s just that it is rare that you see them advertising it. Take the natural hair forums for instance, if you should check, you would recognize that the scene is dominated by the younger generations.

It got me thinking: do mature women perceive the natural hair movement to be a new age trend for younger women? The few over forty women I have seen so far who are interested in returning to natural, have their own set of questions and concerns, chief among which is “can you ever be too old to go natural?”

The answer is self explanatory I think, but for the sake of clarity of course the answer is no! Since the question exists however, we cannot simply leave it there, but explain the reason for the answer.

Length retention

The question is whether you can ever be too old to go natural, not if you can gain extraordinary length after a particular age. Truth be told, even though terminal length reduces slightly as you grow older some mature naturalistas in the 60-80 category, have experienced phenomenal length retention; shoulder and bra-strap length so let us lay that issue to rest.

Age is a big deal to us women judging by how much we spend to look and feel younger and how some of us loathe telling our true ages. This is partially because we feel that the spunk starts to dwindle after a particular age.

Hair Loss

A tacit agreement exists that our bodies slow down with age but someone who has maintained a healthy lifestyle should be able to delay some effects of aging since the body will still be in fine operating order.

It is true that when the ovaries slow down somewhere around age forty-five and fifty, a drop in estrogen occurs that often leads to shedding or thinning hair in mature women, but not all women suffer the effects of hair loss owing to menopause.

Advances in science have made it possible for menopausal women to have hormone replacement therapy to mitigate the effects of these changes and this can help women keep their thickness.

Along with hormonal changes, with age comes many concerns such as loss of muscle and changes to hair texture as you get more greys but there is no conclusive evidence that supports a theory that hair stops growing altogether after a particular age. If you are alive, it’s growing. Period.

First off the bat, trichologists will confirm that hair is affected by a number of factors; diet, exercise, stress and hereditary factors to name a few, but what they will not tell you is that you are too old to go natural.

Getting Started With Your Regimen

Even with the many concerns that accompany aging the difficulty lies in taking the first steps in starting a healthy natural hair journey and styling tips for the more mature woman in her fifties or above.

Anyone who is serious about embarking on a healthy natural hair journey must be committed to doing a few things that are critical to maintaining healthy, beautiful hair.

First, you must be willing to learn how to properly care for your hair. Many older women are from an era in which our natural texture was regarded with disdain and this resonates into their subconscious; so you will have to be willing to unlearn what you were previously taught about hair. Accept that you may be older and wiser but not when it comes to hair care.

You will also have to tailor a regimen that fits your lifestyle and addresses your haircare needs and goals. Get a basic idea of the types of products needed to achieve health as well as styling tools that can accentuate the beauty of your natural hair.

It may help some to garner a basic knowledge of hair typing so you can be better prepared to assess what your hair needs are but from a personal viewpoint, I find this may be confusing for new naturals who might find that no one type on the chart is a true representation of what is growing out of your head.

Other charts may help more but truthfully no chart will ever help every single head of hair so be prepared for a lot of trial and error as you figure out what works for you.

Figure out the facts

When all is said and done, figuring out the basics of natural hair care must be at the top of your list so you can separate facts from the myths.

This means where previously you were told that you should not wet your hair because it will make it nappy and hard to style, you will now learn that water is our friend since it provides the moisture that our natural hair needs to thrive.

You will also need to learn that water alone won’t always do everything since it drys out so easily. Water works best along with natural oils* such as olive oil*, coconut oil* and castor oil* just to name a few.

The oils* trap water in the hair shaft to ensure your hair remains moisturized for longer in order to mitigate against brittle hair and breakage. In no time you will figure out what the LOC method is and its purpose in your hair regimen.

When it comes to styling, some of you may be a bit bewildered since you may feel that some of the edgy styles suit a more youthful generation. Some of you may even throw your hands up in frustration, opting to sport a low cut instead.

That’s okay if it is what you really want and feel that you will enjoy the low maintenance aspect of the style. But if you want to achieve some length and install some great styles, take heart because while I can’t promise waist length natural hair, there is something for everyone and you will probably surpass your relaxed hair length without breaking a sweat.

Natural hair is versatile

The beauty about our hair is that it is so versatile. Sure enough the YouTubers may be young and go for some outlandish styles that you may not be warming up to but you can learn a few things from them and perhaps even modify styles to suit your sense of style.

If you are not the do-it-yourself type then there are natural hair studios and stylists who can take care of your needs. Who knows, before you know it you could be setting your own trends with your own videos for mature natural ladies!

In essence, there is really no way you can ever be too old to go natural but we can understand your reservations. We know that a major change of any kind can be difficult to get your head around especially when you have been accustomed to doing things in a particular way.

Having said that, if this is truly what you want help is always available, You only have to ask.  We do not see you out in the spotlight as often as we would like but we know you are there, perhaps it is time that you take the plunge and show us youngsters how its done!