What woman isn't concerned about getting older and how aging can affect our looks? As the years pass, our faces wrinkle, droop, sag, and deflate, among other things. We can reduce and even prevent wrinkles with Botox, replace lost facial volume with Sculptra, get back those high cheekbones with Radiesse, and have plump, fuller lips with Juvederm; but what can we do at home? There are many different things you can do to help maintain a youthful appearance, but something that is commonly overlooked is your hair style (yes, unfortunately your hair style can age you). So what do people do to their hair that makes them look older?

Too much product. Too much stuff in your hair can make hair look stiff and almost wig like. Having your hair too perfect or sculpted can also make you look older. Instead, try to find products that let your hair look and feel more natural. Having your hair slightly messy is also easier to style since you don’t need to try to be a perfectionist all the time and spend hours trying to fix every little strand. Too much frizz however, can also make you look older. Try to strike a balance between frozen and frizzy hair. To tame frizz, I usually use an anti-frizz serum. I think anti-frizz serums work really well because other people can’t tell that you have product in your hair. The serums not only tame frizz while keeping your strands from looking dry and damaged, but they also help your hair look more soft to the touch. I also get a lot of “fly aways,” and instead of dousing my head with hairspray and/or mousse, I usually just use a little bit of wax to tame them. To help the wax look more natural on my hair, I just get a tiny (moderation is key with wax) amount on my finger, rub the wax to warm it up and make it more spreadable, and just pat the fly aways down.

Another trick to tame curls, is to sleep on them. The best way to keep curls looking natural and fresh looking, is to let them air dry with some anti-frizz serum. However, if you don’t have the patience to air dry your hair, rub some serum all over, blow dry, and sleep on it. This will help your curls from looking too out of control and frizzy.

Hair that is too straight. This hair can look limp and lifeless, instantly making you look older. Bouncy healthy hair definitely makes you look younger and adds vitality. If you have thin, fine hair, have your stylist cut some layers to add some volume. Also, be careful not to put too much product in your hair to weigh it down and make it look too flat. If you have a lot of thick hair, you are in luck; most likely your hair will not look too straight unless you have a really good flat iron. To prevent thick hair from looking too pin straight, style your hair right after you wash it. If you straighten your hair a day or two after shampooing, your hair’s natural oils can weigh down your hair (acting like product) making it look too straight.

Hair Color. Hair color is definitely important to keeping yourself looking young. You want to keep the grays and whites out if you are in your mid 40s or younger (I say embrace it, however, if the majority of your hair is grey or white–take Meryl Streep in Devil Wears Prada as an example). Try to stay away from monotone dull hair color (or any drastic colors). Having highlights a bit lighter than your base hair color looks natural and sun-kissed, and also adds movement to your hair. Subtle well-placed highlights help to keep your hair looking natural and healthy (try not to get fake looking highlights). You want to have a nice base hair color that flatters your skin tone (your stylist can help you choose), and then just accent your base color with some natural looking highlights.

All in all, the trick to having an anti-aging hairstyle is to keep it looking natural. Of course, it doesn’t have to actually be natural!