Aging affects the body from head to toe. Your hair is no exception.
While some signs of aging hair are more obvious, there are other ways hair changes that only you may notice. But those subtle changes can make it challenging to style and care for your hair. Knowing what to expect as your hair ages can be helpful in guiding your product choices and styling approach.
How does hair change with age?
No two people age the same way. People develop wrinkles and thinning skin at different times and to various degrees. The same is true for aging hair.
How your hair changes with age can depend on individual factors, including:
- Environmental factors, such as your exposure to ultraviolet light and weather
- General health, which can cause hormonal changes and scalp inflammation
- Genetic factors and family history
- Grooming habits, including the chemical products and processes you use
- Lifestyle factors, such as stress, smoking and dietary habits
Hair loss and changes in color are not the only signs your hair is aging. The quality and type of hair you have can also change with time. As you age, your hair may change in several ways, including:
Hair color
Hair follicles — the structures in your scalp that make and grow hair — determine hair color. Follicles make the pigment melanin. The amount and type of melanin produced determines your hair color and shade.
Each strand of hair grows with a set color, and unless you dye your hair, that color does not change during the life of that strand. As you age, your hair follicles make less melanin, causing new hair to grow in varying shades of gray. White hair contains no melanin.
Research suggests that the average age people start to grow gray hair may depend on genetics and ethnicity:
- Asian people: Late-30s
- Black people: Mid-40s
- Latino and Hispanic people: Mid-30s
- White people: Mid-30s
Body and facial hair can also grow gray, but it often isn’t as dramatic and tends to happen later.
Hair structure
Hair follicles don’t just control hair color. They also determine the characteristics of your hair, including:
- Thickness, or diameter of each hair strand
- Type, or curl pattern, determined by the follicle shape
Structural hair changes you can expect as you age include:
Thickness
The individual strands of hair on your head are not all the same diameter (width). That thickness can change over time, declining with age. That means that thick, coarse hair may become thin and finer with age. Having a reduced diameter also leaves hair weaker and more susceptible to damage.
Research shows that people assigned female at birth (AFAB) tend to have their thickest hair around age 40; 38% of people AFAB older than 50 have significant hair thinning. For people assigned male at birth (AMAB), hair thickness typically starts a rapid decline by age 30.
Type and texture
Your hair type — whether curly, straight or somewhere in between — depends on the shape of the follicle from which it grows. As the follicle shrinks with age, the shape can also slightly change. Damage due to environmental factors and chemicals may also affect follicles and their shapes.
How silky or coarse your hair is can also change with age. Sometimes texture changes because of hair thinning. But hair can also become coarse when aging hair follicles make less sebum — an oil that can help keep hair from getting dry and brittle.
Hair texture can change in other areas of the body, too. Older people AFAB may notice coarse hair on their chin and around their lips. People AMAB often experience changes to their eyebrow, ear and nose hair as they age.
Hair growth and density
The lifetime of a hair can last up to seven years. During that time, your hair goes through a long period of growth, followed by rest, before eventually falling out.
Over time, the growth period shrinks, while hair loss increases — it’s normal for adults to lose 100 hairs a day, and that amount goes up with age. These changes often occur because of the hormonal changes, scalp inflammation and environmental exposure associated with aging.
This shift in hair growth and loss can significantly affect your hair density — how much hair you have on your head. As density decreases, you may notice thinning hair and then baldness.
People AMAB may start showing signs of baldness by age 30, and half of the male population is typically affected by male-pattern baldness by age 50. People AFAB can also experience hair loss and female-pattern baldness.
Tips for managing older hair
While you can’t turn back the clock, you may be able to preserve the health of your scalp and hair. The American Academy of Dermatology Association recommends:
- Pay attention to your hair type: Knowing whether your hair is curly and coarse or straight and fine can guide you to use the best products for your hair. If you notice changes to your hair type, you may need to adapt your hair regimen.
- Shampoo with purpose: Pay attention to how often your hair gets dirty or oily and shampoo accordingly. If your hair is dry, don’t shampoo every day. When you do shampoo, apply it to your scalp to wash away build-up and excess oil without drying out your hair.
- Be gentle: After shampooing, apply a conditioning product. It will moisturize and detangle your hair, so you’ll pull on it less. Avoid brushes and fine-tooth combs. Instead, choose a wide-tooth comb that can glide gently through your hair.
- Protect your hair from heat: Too much heat can damage your hair. Limit hot styling tools, such as dryers, curling irons and flat irons. When you need to use them, choose a low setting.
