Can My Hair Grow Long Past My 50s?

Hair length is an essential topic for many women. It can take effort to maintain, but the confidence we feel with long hair can outweigh the downside. Long hair needs regular trims, a healthy diet, and plenty of TLC.

Long hair maintenance becomes even more troubling once we reach our 40s and 50s. Physiological challenges, including menopause, can hinder our ability to “grow it, show it — long as I can grow it” as the song lyrics go.

However, changing hormones and shrinking follicles do not necessarily mean we need to sport shorter hair lengths. Continue reading for tips and products for maintaining hair you can grow long past your 50s.

Hair Changes in Your 50s

As we get older, our bodies change — this in turn affects our hair. Texture and thickness changes become apparent, and this is mainly due to menopause.

Menopause drives estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone hormone imbalance, which elicits a cascade of issues affecting your hair and scalp. Each hormone plays a specific role in your hair health:

• Estrogen — Estrogen is a vital female hormone that aids hair growth by extending your hair’s growing phase.
• Testosterone — Testosterone is a male hormone that exists in small quantities in women. Testosterone adversely affects our hair follicles, causing thinning hair.
• Progesterone — Progesterone is a hormone that stops testosterone from being converted into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is primarily responsible for hair follicle damage.

When you first enter menopause, progesterone is the first hormone to drop off — your estrogen remains at normal levels. However, as time goes on and progesterone decreases, estrogen becomes excessive. When this happens, your body converts the excess estrogen into testosterone. When testosterone comes into contact with enzymes in your scalp and skin, it turns into DHT.

DHT damages and shrinks your follicles, which causes your hair to grow in finer than before. Because there is no progesterone to suppress testosterone to DHT conversion, you may experience hair loss or breakage.

Decreased progesterone and increased estrogen can lead to hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism diminishes nutrient absorption and protein metabolism. Your hair's primary structural material is a fibrous protein called keratin. Hypothyroidism decreases protein metabolism, leading to weaker hair.

Thyroid hormones also stimulate stomach acid release, which helps you absorb vitamins and minerals. Increased estrogen levels caused by menopause affect the levels of nutrients that reach your hair and scalp. Your hair experiences cuticle fragility and decreased elasticity, leading to breakage when it is styled or combed.

Ways to Promote Hair Health in Your 50s

To keep your hair growing into your 50s and beyond, make sure you’re consuming foods that strengthen your hair structure and scalp health. Foods loaded with Omega-3s, including flaxseeds, walnuts, and salmon, can help give you “shining, gleaming” hair and support scalp health. Other foods include:

• Green tea — An active ingredient in green tea called epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) rids toxins from your body.
• Pumpkin seeds — Pumpkin seeds are loaded with zinc, promoting hair health and reducing hypothyroidism
• Bone broth — Consuming bone broth gives you protein, amino acids, and collagen — all are critical nutrients for long and durable locks.
• Egg yolks and nutritional yeast — Egg yolks and nutritional yeast contain water-soluble biotin, which strengthens strands and prevents damage.

Supplements That Support Long Hair

Taking multivitamin and collagen supplements can reverse dietary deficiencies brought on by menopause. Better Not Younger makes Significant Other Hair, Skin & Nails Supplement + Retinol Boost and Power Within Skin & Scalp Collagen Gummies to fill in nutritional gaps your body may have.

Significant Other fortifies your hair with micronutrients including:

• Vitamin A — Vitamin A encourages your scalp’s sebum oil production for long, glossy, hydrated hair.
• B-Vitamins — The B-Vitamin group includes folic acid (B9), B5, B6, Biotin, and B12. These water-soluble vitamins combat age-related thinning, improve elasticity, and increase resistance to breakage.
• Vitamin C — Vitamin C encourages your body’s iron absorption and collagen production. Both are crucial for strengthening longer hair.
• Vitamin D — Vitamin D may extend your hair follicles’ growth phase. Supplementing your body's vitamin D intake is vital to achieving long hair past your 50s, especially when your sun exposure is limited.

Power Within Skin & Scalp Collagen Gummies are a delicious way to rebuild your body’s limited collagen reserves. Collagen, the most common protein in your body, forms in your bones, tendons, skin, and muscles. Collagen makes up close to 70% of your skin’s middle layer, called the dermis. This is where your hair roots and follicles develop.

Power Within contains marine collagen types I and type llI, which have amino acids your body needs to strengthen your scalp skin and foster healthier hair.

Hair Products to Boost Hair Health

Minimize the impact menopause has on your hair and scalp by choosing conditioners and masks to moisturize and restore lost nutrients. Better Not Younger stimulates and detoxifies your follicles affected by hormonal changes.

Second Chance Repairing Conditioner for Dry/Damaged Hair — This argan oil-enriched conditioner moisturizes and restores your locks and follicles and protects against dryness. Vitamins A and C, omega-6 fatty acids, and passionflower fruit extract give your hair the strength and elasticity it needs to keep flourishing into your 50s and beyond.

Hair Redemption Restorative Butter Masque — This creamy mask is blended with plant-based butters. These natural butters permeate your hair shaft within two minutes, softening and rejuvenating hair and scalp. Murumuru, mango, macadamia avocado, and cupuaçu butters will keep your tresses shiny and robust.

Wake Up Call Volumizing Conditioner — Better Not Younger’s volumizing conditioner brings luster and life to breakage-prone hair. This light conditioner will reduce split ends to give you longer, healthier locks. 

You Can Grow Your Hair Long Past Your 50s

Growing long hair past your 50s is not only possible, but it is also probable. You should not be forced to cut your hair because of breakage, dryness, or other age-related damage. As we understand aging and its impact on hair, products can be developed to counter its effects.

Better Not Younger was founded to bring you products to unlock your hair’s full potential. Our range of products allows you to celebrate your locks at whatever length you choose. Find more products to support your long hair on our online Shop page.