9 Celebs Who Prove You Can Wear Long Hair At Any Age

9 Celebs Who Prove You Can Wear Long Hair At Any Age
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Model Christie Brinkley attends the 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 50th Anniversary Issue kick off event at Swimsuit Beach House on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

With each passing year, maintaining our bodies take a a little more effort. More frequent tune-ups -- checkups with the doctor, trips to the pharmacy, and yes, even to the salon. Mother nature gifts us with thinning, graying hair that becomes weak and brittle as we age.

When battling all of these hair maladies, many women in their 50s and beyond find a shorter 'do to be the answer. They believe having long locks will make them look like they're clinging to their youth, draw attention to the noticeable stringiness of each strand, or seem altogether unprofessional or inappropriate. Even Jerry Hall, 57, who is known for her iconic hair chopped off her locks for a mid-length cut this month.

Huff/Post 50 spoke to some hair pros a while back and hair stylist Amber Russell told us running for the closest pair of scissors as you turn 50 is a big mistake. "A few of my older clients have told me that their mothers have said they are too old for longer hair … I say, look at the source... a shoulder-length cut that lays two or three inches below the shoulder line is perfectly acceptable." Several of our Facebook fans even shared photos of their youthful tresses, saying more power to anyone who has the courage to go long.

While there's nothing wrong with rocking a pixie cut à la Judi Dench, we can't help but admire celebs like Gloria Steinem and Christie Brinkley who've broken free from tradition and stylishly so.

So if you need a little courage before you grow out your locks, take inspiration from these fabulous post-50 celebs who prove you can rock long hair at any age.

50s:

Demi Moore, 51

Though she looked fab even in the "G.I. Jane" days, we prefer Demi with her dark locks and middle part.

Julianne Moore, 53

"One of the reasons I wear my hair long now is that the weight helps keep it smooth," Moore told Redbook.

Rita Wilson, 57

We're loving how Rita's kept her look fresh with some trendy ombre highlights to add dimension.

60s:

Christie Brinkley, 60

Brinkley swears by her clip-in hair extensions. "We’ve used [hair extensions] in the fashion industry for years. They’re good if your hair is getting thinner or you just want to feel luxurious," Brinkley told People Magazine.

Oprah Winfrey, 60

Lady O has been wearing her hair naturally these days, but she did consider chopping it all off a while back, but Bill Cosby convinced her otherwise. "I wanted to wear it close-cropped a la Camille Cosby but her husband, Bill, convinced me otherwise. 'Don't do it,' he said. 'You've got the wrong head shape and you'll disappoint yourself.' I took his advice," Winfrey told O Magazine.

Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-beauty/news/oprah-winfrey-shows-off-gorgeous-natural-hair-for-o-magazine-201218#ixzz2tzwMW6ON
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Kim Basinger, 60

The blonde bombshell broke into the industry with the help of her gorgeous hair. She started her modeling career in the 1970s as the face of Breck shampoo and who can forget her iconic pin curls from "L.A. Confidential."

70s:

Barbra Streisand, 71

The songstress has experimented with many hairstyles in her life, from a mod pixie cut to a retro bob. But of course, she'd look incredible with any 'do.

Faye Dunaway, 73

Her chic, sleek style in "Bonnie and Clyde" was the cut that launched a thousand bobs. But now that she's in her 70s, Dunaway has found what works for her and she's sticking to it.

Raquel Welch, 73

Welch is a fan of wigs, with her own line of hair pieces. " When my hair looks good, everything is right with the world," Welch says on her Hair U Wear website.

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Before You Go

25 Ways To Rock Gray
Amy Hempel(01 of25)
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Writer, animal rights advocate, and co-founder of The Deja Foundation (b. 1951)"A wise friend told me that your fifties can be the time you discover what freedom means for you. And she was right." (credit:Vicki Topaz)
Ruby Bhattacharya(02 of25)
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Business development director (b. 1972)"The first one I got, I cried actually. I saw it and I pulled it out and I absolutely cried. I couldn't believe I had a gray hair at 15." (credit:Vicki Topaz)
Lia Bonagura-Transue(03 of25)
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Artist (b. 1961)"Silver...It's the new blonde." (credit:Vicki Topaz)
Linda Connor(04 of25)
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Photographer and professor (b. 1944)"I think of myself as being a much younger person than I think I appear. So that idea that I'm a wise elder has not gotten into my psyche yet." (credit:Vicki Topaz)
Ysabel Duron(05 of25)
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Television news journalist and founder and executive director of the cancer agency Latinas Contra Cancer (b.1947)"In reality, the white hair seemed a minor thing to me. It was just another passage. It has given me a new opportunity, a new spotlight on the stage, because so many people now recognize me right away, and as I once said driving down the freeway, 'I don't blend in anymore...with all those brunettes.'" (credit:Vicki Topaz)
Jane Alexander(06 of25)
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Actress, writer, producer, and former Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts (b. 1939) "...I find now, for me, the way that doors are opening is by taking care of others in my life, meeting new people, finding out that they are thinking, what they are doing...but it is a bit harder because they don't present themselves to you in the same way. You have to find them and recognize that they are doors." (credit:Vicki Topaz)
Mildred Howard(07 of25)
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Visual artist and educator (b. 1945)"...more importantly, life is a distillation of feelings and experiences that are common to everyone -- hopes and desires, blending the blurred boundaries between the hidden and revealed. What is important is that I feel good about who I am and to make creative contributions to the world that will live longer than I." (credit:Vicki Topaz)
Miki Hsu Leavey(08 of25)
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Painter and teaching artist (b. 1952)"I started coloring my hair when I was about 40. I used semi-permanent color because of my illness and I knew I was very sensitive to chemicals. I realized that dyeing my hair gave me headaches and then finally I just decided to let the color go." (credit:Vicki Topaz)
Barbara Klavert(09 of25)
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Renaissance woman (b. 1942)"I had just come out of the hairdresser's after having my hair cut, not colored. It was fully white then. A woman came up to me and asked where I got it colored because she liked it so much."
Grace Lehman(10 of25)
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Healer, writer and artist (b. 1950)"I never dyed my gray hair. I never associated it with age. I always associated it with the art of being." (credit:Vicki Topaz)
Carmen Dell'Orefice(11 of25)
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Modelling legend Carmen Dell'Orefice, 81, holds a pose in a creation by designer Norisol Ferrari on September 10, 2012 during New York fashion week. Ferrari said her collection for spring-summer was inspired by the 'curves' of film legends Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth. (Robert MacPherson/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty Images)
Toni Morrison (12 of25)
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Author Toni Morrison attends the National Dance Institute 31st Annual Gala at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center on April 07, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Kristen McMenamy(13 of25)
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Kristen McMenamy attends the Chanel: The Little Black Jacket private view at Saatchi Gallery on October 11, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Judi Dench(14 of25)
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Dame Judi Dench arrives at the Royal World premiere of Skyfall at the Royal Albert Hall, London. (credit:PA)
Ruby Dee (15 of25)
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Ruby Dee attends the premiere of 'For Colored Girls' at Ziegfeld Theatre on October 25, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Jamie Lee Curtis(16 of25)
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Actress Jamie Lee Curtis arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Hitchcock' at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 20, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (AFP PHOTO/Robyn Beck) (credit:Getty Images)
Emmylou Harris(17 of25)
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Emmylou Harris performs at the TJ Martell Honors Gala, Nashville at Hutton Hotel on March 26, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for TJ Martell Foundation) (credit:Getty Images)
Julie Walters (18 of25)
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LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Actress Julie Walters attends the World Premiere of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows - Part 2 at Trafalgar Square on July 7, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Blythe Danner (19 of25)
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Actress Blythe Danner attends the 2012 Arts For Humanity Gala at New York Public Library on October 17, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless(20 of25)
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(credit:AP)
Ellen Burstyn(21 of25)
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(credit:AP)
Helen Mirren(22 of25)
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(credit:Shutterstock)
Joan Baez(23 of25)
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(credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb66888e4b05271530928fa" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="0" data-vars-position-in-unit="11">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54707043@N04/7596027536" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="n@89go" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb66888e4b05271530928fa" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54707043@N04/7596027536" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="1" data-vars-position-in-unit="12">n@89go</a>)
Kelly Osbourne(24 of25)
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(credit:jpistudios.com)
Lady Gaga(25 of25)
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(credit:Shutterstock)