You all got mad at me for defending Demi Moore last week. I hate to break it to you but I’m about to do it again. Demi turns 60 next November and her talking point on the subject is that age is but a number. My takeaway from that is that the generations before us have slowly been eroding the preconceived rules put in place for women in their later years, allowing us to redefine how we want to look and act in our “old age”. One such rule was hair. It used to be that women were expected to cut their hair above their shoulders after a certain age. That long hair was a young ladies’ game. Demi, who has famous locks, decided she’s keeping her hair long and dark even into her sixth decade. She said it just feels more “her”. And to keep it looking good, she tries to do as little as possible, including letting anyone touch it.
Demi Moore is the heart — and hair — of Hollywood.
In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, the screen and fashion icon opens up about her new Andie swimwear capsule (which she designed and modeled herself!), looking ahead to her milestone 60th birthday in November and her famous, hipbone-grazing hair.
Moore, 59, admits that while she used to be a total hair chameleon, she’s now feels most herself with her long mane.
“I’ve done everything to my hair. I’ve shaved it. I’ve dyed it. I’ve had a bob. When I’m not working, I try to do as little to it as possible,” she tells PEOPLE. “It’s stressful even having someone touch it. If I don’t have anywhere to go, I don’t put heat on it—I just try to let it do its own thing. And I don’t wash it too often.”
As for getting haircuts, the star says they are more like “dustings” to keep her strands healthy.
“I get regular tiny trims,” she tells PEOPLE. “The rest comes from the inside out. You have to eat well, all those things.”
Moore famously shaved her head for the 1997 film G.I. Jane, but says at this point in her career she’d be “hard-pressed” to pull off another drastic hair move.
“I think now that I’m older, I also know, I don’t have anything to prove. So if they really need my hair different, they can give me a wig, she tells PEOPLE, adding that it’s “also not as clear how it would grow back!”
I’d actually forgotten all the different hair styles Demi’s had throughout her career. I remember the G.I. Jane buzz, of course, but I forgot all the others until she mentioned them. I also associate her the most with her long, dark hair. And whatever she’s doing to it, it looks good, at least in photos. Regular trims are smart at any age because frayed ends are the number one cause for hair damage. Heat damage is also a lot for hair to take but Demi’s right, older hair doesn’t bounce back as quick so I, too, don’t touch mine if I don’t have to. Since my hair is fairly healthy, I also only wash it a couple of times a week (I take a shower almost every day though, let’s not go there). Demi did name check Kevin Murphy Hydrate Me Rinse as her go to hair product, in case you’re wondering how she keeps it so shiny.
As for 60-year-old Demi wearing hip-length hair, I don’t have an issue with it. I assume her hair is dyed. Those are the standards I am arguing against, that older folks should be able to push back on. I don’t dye my hair because I have a glorious rooster comb of grey sprouting from my cowlick. But I did just opt to keep my below-the-shoulder hair during my last haircut. I actually feel comfortable in both short and long hair but right now I’m feeling a little more witchy with my long, wavy locks. I’m sure there are some in the over-50 club that think I’m being silly but *shrugs* I’m not really living my life for them. I also feel a little like Demi in that sometimes I wonder when my coif is just going to decide not to grow back so I’m keeping it around as long as I can.
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- Demi Moore attends the Fashion Awards 2021 red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall, in London, United Kingdom.,Image: 645549568, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel / Avalon
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- Demi Moore attends The Fashion Awards 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, UK,Image: 645578090, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Shaw / Avalon
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- Demi Moore attends The Fashion Awards 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall, London, UK,Image: 645578124, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Shaw / Avalon
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- Demi Moore,Image: 697208398, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JB Autissier / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2022 – Saint Laurent – Front Row Featuring: Demi Moore Where: Paris, France When: 01 Mar 2022 Credit: Aurore Marechal/Abaca/INSTARimages/Cover Images **ONLY AVAILABLE FOR NORTH AMERICA**
Photo credit: Avalon Red and Cover Images
She started out looking like Jennifer Connelly and now looks like a Kate Middleton-Olivia Munn hybrid. She needs to stop touching her face, full stop. I don’t get why people with so much natural beauty go for cosmetic procedures, I would be so scared of damaging myself.
I was going to say I see Minnie Driver vibes.
Demi, Madonna etc., the extreme, over-filled cheeks is too much filler. The keep trying to have zero wrinkles v. less wrinkles and nature just won’t accomodate them.
How does she not have more grey if she no longer colors her hair? Impressive. Her hair is gorgeous! I personally look better ‘younger’ with shorter hair and I prefer it because it’s low maintenance.
@ Heather, I am asking myself that same question. In my life, I have never come across someone that doesn’t have gray hair. I know from personal experience that trauma causes your hair to grey due to the result. I’m sorry, but I can’t buy that she has zero grey. Granted she does have beautiful hair and it looks beautiful and the shine is incredible!! I wish my hair that glossy…..
But I believe that women have decided that they don’t care about the expectations of hair nowadays, including the older generation. I certainly don’t, but I have my hair length due to my hair texture.
I am 65 years old and have very few grays. You have to make an effort to see them. My mother is 90 and is the same. We have this weird genetics that keeps our hair dark. No comment on how it is getting thinner.
55 here and zero grey – my Dad is 80 and the same. We are lucky.
My dad had no grey at all when he died in his 80s.
I’m 63 and have a lot of gray. I dyed it one time and my son, who never says anything about anyone’s appearance, had a fit over it and told me to never let it go gray again so I don’t. Growing up my mother kept my hair in a pixie cut. I was never allowed to just let it grow. A year ago I decided to let it grow. It’s waist length now and I’m loving it! The strangest thing happened though. I went to get my hair cut a few years ago and the stylist and another stylist talked about how beautiful my hair in the back is. I didn’t know what they were talking about. I’ve always had stick straight hair. The back of it and part of the sides is growing in thicker and curly. I wash it a couple of times a week and let it air dry. I love the curls but I wish they’d appear in the front too.
She dyes it dark. I think she meant that she stopped dying it different colors.
I’m sure she does dye her hair. The dye is partly what makes it so shiny. Plus the rinse she mentions is “for coloured hair.”
I’m sure she’s using a deposit product only, which doesn’t damage your hair and can add shine and seal the strands. Her hair is always gorgeous.
I have long (past my elbows) hair and I stopped getting balayage or highlights and now just cover the roots because my hair does not bounce back as quickly in my 40s as it did in my 20s or 30s. I noticed I was having trouble getting it longer when I was lightening it because it kept breaking off even with all the protective products. Mine has been a variety shades, including pink highlights for my 40th birthday, and I’m ok just having my “natural” color if it lets me keep it long and healthy.
The question is who decided that women are “allowed” to age differently and that rules have changed. I would argue it wasn’t just the women themselves. The beauty and fashion industries discovered that you cannot make a lot of money off of women who turn 55 and stop dying their hair, buying fashionable clothes, and following trends. That’s 3 decades of lost revenue per woman or at least significantly less than you could make.
I’m not saying women haven’t done their part to get rid of the old-lady-rules for the rest of us. I know they have. But like I said on the last Demi post, it comes at a price. It is now expected you don’t look or dress like an old lady.
And Demi looks great. Her hair looks gorgeous. I hope she does it for herself mostly. I tell myself I do everything just for myself but it’s not entirely true. I like it when people think I’m 10 years younger than I am and I try to stay looking young. For myself? I hope it’s mostly that.
Excellent point. I think there’s maybe a generational shift in thinking all throughout society & culture. At least western culture. Gloria Swanson was all of 50 years old in Sunset Boulevard. Demi at 60 is just a whole different generation.
I started cutting my hair shorter because it wasn’t as “professional” to have long, wavy/curly hair. With covid, and working from home, I’ve let it grow and it’s so much happier – the curl pattern is better, the texture is nice – and I don’t fight it anymore. And really, people who are complain about hair length are going to complain about ANYTHING. They are just complainers.
Yes @ Gillysirl! And there are men out their that hate certain haircuts and make their opinion known. Some men being men still.
I am post-menopausal (58) and going gray and my hair has changed, in terms of texture and curl. I used to have short hair (back in the day, I was inspired by Princess Diana!), but that doesn’t work anymore because of my wave pattern. Basically, it’s an unruly mess at almost any length, but summertime short is the worst.
I’ve opted for just above the shoulder in a modified bob, and I finally found a stylist-an inexpensive one!-who seems to know what she’s doing. I wash my hair twice a week, and I try to style it in a way that I can sleep on it in the days in between.
I have colored my own hair in the past to maintain an auburn hue, but the hassle factor of coloring my own hair is major. The grey is coming in, and I’m still at a loss as to what to do. I do think that women as they get older get tired of all the work that goes with maintaining hair, so they go with whatever is most convenient.
I’m impressed-in a way-that Demi puts up with all that hair. It must be a nightmare in the summer, but so be it. It is, indeed, her crowning glory.
I don’t really want gray hair, so I started coloring it. Problem with permanent colors is that my naturally ash brown hair ‘pulls’ red, so I have played a lot with various toners, different hairdressers, etc. Finally hit on what works best to achieve most natural ash brown color is Wella demi-perm medium ash blond. Stopped going to hair salon during pandemic; never got around to going back.
Remember when Charlie’s Angels 2 came out, and it was such a MOMENT because Demi looked gorgeous and stunning and she was 40?!!?
Anyway I agree that the “rules” are changing and I’m glad, even if I think a lot of the push is coming from the industry (like @emmie said above, there is too much revenue to be lost if they stop marketing to women once they turn 50/55.) I look at pictures of my grandmother from my parents wedding and she looks like an old lady and she was 45 lol. But its like she went from mother to grandmother overnight and once that switch happened, she was the elderly grandmother (even though she was pretty active) for the next 45 years.
was she really only 40 in that scene? wow, ok, if that’s true, then I feel so much better about myself!!
Yes! “only” 40! (maybe 41 lol). but it was such a big deal that she “still” looked like that at 40!
Demi has had a lot of facial work done, a lot.
She hardly looks like herself in these photos, something is tweaked or off around her lower face and mouth.
Re: her hair, the statement “it’s stressful even having someone touch it” oh ffs!
Multi-millionaire celeb, producer, mother of 3, recovering addict, published author, etc. and she gets stressed about someone touching her hair? Oh, please stop.
I’m sure she means in a salon. I seriously doubt regular people are just walking up on her and touching her hair.
I’m with you Kaiser, 100%. Demi is gorgeous, I love her decision to do what SHE wants with her hair. I love that older women can be “feminine” still (long hair trope that I’m not endorsing ), because in other countries they see older women as sexy while here in the US we’ve elevated looking like an adolescent.
She has an amazing autobiography as well, in which she’s pretty honest about her own failings, her terrible childhood, and her incredible success co parenting with her ex.
she herself admits in her book she had body issues (childhood trauma) and eating issues (male gaze – so horrific)and it just made her so relatable. She struggled from literally nothing.
Wow, in the first photo her face looks a lot more ‘settled’ – she looks beautiful!! And fantastic hair, no wonder she doesn’t want to cut it, why should she! It’s so sad women are pressured to like, give up their femininity after they’re perceived to age out of a narrow beauty bracket. Who cares even if your hair is dry and not at its youthful peak? Old men can have long straggly hair and no one is like ‘you MUST change this!’. Just leave women alone FFS.
I’m in my late 50s and have been rocking a pixie cut for years, hot flashes made me unable to bear anything touching the back of my neck plus it takes me about 5 minutes to wash/dry and style it but lately I’ve been thinking about growing it out again. I miss playing with it, putting it up, trying different styles but I don’t know if still have the patience for the growing out process.
A pixie is my only option any more, as my hair thinned out to a really alarming extent sometime in my 40s. I have my mother’s hair, I just got it a couple of decades before she did. Heaven knows it’s easy! I look like a naked mole rat when my hair is wet, but as I’m not looking at myself when I get out of a pool or the ocean, I’m really not bothered. I also gave up on hiding the gray years ago. It’s kind of an all-over silvery-dark blonde now & it’s fine. And I’m still hearing, in the 21st century, women tell me they’d love to wear their hair as short as mine but their husband/boyfriend/whomever wouldn’t let them. It’s your head! Wear your hair however you want, at whatever age you are!
I’m 60 and have long wavy hair. It is such a hassle to keep up because I guess it has changed as I’ve gotten older. I love having long hair but sometimes I fantasize about chopping it into a pixie for the ease. Dealing with the tangles. The frizz if I brush it. Doing the whole curly girl. I think it looks best when I blow it out but that takes forever!
Demi’s hair is gorgeous at any length. BUT she needs to lay off the cheek fillers, I’m getting a Courtney Cox vibe here. Her neck doesn’t match her incredibly “smooth as a baby’s bottom” and plump cheeks.
Demi is still beautiful. There is something about her that breaks my heart.
Same. Imo it’s maybe that she didn’t like herself so much that she opted for a completely new face. If you’re really at peace with your life and self I can’t imagine wanting to drastically alter it beyond repair.
Maybe she’s just in a bubble with different people around her encouraging this path? I thought she was lovely and aging beautifully before. Now she’s so puffy with a sheen. It removes any true glow to look so plastic. And I think most people that had too much work done look like there’s a sad face just below.
to me, she is hair goals. I would love to get my hair that length, but I also like it blonde, so I can only get to like waist-length before the ends are just too fried (for me). Has anyone used the Kevin Murphy brand, can they comment please? I am always on the lookout for something that may be better than my fave paul mitchell
I used the Kevin Murphy Body Mass spray for a while and I liked it. My hair is on the shorter side, but it was thinning out like crazy after an illness and my stylist recommended it. It left my hair slightly tacky, but gave it a good boost. It felt a lot stronger and less prone to breakage. I didn’t love the smell. Kind of old lady-ish.
Did anyone notice she is wearing gloves with both outfits??? Is this some sort of legit trend that I’m not aware of? Or is she attempting to hide her hands? Kim Kardashian went through a glove phase, which irked me no end, but then I read that she hates her hands, so it might be as much an attempt to hide them as a fashion thing.
It’s hiding old hands. Madonna does it, others too. You can puff up your face with fillers and so forth but there are two areas that are almost impossible to keep looking youthful — your neck and hands. Other than that, meh. I have just above shoulder length hair, thick and curly and streaked with grey, I refuse to dye it anymore, I like my greys — I’ve earned every last damn one of them. I refuse to botox or filler my face — luckily a mix of good genes, not tanning or smoking, eating well and exercise has kept this 69 year old face in good shape. I don’t want to be beholden to any measures to cling desperately to my youth — I didn’t have a particularly happy one but I’m in a wonderful place now with a loving partner and nice life. That makes me far happier and confident than my hair.
Jaded
Congratulations one being happy in your own skin!
I also love my gray hairs and have been fortunate to not have wrinkles.
Healthy living is definitely a part of that.
I couldn’t imagine the fortune you have to spend on dyes and creams or injections. Our inner beauty is more impactful.
For celebrities who are ultra-thin, their hands really show their age over time, especially because most people don’t use sunscreen on the backs of their hands, and age spots can get really noticeable there… Look at Jane Fonda’s face, and then her hands. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10744749/Jane-Fonda-sheds-tears-honors-Lily-Tomlin-hand-foot-imprint-ceremony-Hollywood.html) I’ve read that some treatments can be done to plump hands up to address the prominent veins and tendons, but the skin texture is much harder to mask.
I’m 39 and it’s already a struggle to grow out healthy long hair. It grew like a weed in high school and I chopped it in college. I haven’t been able to get it past my shoulders where it looks full and healthy at the ends since then. If I could grow it to my butt I would do that and never cut it again. I have recently started dusting the ends on my own every few weeks and using a protein mask. That’s helping a little.
I don’t see how trying look 40 permanently is redefining aging in any sort of healthy way.
This she just spewing Hollywood standard for aging women, that you have to Ben thin and look young,
I grew out my hair during the pandemic, it was the longest it’s ever been to just above the end of my back after 2 years of growing it out. I cut it and donated it to Children with Hair Loss, something I’ve always wanted to do. Now my hair is right above my shoulders, the shortest it’s been in awhile. I do enjoy the fact washing it takes about 5 seconds but I do miss being able to braid it. I’m probably going to grow it out again but not so long like before, it was a lot of hair and it became heavy (especially in the shower when it was wet). I’ve always admired Demi for keeping her long hair and ignoring everyone else (though I have a hard time recognizing her in these pictures). Everyone should be allowed to wear their hair the way they want to.
I had long Pandemic hair too. It’s still pretty long for me, though I did trim it a bit. It helps that I finally, in my fifth decade, found hair tools that actually allow me to dry and straighten/smooth my hair by myself. When it was curly all the time and wanted to frizz, I wore it shorter or up in a loose bun to avoid having an unruly mop, which was hot (I live in Texas) and not really flattering on me any more.
My mom still comments on older women with long hair, I don’t get it. It’s your hair, wear it how you like!
Demi does have nice hair, and she also was one of the few leading ladies to have a pixie cut back in the day. I think my favorite was the Indecent Proposal era bob though.
Her hair is gorgeous. Maybe colors the grays but I’m almost 50 with very dark hair and still don’t have to color.
I think whatever she did to her mouth area recently dramatically changed her look, but honestly, she is stunning. She also has very good teeth work. Not oversized. They look good, imo, and probably cost a fortune 😩
Whatever Demi was doing to her face in previous years was pretty good/naturally done because she kept her “thinnish” face, but now her cheeks just look so unnatural.
Jennifer Connelly would be my goal look. She’s my age, 51, obviously almost a decade younger than Demi, but still has her naturally thin face with normal contours. I’m sure it gets even harder as you approach 60, but the moon-face look doesn’t do anyone any favors.
I have waist length hair. I am turning 51 next month. I will never cut my hair. It is my pride and joy. I take good care of my hair. I get a lot of compliments about my hair. Most of those compliments come from teenagers or twenty somethings. Even though they usually ask if that is my real hair. 🙂 A lot of older ladies love my hair. The only time I get flack is from the churchy ladies who would take insult at anything anyone does.
I remember in my early 20’s I worked with a woman in her 50’s. My hair was down to my butt and she kept telling me to enjoy it while I can because at 30 I have to cut it off. She could never give me a reason why, just that I had to do it. Yeah, I didn’t do it.
That’s super weird.
My former boss was over 60 but she didn’t represent 60 and she didn’t have gray hair, just 2! I, on the other hand, have had gray hair since I was 16.
Demi looks great, as does Cher, I hope she puts an end to that silly idea of what an older woman should do. She has always been controversial for defying social impositions, her pregnant picture on the cover was a milestone in showbiz. Good for her, she looks much better than many in their 20s.
Why are you putting down women in their 20s that don’t “fit the mold” of Beauty standards.
Demi looks like a older woman that is thin and had work done.
My friend worked as a nanny for Demi and Bruce in Idaho way back when. At the time, she was a seriously wackadoodle piece o’ work…and my friend had lots of stories about Demi obsessing over her hair.
It sounds like she’s matured a little… I hope so anyway. I think her hair looks great.
Well-kept very long hair is lovely. I dislike ragged and uneven ends though and it offends me when someone flips their waist-length hair around and it touches or drags across me.
Don’t even get me started on the long-haired folks who lean over my table or desk. I don’t want anyone’s hair touching me or my belongings (or food!)
Her hair is awesome! I’m with her on not wanting people to touch it. Too many scissor-happy stylists in the past have made me cautious!
Demi Moore is in no way a role model for us older women, but I won’t criticize her for her long hair. She can do with it whatever she likes. That said, I think she always looked more beautiful with short hair. Anyone remember her look in Ghost? Now that I think about it, she is probably using her hair to camouflage all the work on her face.
I get minimal cuts too. We call them microtrims. Just getting dead ends and evening out the cut. No one should ever let age or other people dictate your style, hair or otherwise!
She has gorgeous hair. I loved her bob era too. I wonder how she feels about “The Slap” controversy being the result of a G.I. Jane crack. That must have been uncomfortable.
My husband’s grandmother had long, white hair that she used to always wear up in a ponytail until the day she died at nearly 90. My m-i-l, her daughter, had SUCH a problem with it. She thought it was inappropriate for her to wear it so long. I could never understand. Why would you care so much about someone else’s hair?
I think she and her hair look very good, and I’m glad women now feel they can do what they want with their hair, clothes and style no matter their age.
That said, apparently Demi has always been weird about her hair. My sister had a friend who worked in production on “Ghost,” and while that was being filmed Demi would let it be known that no peon should look her in the eye and no one better even think about touching her hair. And her hair was really short in “Ghost.”
I don’t like people touching my head either, unless they’re doing it for the purpose of cutting and styling my hair. So I get it. But this is partly just a Demi Moore thing, not necessarily an age related or style related thing.
Can someone explain to me WHY women are supposed to cut their hair starting in their 40s? Seriously why? I never understood this rule. Am being genuine here.
My younger brother once asked our older sister, before she got married, when she was going to cut her hair. She looked puzzled and he said, “You know, so you have hair like Mom and the aunts.” He thought short hair was a post-wedding requirement LOL.
That said, I love my pixie cut.
I thought this was dependent on someone’s face.
If someone’s face looks “old,” perhaps short hair brightens the face up. Long hair probably drags down some people’s faces. But if you (and your hair) look young, long hair probably looks fine.
Since no one looks old anymore, there probably is no necessity to cut one’s hair.
Most celebrities seem to keep their hair long though. I can’t recall celebrities, even before Demi, actually cutting their hair. It’s regular people who seem to go out of their way to cut their hair, but I assume that’s because of maintenance — you need time to keep hair looking a certain way.
I think it’s a patriarchal thing too. A woman’s hair was part of her “desirability” to men. Once she’s past 30 (or whatever) she’s considered “not desirable” so she needs to cut her hair to reflect it. Or something. Like how we’re supposed to be invisible after a certain age.
I think since companies are seeing the advantages of not ignoring an entire large subset of a population, and more and more people presenting as women are speaking out, there’s been a shift in what can and can’t be worn.
I’m 52. I used to have hair down to the middle of my back. My hair is thinning a bit due to menopause so I have it layered a little and to my shoulders, so it will look thicker.
I think Demi has some volume extensions hidden in there as well but if her scalp can handle it, go for it.
Menopausal hair. What a wonderful topic of conversation. Ugh. 😭
I understand if she dyes her hair. I‘m dark haired too and slowly starting to go gray. It just looks messy and going full gray will mean going from a dark to a very light look. Not sure if I want that.
I think it’s a ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ kind of thing. Women also used to put their up when they were adults and I think we sometimes subconsciously still think of long hair as childish.
Then there are women like Kate Middleton who would look so much better if she cut off about a foot of that damned hair. She’d also look younger with an updated style and color.
I think, really, know what looks good on you, take good care of it, and style appropriately for the occasion.
Note that she’s hiding her hands with GLOVES.
I’ve always heard that it’s the hands that will always give away your age. But I can’t believe that’s still true given the advances plastic surgery has made to keep up with chic women over 50 and reap all their disposable cash.
She has very beautiful hair. Regardless of age, I can’t see why anyone would argue that she needs to cut her hair.
I’ve always wondered what it must be like to have long, silky beautiful hair like that ha ha.
I remember Demi saying she had a really bad experience with her hair recovering from the perm and blonde dye job she got for 1991’s The Butcher’s Wife (with Jeff Daniels, Francis McDormand). An adorable movie if you haven’t seen it.