demo-11545709686

My desktop image is a familyphoto, taken back in theearly 1970s. Every timeI turn on my computer,there we all are; my teenage sisters arelooking suitably disgruntled, and one ofmy baby twin brothers has had a cryingfit. I, however, am grinning from ear toear. Why? Because I have been allowedto wear my long hair down. Permanentlyin plaits, my hair was taken out of itselastics for the occasion, and I loved it.Psychologists would no doubt have afield day, but now I’m aged 50, I still enjoywearing my hair long, as if I’m somehowducking a rule that says past a certain agewe should submit to a more respectablebob, or at least keep it no longer thanthe shoulders. But long hair has alwaysmade me happy – and on occasion, evenfinancially better off. After all, it wasn’tmy salary as a rookie journalist that``````enabled me to buy a flat in the early 1990s.It was my royalties for appearing in aseries of ads for Pantene where I had toshake and toss my then peat-colouredhair about. Why would I ever cut it?“Long hair has transcended fashion,”says Sam McKnight, hairstylist on thisshoot. “And those days of it just beingsomething for the very young are welland truly behind us.” He cites the DriesVan Noten show a few seasons ago – inwhich some models were over 40 andsporting long hair – as being a turningpoint. “Notice how you just calledyourself a ‘long-haired girl’ not a ‘long-haired woman’?” he asks. I did. “That’sthe crux of the matter – the generationalthing has gone, the mindset is different.”Girls, kids, there’s something eternallyyouthful about having long hair, whateveryour age. “We classify this trend as the eraof Big Kids,” says Jen Chamberlain, global``````beauty trends expert at Procter & GambleBeauty, who has seen a clear increase inhair length across all ages in the past fiveyears. “We are living longer, with theaverage life expectancy now 81 years inthe UK. With this comes recognitionthat the older stages of our lives shouldbe as expressive from a hair and beautypoint of view as any other.”Because make no mistake, keepinghair long can feel a little high-maintenance. Those days when I couldjump out of the shower and run a combthrough it are long gone. It takes avillage, with my village consistingprimarily of Nicola Clarke for colour andJoel Goncalves for cut – both of whomare at Nicola Clarke for John Frieda andstress that the relationship with yourhairdresser is of prime importance.“That stubborn colour at the ends,which if they fall below your shouldersis going to be anywhere from three tofive years old, is sometimes difficult tocolour,” says Clarke. “It jeopardises thestrength and durability of your hair.” Heradvice is to target only the areas wherecolour is really needed. Goncalves advisestrimming it every eight weeks. “Whenthe hair starts to split, it does so all theway up the hair shaft, making it lookfrizzy, which can be very ageing. But youneed to be patient, because it will takeabout a year of keeping it trimmed beforeyou will see a real difference.”Investing in the occasional deepconditioning treatment is alsoworthwhile. I’m a fan of Masa Ohta atLeonor Greyl at Harrods Hair & BeautySalon for her incredible head massage,which leaves hair glossy and healthylooking. The seriously committed mayconsider a consultation with a trichologist.I recently had a scalp examination withAnabel Kingsley, daughter of the latePhilip Kingsley, who prescribed a doseof much-needed vitamins and minerals.“Your iron levels are at 13 – for healthyhair they need to be closer to 80,” shesaid. “With such poor levels, I’m surprisedit’s this long at all.” A lack of vitamin Dis also not good for hair growth. Kingsleyadvises using a paddle brush, too, andplenty of Philip Kingsley Elasticizer tocondition, with a touch of SmoothCream at the ends after washing.A lot of effort? Perhaps. But every timeI think of cutting it short, I think of theother members of the long-haired gang,those women who continue to wear itwell in their prime – Sheila Metzner,Elizabeth Saltzman, Elle Macpherson,Cecilia Chancellor, Kirsty Hume – andI am thankful to still be a rebel at heart.Besides, who knows when Pantenewill call again? Q