Hair Care at Any Age: 25 Best Haircuts for Older Men

Your style may evolve as you age — and your haircut might too. Looking for modern men’s haircuts for guys over 50 or older men’s hairstyles for thinning hair? We’ve got you covered.

In this guide, we’ll explore 26 of the best haircuts for older men, whether you’re searching for haircuts for older guys with thinning hair (male pattern baldness affects as much as half of men over age 50), are trying to make the most of a receding hairline, or are just hoping to try something new.

You can always opt for a haircut you’ve had most of your life or show your barber a picture of a cut you like. But you may want to consider a few other factors when deciding what haircut is best for you:

• Your hair type. Is your hair straight, wavy, curly, or coily? Is your natural hair color turning silver or gray? Knowing your hair type, texture, and shade will influence the type of cut that works best.

• Your hair density. Do you have fine hair, coarse hair, or something in between? Density refers to the thickness or diameter of each individual hair.

• Your personal style. How you dress and present yourself helps dictate what haircut you may like. Do you have a polished, timeless style? Are you more laid-back and casual? Do you want your haircut to complement facial hair or a full beard?

• Your styling preferences. Does it hold a style naturally or require a lot of product? Are you willing to use different styling products or blow-dry your hair, or do you prefer to let it air-dry naturally?

Here’s a roundup of modern men’s haircuts for the over-50 crowd.

1. The Classic Crew Cut

The cut: A crew cut is longer on the top with short sides. This style can help conceal thinning while giving you flexibility for how long you want the top.

What you’ll need: A comb and a bit of pomade or gel if you prefer a more polished look.

Best for: All hair types.

2. Short and Tousled

The cut: This haircut is close-cropped with texture and a bit of wildness.

What you’ll need: A short-and-touseled look is very low maintenance, but wax can add a bit of hold, and sea salt spray can bring out the texture.

Best for: Men with some natural waves or curly hair.

3. The Side Part

The cut: For this cut, hair is slightly tousled and parted deeply to one side (whichever side works best for you).

What you’ll need: All it takes is a fine-tooth comb and light pomade or gel.

Best for: Men with some volume on top but thinning sides.

4. Buzz Cut

The cut: A timeless buzz cut is short all over without being shaved. It evens out thinning patches and is fairly easy to maintain at home.

What you’ll need: You’ll need clippers with a short guard and pomade or gel for a more textured look.

Best for: Men with overall thinning and receding hairlines.

6. The Clean Shave

The cut: A fully shaved head is simple and easy to maintain.

What you’ll need: Achieving and maintaining this cut calls for a razor or clippers with no guard and shaving cream. It requires near-daily maintenance, though a quick shave only takes a few minutes.

Best for: Men ready to embrace baldness with confidence. 

7. The Short Pompadour

The cut: The short pompadour is short on the sides and back with longer swept-back hair on top.

What you’ll need: On the daily, you’ll need strong-hold pomade, a comb, and a blow dryer.

Best for: Men with thinning sides but some volume on top.

8. The Comb-Over

The cut: A comb-over is essentially a swept-over style that conceals a bald spot.

What you’ll need: Reach for a comb and styling gel or mousse for volume.

Best for: Men with a thinning top who want to enhance coverage.

9. Slicked Back

The cut: With this haircut, hair is swept backward from the forehead to reveal the hairline.

What you’ll need: For styling, you’ll need a comb and hair gel or pomade.

Best for: Men with longer, thicker hair on top. 

10. Spiky Cut

The cut: With this edgy style, hair is maneuvered to stand up in points.

What you’ll need: The spiky cut requires hair gel or wax and styling tools.

Best for: Men with thinning hair who want a playful, youthful look.

11. Cropped Afro

The cut: A cropped afro is evenly cut short with texture all over.

What you’ll need: You’ll need deep conditioner and a wide-toothed comb to use in the shower.

Best for: Men with coily hair. This style looks especially distinguished with salt-and-pepper hair.

12. Subtle Fade

The cut: With the subtle fade, hair gradually transitions from longer on top to shorter on the sides and back.

What you’ll need: Use gel for a shiny look or clay for a matte finish. You’ll also need regular trims or clippers to keep the sides short.

Best for: Various hair textures and lengths on top.

13. Brushed Back

The cut: Hair is brushed back from the forehead, which is more casual (and uses less product) than a slicked-back style.

What you’ll need: This look calls for a wide-tooth comb or brush, pomade for shaping, and hair spray for keeping it in place.

Best for: Thicker hair of any texture.

14. The Surfer Look

The cut: Surfer hair is usually medium to long hair with beachy waves or curls.

What you’ll need: With some sea salt spray, all you’ll need are your fingers for tousling.

Best for: Men with longer hair with natural waves or curls.

15. The Caesar

The cut: The Caesar is a classic style with mostly short hair, a little more length on top, and uniform bangs.

What you’ll need: You’ll need sharp scissors (for bang trims if you do it yourself) and styling cream to smooth your bangs.

Best for: Men with straight or slightly wavy hair.

16. Textured Bangs

The cut: Textured bangs are a face-framing style that works well for older men.

What you’ll need: Scissors, texture cream or mousse, and occasional trims are it for creating and maintaining this look.

Best for: Men with thinning at the crown who want to bring attention forward with a styled fringe and guys with a longer face shape or larger forehead.

17. The Long Slick-Back

The cut: Hair with a longer length is slicked over with product.

What you’ll need: You’ll need a fine-tooth comb, strong-hold pomade or gel, and patience to grow out your hair.

Best for: Men with fine but dense hair who want a classic, sophisticated look and prefer long hairstyles.

18. Long Layers

The cut: Layers add texture, volume, and movement to hair, whether or not it’s thinning.

What you’ll need: Long layers need scissors for layering and light mousse or cream to enhance movement.

Best for: Men with medium to long hair who want to show off their fullness and embrace a more relaxed style.

19. Playful Mop-Top

The cut: A playful mop-top has soft, purposefully messy waves all over.

What you’ll need: You might want a smoothing serum to keep the look from getting frizzy.

Best for: Men with some texture, wave, or curl.

20. The Faux Hawk

The cut: Hair is cut longer on the center-top and spiked up and inward to give the illusion of a mohawk.

What you’ll need: Faux hawks need styling gel, pomade or clay, and a wide-toothed comb.

Best for: All hair types.

21. Soft Layers

The cut: This layered style adds volume and movement for men with thinning hair. 

What you’ll need: Keep a wide-tooth comb and some smoothing cream nearby.

Best for: All hair types.

22. Silver Crop

The cut: This haircut is short and even to allow salt-and-pepper strands to shine.

What you’ll need: A silver crop just needs clippers and a shampoo formulated for gray hair.

Best for: Men who have gray hair and prefer short haircuts.

23: The Wavy Quiff

The cut: This classic haircut is longer on top as well as in the front and trimmed on the sides.

What you’ll need: The wavy quiff requires a blow dryer, a round brush, and a medium-hold styling cream or mousse.

Best for: Men with naturally wavy hair who want a youthful, somewhat retro look.

24. Long Hair With Center Part

The cut: Hair is grown out past the chin and parted in the center.

What you’ll need: Get a comb for creating a straight part and some smoothing cream for preventing flyaways.

Best for: All hair types.

25. Shoulder-Length Waves

The cut: For this style, hair falls just below the shoulders with natural waves.

What you’ll need: Shoulder-length waves crave leave-in conditioner and a wide-tooth comb for detangling.

Best for: Wavy to curly hair.

When thinking about the best hairstyles and haircuts for older men, here’s what we recommend:

• Consider your specific hair. Tailor your cut to your hair’s texture, density, and shade, as well as your maintenance preferences.

• Embrace your style. Choose a haircut that complements your personal look and lifestyle.

• Ask someone. Don’t be afraid to ask your hairstylist, your partner, or a stylish friend what haircut they think would look best on you.

Still not sure what haircut you should get? Take our quiz to find out what haircut is right for you.

And if you’re wondering if the solution to your haircut woes is to just shave it all off, check out our profile of one man who let his hair go for good.

Dealing with hair loss? Take our free online hair loss assessment to start exploring treatments.