As we enter the heart of summer 2025, finding the perfect hairstyle that keeps you looking fresh while beating the July heat becomes essential, especially for women over 70 with narrow facial features. The right haircut can transform your appearance by adding visual width to elongated face shapes, creating balance and highlighting your best features during these warm months.
Why face shape matters more after 70
With age, facial structure naturally changes as we lose volume in our cheeks and temples, often making narrow faces appear even more elongated. Dr. Elaine Harper, renowned hairstylist and aging hair specialist, explains: “The right haircut for a narrow face should add horizontal volume while framing the face beautifully. This creates balance and highlights your best features while minimizing the appearance of facial narrowing that often occurs with age.”
The cooling volumized bob: Summer’s perfect solution
The volumized bob remains one of the most flattering cuts for adding width to narrow faces. This cooling bob not only feels 5 degrees cooler but creates the perfect frame for elongated features. For maximum width-enhancing effects, consider these elements:
- Length at or just above the jaw to create horizontal emphasis
- Soft layers throughout to add dimension and movement
- Volume concentrated at the sides rather than the top
- Textured ends to create the illusion of width
Side-swept styles: The narrow face’s best friend
Nothing adds visual width quite like a side-swept hairstyle. Celebrity stylist Marcus Bennett shares: “Side-swept styles direct the eye horizontally across the face, instantly creating the illusion of width. For my clients over 70 with narrow faces, I recommend incorporating soft side-swept elements regardless of the overall length.”
The transformative power of bangs
For immediate face-widening impact, consider curtain bangs, which not only add width but keep you cooler during hot July days. Soft, wispy bangs that sweep to the sides create horizontal movement across the forehead, instantly balancing narrow features.
“After getting curtain bangs, my face looked noticeably wider and more balanced. Friends keep asking if I’ve lost weight or changed my makeup routine – it’s just my new haircut!” shares 72-year-old Judith Mercer.
Textured pixies: Short and sophisticated
The textured pixie is like a facial architecture makeover for narrow faces. By creating volume at the sides rather than height at the crown, this cut cleverly redistributes visual weight. The key is maintaining softness through texturizing techniques like point cutting, which removes bulk without creating harsh lines.
Embracing natural volume for summer comfort
Women over 70 are discovering that naturally voluminous styles not only add width to narrow faces but also keep them cooler during summer heat. The secret lies in strategic layering that works with your natural texture.
Color techniques that enhance width
Consider these width-enhancing color approaches this summer:
- Face-framing highlights that draw attention outward
- Dimensional color that creates shadow and light effects
- Softer color transitions that complement summer skin tones
The age-defying shaggy layered cut
The modern shag creates an optical illusion for narrow faces, like clouds expanding across the horizon. With its emphasis on movement and texture, this cut can make hair appear three times fuller while feeling significantly cooler in July heat.
“The layered shag revolutionized how I see myself,” says hair educator Patricia Wells. “For women over 70 with narrow faces, it creates the perfect storm of youthfulness, width, and easy summer styling.”
This summer, embrace a haircut that not only feels cooler but transforms your narrow face with the perfect balance of width, movement, and style. Your face shape deserves a cut that highlights its unique beauty while keeping you comfortable through the hottest days of July 2025.