OLDER: Elegant, yes—but we can almost smell the Aqua Net.
YOUNGER: Pinned up, but not prim—this look has got swing.
SHERYL CROW
OLDER: Limp and lifeless hair is like announcing, "I've given up."
SHERYL CROW
YOUNGER: Big, bouncy waves turn back the clock
LEIGHTON MEESTER
OLDER: Perfect corkscrew spirals have not been in style since 1986—right around when Meester was born.
LEIGHTON MEESTER
YOUNGER: Long, tousled layers are more modern—and less matronly
PENÉLOPE CRUZ
OLDER: These blocky bangs with a big bun aren't sultry—they're schoolmarm-y.
PENÉLOPE CRUZ
YOUNGER: Side-swept bangs instantly soften her whole look
SARAH JESSICA PARKER
OLDER: Yanked-back hair is severe on anyone who isn't a 13-year-old ballerina. (Maybe even them.)
SARAH JESSICA PARKER
YOUNGER: A little volume (not too much) at the crown is a spritz from the fountain of youth.
BEYONCÉ
OLDER: There's something too stiff and out of proportion here—we keep thinking Big Love.
BEYONCÉ
YOUNGER: She's young and fresh with a deep side part and clean-cut ends.
SCARLETT JOHANSSON
OLDER: Hair that's too dark and heavy for your skin tone is only OK for vampires (they never age).
SCARLETT JOHANSSON
YOUNGER: A lighter shade of brown is less austere and more flattering
KATE MOSS
OLDER: Bleached out is as bad as too dark—the harsh way it lights the face piles on years.
KATE MOSS
YOUNGER: A warm, flattering blonde shade brings her face back in line with the date on her passport.
KATIE HOLMES
OLDER: As adorable as her daughter is, this hair you expect to see on someone in mom jeans.
KATIE HOLMES
YOUNGER: She's both more sophisticated and younger-looking with a cute, layered bob.
GWYNETH PALTROW
OLDER: Retro is always risky because it reminds us of things that are...old. And this is very Veronica Lake.
GWYNETH PALTROW
YOUNGER: Sometimes all it takes to update to a younger look is a quick snip or flip, like the center part here.
