'I've been a hair colourist for nearly 20 years - mature women should avoid shade that brings all their flaws forward'
Women have been given an anti-ageing hair tip
YouTube / Megan Graham / GETTY IMAGES
Dark hair may have suited you in your teens, 20s and early 30s, but according to an expert, going a few shades lighter in your more mature years could drastically improve your appearance.
Hair colourist Megan Graham, who has been in the business for almost two decades, weighed in on "the best hair colour for older women". She advised ladies to swap dark hues for lighter shades, as darker hair runs the risk of highlighting flaws.
Megan said on YouTube: "I think what a lot of women do is choose a hair colour when they're 18 and keep buying that same colour and using that colour and thinking that it works just as well at 60 as when they were 18.
"But the thing you have to remember is that your skin is constantly changing. And what you really want to do is bring out the absolute best in your skin and really subdue the flaws.
'For me, I find that almost every client looks better with slightly lighter hair'
YouTube / Megan Graham
"It doesn't mean that you're trying to look like someone completely different. It just means you're doing whatever gives you a little bit more of a glow and a little bit more of a healthy look."
Megan explained that for women with darker locks, this might mean lightening it a few shades.
The expert said: "The colour that you had at 18 years old is almost always going to be a little bit darker than what works for you when you're 45 years old, 50 years old - your skin even starts changing at 30 years old."
To "accentuate your natural beauty", Megan suggested that "a little bit of softness" benefits almost everyone.
She said: "For me, I find that almost every client looks better with slightly lighter hair.
"The thing to remember is that when I say 'slightly lighter', this is probably not any more than two levels lighter than what's naturally growing out of their head."
Now this doesn't mean all women of a certain age should automatically dye their hair blonde. In fact, Megan explained that this "could have the opposite effect and make you look older and take away your natural glow".
For mature women with dark brown hair, Megan suggested a medium or light brown might look best.
The hair guru said: "When an older woman who has more mature skin wears a darker colour, what actually happens is that she's bringing all of the flaws forward in her skin."
"So if there's anything wrong - if you have a blemish or maybe some pigmentation from the sun or something like that - by putting a really dark colour against your face, everything looks a little bit worse.
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A lighter shade of brown adds 'softness' to your faceGETTY IMAGES"My general rule of thumb is that almost every client looks better lighter instead of darker. The opposite can be true if you're 20 years old, but when you're over 35, going just a little bit lighter is more gentle on you and really just brings some life to your skin tone."
In other hair news, a stylist with almost 30 years of experience named the long hair mistake that is "ageing you faster".
For those with shorter styles, the expert revealed the potentially disastrous short hair mistake that can make you look older than your years.