39 Age-Defying Pixie Cuts for Women Over 40 Looking for a Cute Hairdo

Cindy Marcus
Cindy Marcus Hairstylist, Editor-in-Chief

A pixie cut for women over 40 is a versatile short crop that offers a youthful look. These are easy to style and manage, which ladies love the most!

A skilled hairstylist from Florida, Melissa Smith (@hairmakesupbee on Instagram), agrees that this chop increases confidence. “Pixie cuts turn heads, so be ready for the compliments when you wear one,” she states.

The only drawback of pixie crops is that they can be high-maintenance, requiring a trim every 3-5 weeks. According to Smith, this might be an issue for women with very busy lifestyles.

Since short hair isn’t easy to cut, finding a proficient hairdresser is crucial.

“Look for a stylist that specializes and is confident in pixie cuts. They’ll be able to determine the best pixie haircut for your lifestyle and needs,” Smith explains. “There’s a pixie cut out there for you no matter your age, body type, or face shape,” she adds.

Smith also assures that “the right stylist can teach you how to style and maintain your cut between salon visits.”

This is the haircut that isn’t only for younger ladies. Here are the images of the trendiest styles for pixie cuts for women over 40! Or you can check out our pixie cut guide to help you!

Photos

#1: Buttery Blonde with Side Bangs

A buttery blonde with side bangs is a very youthful color and cut to go for. Buttery blonde has the perfect amount of golden to warm up the complexion for many women, while side bangs help to conceal any lines on the forehead.

#2: Long Pixie with Subtle Side Bangs

Your hair can lose volume as it ages. However, a long pixie cut with subtle side bangs can make it look youthful.

#3: Short Black Pixie with Shaved Sides

If you want to add a chic, fashionable edge to your typical short crop, the best option is a short black pixie with shaved sides. The richness of the deep black hair color contrasts beautifully with the short, shaved sides for a whole new take on the crop.

#4: Blonde and Rooted Long Pixie

A short, rooted, blonde pixie provides a textured and lived-in feel. This style is great if you like a modern, urban look for your hair. If you don’t want your hair to be really short around your ears, keep some length. You can tuck the longer strands behind your ears. This gives your short hair a softer look.

#5: Messy, Straight Pixie Cut

If you feel beautiful and bold, ask for a messy, straight pixie. This style adds a controlled texture to your straight pixie cut. It increases volume and gives an edgy, piecey, and fun look. It also supports various creative color placements to fit your vibe for each season. It’s important to maintain this style with a visit to your stylist every 4-6 weeks. Use matte clay for styling and tousling your locks into your desired look at home.

#6: Versatile Natural Brunette Pixie

Choosing a natural brunette pixie cut creates a trendy and flexible daily look. Using a quality smoothing cream and a shine spray is one of the best things you can do to maintain the sheen of your natural locks.

#7: Sweeping Brunette Long Pixie

This sweeping brunette long pixie is perfect for ladies who desire a chic, refreshed hairstyle. The longer length in the front creates a soft and feminine frame around the face, while the shorter layers in the back add movement and texture. This versatile cut works well with various hair types and can be easily styled for casual and formal occasions. To maintain this hairstyle’s sleekness and shine, a lightweight styling cream or serum is recommended to tame any frizz or flyaways. Additionally, regular trims every 4-6 weeks will help to maintain the shape and ensure the haircut stays fresh.

#8: Rooted and Sweeping Pixie

The rooted and sweeping pixie cut is a modern and stylish hairstyle with a natural root color that smoothly merges into a soft blonde. If you want a rooted effect, this is an excellent method to add depth and 3D appeal to your overall look. The best way to get this look is by applying a soft root color blend after your highlights. This chic and low-maintenance pixie cut is the ideal choice for those seeking a trendy yet easygoing look.

#9: Face-Framing Fringe on a Pixie Cut

A pixie cut with a face-framing fringe is a great way to freshen your look. To add depth and shine to your cut, consider deepening your hair color. Ask for longer pieces or bangs. This face frame will draw attention to your eyes and highlight your best features. It’s a low-maintenance option that can be easily styled with a texturizing spray for a tousled, effortless finish. Also, by spending a bit of extra time flat ironing your hair into place, you can make it wearable for a few more days.

#10: Sweeping Pixie Cut with Blonde Highlights

A sweeping pixie cut with blonde highlights is your best bet if you have baby-fine hair. Textured crown layers will heighten your hair while highlights swell the hair shaft. The swelling creates thicker strands.

#11: Natural Pixie for Black Women

Embrace the waves and curls by choosing a natural haircut. Go relaxer free and love your natural curl pattern by cropping the hair short and letting your curls create a unique design to the hair. Pixie cuts help to show off all of your best facial features while providing a low-maintenance look. Try using a foaming lotion for a sleek, smooth look, or use a curl cream for soft, bouncy curl definition.

Modern High Quiff Pixie for Woman Over 40 Years Old
Instagram @hairmakesupbee

#12: Modern High Quiff

Have you ever wanted to try short hair to make yourself look younger? The pompadour pixie is a funky youthful style that also has the added bonus of helping to elongate the cheekbones. Blow-dry with Davines Volumizing Hair Mousse, and finish with Aveda light elements texturizing cream.

#13: Golden Blonde Pixie Cut with Side-Swept Bangs

A golden blonde pixie cut with side-swept bangs is an iconic staple in short cuts. The golden blonde color adds warmth to the skin tone and facial features while also giving an expanding effect to the hair itself. While pixie cuts can be a simple haircut, they do require some maintenance and styling in order to look good.

#14: Cropped Haircut with Tapered Sides and Nape

A cropped haircut with tapered sides and nape is one of the most popular variations of the hairstyle. Adding a taper to the nape and sides allows for more longevity between maintenance appointments as well as a more crisp appearance. tapered edges can make a pixie cut look more professional and tidy.

Side-Swept Pixie for Mature Women
Instagram @yurirf_

#15: Side-Swept Pixie

A side-swept pixie is perfect for women who want to keep a youthful hairstyle while having less maintenance and styling needs. Short hairstyles can vary depending on face shape, hair texture, and desired style, but the base purpose of a short hairstyle tends to be manageability and simplicity of style. A side part can create a beautiful framing effect while at the same time drawing the eye toward features of the face that you most love.

Related: See more hairstyles for women over 40.

#16: Very Short Pixie with Long Bangs

A very short pixie with long bangs creates contrast in a haircut. Adding contrast creates a strong visual line to follow, helping to direct the eye to features you want to accentuate. Long bangs can cater to any face shape and hair texture.

Layered Pixie Haircut with Bangs
Instagram @doceerequinte

#17: Layered Pixie with Bangs

A layered pixie haircut with bangs is a great way to transition to short hair while still keeping length around the face. Longer layering around the face combined with a tapered nape creates a very voluminous natural shape that creates movement naturally. A layered pixie with feathered bangs makes for an easy-to-style haircut with a simple maintenance routine.

Related: See more pixie cuts with bangs.

#18: Pixie with Long Bangs and Stacked Layers

A pixie with long bangs and stacked layers is a great low-maintenance introduction to shorter hairstyles. Stacked layers are great for buildable volume in an easy-to-style and low-maintenance haircut.

#19: Tousled Spiky Pixie

A tousled spiky pixie pairs perfectly with wispy bangs to create a whimsical and edgy short hairstyle that is simple to style and has a low-maintenance upkeep routine. To have a style that lasts all day, use a paste or hair putty with some grit and avoid touching your hair regularly.

#20: Pixie with Subtle Layers for Thick Hair

A pixie with subtle layers works well for 40-year-olds with thick hair to reduce bulk and make the hairstyle easier to work with on a daily basis. Thick hair can be harder to style, so adding texture and layering helps the hair move in the desired direction.

Related: See more pixie styles for thick hair.

Pixie Crop with Choppy Layers and Bangs
Instagram @saloneregina

#21: Pixie Crop with Choppy Layers and Bangs

Try a pixie crop with choppy layers and bangs to add a youthful zest to your regular style. Short choppy hairstyles are growing in popularity because they provide a fresh and uplifting new look for women who have changing hair needs. As hair ages, the needs of hair change as well, so short choppy layers are a great way to transition and learn about the new care routine and styling needs of your hair.

Pixie with a Pompadour Style
Instagram @meuhairdivo

#22: Pixie with a Pompadour Style

Pixies styled with a pompadour can bring class and elegance to a look. Soft waves are the key to a beautiful and sleek pompadour hairstyle because they create a base direction for the pompadour to follow in order to stay in position easier.

Side-Parted Pixie on Fine Hair
Instagram @ketty_yar

#23: Side-Parted Pixie on Fine Hair

Try a side-parted pixie on fine hair to add thickness and more volume. Fine and straight hair often falls limp due to the lack of density in the strand. To prevent this, add texture and choppy layers to pixies to lift the strand and add natural bounce.

Pixie Haircut with Feathered Layers
Instagram @cesarhair19

#24: Pixie with Feathered Layers

A pixie with feathered layers pairs extremely well with naturally curly or wavy hair. Feathered layers create a face-framing shape without a heavy definition line. Combining a pixie with layers creates a beautiful frame for any facial features that you want attention drawn to.

#25: Short Copper Pixie

A short copper pixie is an age-appropriate way to add fire and a little bit of edge to a shifting short style. Copper can have many different vibrancies and tones. For a bolder copper, there will be more color maintenance than for a more brunette or muted copper. For color longevity use a color depositing conditioner between maintenance appointments.

#26: Textured Pixie

A white textured pixie hairstyle is iconic, elegant, and increasingly popular. Gray hair has become all the rage and is a trend that is only going to keep growing when it comes to short haircuts. Embracing the gray hair with a chic platinum pixie brings a youthful vibrance to your changing hair.

Pixie Haircut with Shorter Layers
Instagram @mauro_brettas

#27: Pixie with Shorter Layers

A pixie with shorter layers creates an easy base for buildable volume in a style. Short hair cuts for ladies over 40 have layering in the crown and often have graduation around the nape in order to create an ideal shape and texture for easy styling. The layering can be adjusted to frame any face shape and style goal.

#28: Razored Pixie Cut

A razored pixie can achieve a completely different texture than scissors or clippers when cutting hair. Razor cutting is less exact but works wonders for adding natural movement and texture.

#29: Asymmetrical Pixie

Asymmetrical pixie cuts are a trend that is only growing more and more popular. These haircuts create a youthful and lifting effect, and when combined with an asymmetrical fringe, they can accentuate any facial features that you want to draw the eye to.

#30: Undercut Pixie with a Textured Top

Try an undercut pixie with a textured top when you’re looking to have an easily managed haircut that requires minimal styling effort. Undercut hairstyles are edgy but can still be softened and styled to accommodate a more elegant look. When considering an undercut, think about how soft or harsh you want the overall look to be. The more blunt and bold you’d like the style, the shorter the undercut. To achieve a softer style, leave the undercut slightly longer and add texture around the perimeter.

#31: Long Pixie with a Deep Side Part

Try a long pixie with a deep side part if you want to create volume and texture in fine or thin hair. Face-framing layers are a great way to accentuate your favorite facial features while drawing the eyes away from features you may not love so much. Graduation at the nape of the neck makes a pixie cut much lighter and easier to style. Try adding dry texture spray when styling for a more touchable hold that will last all day.

Crown Layers on Pixie Hair
Instagram @pro100taya

#32: Crown Layers on Pixie Hair

The use of crown layers on pixie hair is important when you want to get lift and volume at the crown. When looking for inspiration on short pixies for women, think of the time you want to spend styling daily. Consider that more layers are typically easier to style but require styling to look purposeful, whereas less layering can be a little more challenging to style but also can be worn style-free more easily. Crown layering is a great way to build a natural-looking volume.

Short Tapered Pixie for Thin Hair
Instagram @salon72madeley

#33: Short Tapered Pixie for Thin Hair

A short tapered pixie for thin hair is a great way to keep fine hair healthy, voluminous, and easy to style and maintain. Shorter hair also helps the hair look thicker overall. Tapering the hair at the nape also allows for less bulk from a profile angle.

Related: Best hairstyles for women over 40 with fine hair.

Blonde Cropped Hair
Instagram @hairnerdsalon

#34: Blonde Cropped Hair

Blonde cropped hair is a dynamic and edgy way to freshen up a style. Blonde hair requires more maintenance than other colors as it can become warm or brassy. If upkeep is no concern for you, then a cropped blonde pixie is a bold and dynamic statement hairstyle for women who want to feel young and vibrant.

Highlighted Pixie with a Fringe
Instagram @barbaras.salon

#35: Highlighted Pixie with a Fringe

A highlighted pixie with a fringe adds just the right amount of dimension to the face-framing to bring out the eyes. Short styles can be significantly enhanced by adding some highlights and a face-framing fringe. Adding highlighted pieces through the hair can truly customize the tone and contrast in the hair, which means it can work with any skin tone, eye color, and ideal vibrancy. To extend the life of the tones in your highlights, try a colored conditioner that deposits pigment with each wash.

Pixie Crop with Asymmetrical Bangs
Instagram @vera_stile.kg

#36: Pixie Crop with Asymmetrical Bangs

A pixie crop with asymmetrical bangs works so well to create a lifting effect for women. Often, as a way to bring a youthful effect to the facial features, women will look towards short funky haircuts or new dramatic colors and styles. Asymmetry around the face helps to open up the face without drawing attention to any imperfections or balance differences with facial features.

Wavy Pixie Undercut
Instagram @vera_stile.kg

#37: Wavy Pixie Undercut

Try a wavy pixie and undercut for manageable wavy hair. Women over 40 typically have the complaint that their hair is becoming hard to maintain and style, so a great alternative is an undercut and pixie combination. Adding an undercut is a great way to reduce excessive bulk in thick hair and make the hair easier to maintain and style.

#38: Choppy Pixie

A choppy pixie haircut is perfect for ladies over 40. Short sassy haircuts are all the rage when looking into a style that is both mature and elegant, and also youthful and vibrant.

Straight Pixie with Brow-Length Bangs
Instagram @room28_bcn

#39: Straight Pixie with Brow-Length Bangs

A straight pixie with brow-length bangs is one of the more natural and subtle of the short pixies. With brow-length bangs, it’s critical to make sure they are light, fluffy, and textured to avoid the haircut looking like a bowl cut or a mushroom cut. Heavy bangs can bring facial features downward and close the face. When utilizing bangs with a pixie, it’s important to frame the face lightly, rather than take over the face with the frame.