As if women aren’t already freaked out enough about aging, the beauty industry is now messing with our heads even more. Along with the various anti-aging creams, serums, balms, wrinkle smoothers, moisturizers and treatments for your skin, the latest trend in product pushing comes in the form of anti-aging hair care items.

Because going gray isn’t the only thing we have to worry about, apparently, now add to the list the threat of an “old hair” day. The Wall Street Journal looks into this recent push for women to keep their hair looking young, soft and thick.

Some products claim to boost volume to thinning hair or smooth out the crinkly nature of grays, and all come in an a vast array of forms — shampoos, conditioners, special treatments with multiple steps, scalp revitalizers and oh, so much more.

The thing is, your hair will age as you do. It’ll change color and also become more brittle, fragile and thinner. And as hair turns gray, many woman dye it, further damaging the hair.

There are steps you can take to protect your hair without products, notes one doctor who spoke to the WSJ: Skip anything that causes repeated tension or pain (like wearing your ponytails super tight or brushing your hair really, really hard and over straightening it), staying out of the sun and its damaging UV rays and eating a nutrient rich diet.

The push for beauty brands now is to get women thinking about those changes before that happens — and into stores buying up products — instead of just chalking it up to a bad hair day. It’s an old hair day and a brand new worry.

For more on aging hair and how companies are pushing products based on our fear of all things old, check out the Wall Street Journal‘s in-depth article in the source link below.

Are You Having an Old Hair Day? [Wall Street Journal]

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