We have a real love-hate relationship with our long hair. On a temperate, humid-free day, we wouldn’t trade our flowing locks for anything in the world. But the rest of the time, it’s a completely different story! These are the instances when we reach for our styling tools and hope for the best.

Sound familiar? Of course it does! Now, there are times when embarking on these styling sessions can help you walk into the office without looking like a bird was trying to nest in your hair, but there are other times when they do absolutely NOTHING for your overall look.

Don’t believe us? Just check out the hairstyle “don’t” on the left-hand side of this picture:

Shraddha from POPxo Beauty shows us that spending a good amount of time with a straightening iron won’t necessarily make you look any “better”. According to her, using a heavy hand while flat ironing won’t just damage your ends, it will also make you look older than you actually are. C’mon, no one wants that!

Sure, the idea may sound like “fake news”, but any seasoned hairstylist will back us up on this one. You see, sporting flat, pin-straight hair puts all of the focus on the face, which might be a good look for a middle schooler, but not for anyone who has fine lines.

So, instead of going stick-straight, Shraddha suggests adding a bit of curl to your ends to intensify dimension and create volume for a “softer” look. And, we agree; she looks so much more youthful in the image on the right.

Pro tip: Don’t have a curling iron? No worries—this look can be done exclusively using a flat iron. For further help, check out our tutorial here.

Next, Shraddha conquers the classic ponytail. While it may be tempting to brush your hair back into a super sleek pony in the morning, it won’t do anything for you. Take a look at the image on the left, and you’ll see what we mean…

Sure, she looks gorgeous, but the look is much too severe for her—and she realizes it, too! So, instead of ditching the ponytail all together, she simply combs her hair back like she did before, except this time, she makes it so the sides are much looser.

Similar to the flat iron curling technique, this extra height gives her plenty of volume which, ultimately, puts her best features front and center—not her fine lines. Makes sense!

Now that you know some of the hairstyles to avoid, it’s time for you to see which alternative looks yield more youthful results. For the full tutorials, including the remaining two hair tips, be sure to watch POPxo Beauty’s video below. So much better, right?

We can’t wait to hear what you have to say about these hair mistakes. Have you ever had a hair style that has aged you? Do you want to defend any of these looks? Do you have any youthful styles that you would like to share?