24 Celebs Over 40 Who Proved It's Never Too Late To Experiment With Colorful Hair

There is a big misconception that hair experimentation is only for younger people, especially when it comes to playing around with bright colors. Many celebrities, however, have proven that age is no barrier to trying out different shades and hues. Here we have gathered a selection of stars, both female and male, who have either become experimental after 40 or who have continued to dare to dye despite the candles on their birthday cakes.

While some of the most notable famous hair color experimenters — Halsey, Doja Cat, Evan Mock, and others — are in their 30s or below, there are no shortage of middle-aged and even senior citizen celebrities who are not afraid to rock the rainbow when it comes to their tresses. Here are 20 celebs over 40 who have already proven that it is never too late to experiment with colorful hair.

Cyndi Lauper has been experimenting with color for her entire career, which she has deemed an act of insurrection. "The hair symbolized a counterculture and rebellion, and that was significantly important to me," Lauper said on "Good Morning America." "If you're going to color your hair, you might as well ... color it a color."

It was not always that deep, however. According to Lauper, the first color that she tried was green, so that her hair would match her dress on St. Patrick's Day. Into her 70s, Lauper has even rocked a bluish-green shade.

Shania Twain has always been able to create a stir with costumes, but it is only in recent years that the country superstar has begun to play with hair color. Rather than mess with her natural locks, Twain began using wigs in her 50s to experiment with different looks.

"I probably have 10 natural wigs that are my natural hair just for bad hair days kind of thing," she told People. "Then I have 10 color wigs. I don't have a ton. Twenty is not bad." Twain has received the most notice for spicing things up with fiery red and bubblegum pink. 

Key to Betsey Johnson's personal style is her hair, which for decades has integrated different textures and colors to make her stand out from the crowd. In recent years, it is most common to see Johnson with a blonde bob infiltrated with banana yellow extensions. "I'm the only one that still uses the plastic. It never curls. It never does anything but stays spiky and straight. And it never gets dirty or oily," she said to Glossy.

Johnson sits still for up to 12 hours to get her desired hairstyles, either flying to London to see her hairdresser of 30-plus years, or flying him to her. "I am my hair," she once told Page Six. 

Gwen Stefani appears to have found her signature hair color — long and platinum blonde — but Stefani was closely associated with funky hair color for decades. As recently as 2020, Stefani (then aged 51) was still experimenting, in that case sporting a pink dip-dyed look for a photoshoot. 

We could not possibly cover all of Stefani's iconic looks, but she rocked fun dip-dyed black ends and a royal blue dip-dye (pictured) well into her 40s.

Once known for his frosted tips, *NSYNC member Lance Bass has tried out many styles and colors since the band's heyday. Bass started getting experimental in 2014, when he sported an aqua blue look that he labeled "#mylittlebrony" on Instagram.

In his 40s, the star has had even more fun. His lavender hair was a standout topic of conversation after *NSYNC reunited at the 2023 VMAs, for example. "Dying my hair has always been a way for me to express myself. It's what makes me, me!" Bass captioned a Tiktok video. Bass has also had at least one memorable stint with pink locks since turning the big 4-0.

Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean has been dying his hair vibrant hues basically since his start in the business. And having a hair transplant has allowed the star to remain experimental with his locks into his 40s.

In 2024, McLean and his friend Lance Bass posted a video in which they both sported bright pink hair. "When you're both in your pink era," read a text overlay, while the caption noted they were both "girl dads."

Though she is not known for consistently trying out new colors, Regina King makes our list for two reasons. First, she rocked amazing purple braids in 2019. And second, she was close to 50 years old when she did so. King wore the colorful box braids to multiple events, including the 2019 HBO Summer TCA Panels, and the LACMA Art + Film Gala (pictured). Purple hair was huge around that time, with everyone from Dove Cameron to Lizzo jumping on the bandwagon.

Helen Mirren is a big fan of hair color experimentation, which is not something one naturally associates with women her age, especially not literal dames. Nevertheless, the Oscar winner showed up to a Cannes red carpet in 2023 wearing her hair in an elegant updo. The many shades of blue it was dyed turned so many heads that even Vogue covered the look. Mirren was 77 at the time. Some years earlier, still in her 70s, the actor sported a shade of pink on a Cannes red carpet.

We do not know what it is about Cannes, but there is clearly something about the iconic film festival that makes celebrities comfortable to venture outside of their comfort zones. In 2017, then-50-year-old Salma Hayek sported pink tresses on a Cannes red carpet, pairing the hair with a black dress embellished with frills and floral decals. Hayek's hairstylist told Allure that the actor was inspired by both the pink petals on her dress and her desire to emulate a vintage Hollywood look via the waves. 

As of this writing, Jared Leto is 54, but someone should tell his face. And his body. And, yes, his hair. Leto has long been experimenting with bold colors.

In 2015, while in his 40s, he sported both bright red and green hair at different points, and he's also tried out platinum blond (multiple times). In 2022, the then-50-year-old actor paired a magenta suit with his brunette and pink locks.

Cher has undergone a stunning hair transformation and keeps us guessing about what cut and color she will show up with at any given time. This is thanks to her love of a good wig.

While in her 60s, Cher wore a white and hot pink wig as well as a fiery orange wig. In 2019, at the age of 73, she donned a Smurf-like blue wig during her farewell tour.

Nicki Minaj has had so many hair colors over the years that it would be impossible to pinpoint just one that serves as her signature. She has done cherry red more than a few times, but pink is also a recurring color. The rapper has also worn lavender, green, and blue hair on multiple occasions.

Now in her 40s, Minaj is still keeping things fresh. On her "Pink Friday 2" tour in 2024, she She even rocked ombré pink locks.

Dennis Rodman's hair has been orange, yellow, green, and pretty much every other color. He even once had a ribbon dyed into his otherwise platinum blonde hair. "I felt like calling attention to AIDS. I had the aids ribbon colored into my hair during the playoffs in 1995," he said (via British GQ).

Rodman has worn multi-colored hair on many occasions since then, including very cool purple, blue, and orange stripes. The star, now in his 60s, colors not just the hair on his head but also his facial hair — both of which have been hot pink and an orange in 2026.

Avril Lavigne has a song titled "Here's to Never Growing Up," and while the singer has certainly aged, she took her own words to hear when it comes to how she dresses and styles herself. Sure, she has ditched the trademark tie she donned at the start of her career, but the colorful hair streaks are still a staple. 

Pink and green have always been Lavigne's dominant colors of choice (besides black), and she has featured both colors in her hair as recently as 2025. Earlier that year, Lavigne also sported dip-dyed orange tips at the end of long platinum blonde waves. 

It was not until Kim Kardashian started getting more experimental with fashion in her 30s that she also began testing out different hair colors. The often outrageously dressed star, now in her 40s, consistently surprises us with her hair choices, be it in the form of colorful wigs or her actual tresses.

Kardashian's 2018 pink dye job was certainly a standout, for example. "Since my hair is blond right now, it was easy to put the pink color over it. I figured now was the perfect timing!" she told fans on her app at the time (via Allure). In 2024, then-43-year-old Kardashian was spotted with pink hair yet again — this time a bob.

As Halle Berry has gotten older, she's veered away from the pixie cut that was her long-time trademark. While she traditionally kept her locks black or brown, the star decided it was time to experiment with a totally different look when she was 55 — and that look was purple.

In 2022, she debuted striking amethyst curls on her Instagram. Within two weeks, Berry's purple curls were a dazzling shade of silver.

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is a whole lot more appealing to look at than the insect he is named after — in large part due to his consistently colorful locks. Flea turned 60 in 2022, and he continues to illustrate that age need not dictate hair experimentation.

Flea has dyed his buzz cut many shades and hues over the years but seems particularly fond of pinks and purples. He has gone light pink, and fuchsia, orange, purple, deep blue, aqua, and — our personal favorite — hot pink.

Madonna is the queen of reinvention, so it should surprise no one that she has experimented with hair color over the years. We could write a dissertation on Madonna's many hair choices across the last five decades, but is in the 2020s that she has been the most experimental with oddball colors.

In 2021, Madonna sported a super cool blue bob, at the age of 63. The next year, she went bright pink alongside one of her twin daughters, who wore the same color in her own hair. Madonna also went pink a couple of years before that, albeit in a softer hue.

Melanie Brown's ionic nickname may be Scary Spice, but there is nothing scary about her colorful hair choices. In fact, it is hard not to smile when looking back at photos of the singer with the rainbow-colored, glittered-filled tresses she wore in 2017. The 'do in question was for that year's "America's Got Talent" finale (pictured), as then-42-year-old Brown was a judge on the show at the time. She had a more subdued and glitter-free, rainbow look in Instagram photos that same year.

Brown has clearly not let getting a little older stop her from making these fun hair color choices.

While not everyone is a fan of Helena Bonham Carter's offbeat aesthetic, no one can ever accuse the star of being boring to look at. In addition to her unexpected — and sometimes baffling — fashion choices, Bonham Carter is also known for her bouncy curls. While she has most frequently been a brunette or dirty blonde, she has also been a redhead on multiple occasions, many of them on screen.

One of our favorite hair looks from Bonham Carter came in 2025, when the then-59-year-old sported pale pink curls for a Larkspur & Hawk jewelry ad.

Screen and stage legend Liza Minnelli is closely associated with her trademark short black hair, but that does not mean that she can't get playful with it from time to time. Specifically, we want to point to the time that Minnelli wore a cobalt blue look on the Oscars 2014 red carpet.

Not only were Minnelli's top and bottoms blue, the Hollywood icon wore a colorful streak in her hair to match the outfit. She was 67 at the time.

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler is still rocking long waves as he approaches 80. The singer frequently incorporates streaks of blond into his brown hair, as well as occasional color patches — bright blue, fire-engine red, hot pink, and so on. Tyler also sometimes incorporates color via feather hair extensions, which he brought into the mainstream when he was a judge on "American Idol" years ago.

Kelly Ripa has a huge fanbase and a generally positive public image, but she is known more for her adorable personality (and before that, her acting) than her fashion sense. But despite not being one to push boundaries very often, Ripa has occasionally surprised with her aesthetic choices. Take the brief period in 2015 where the mid-40s star became experimental with hair color. She first dyed her hair bubblegum pink, before transitioning to teal blue roughly a month later. A week after that, she jumped to light purple before returning back to the blonde tresses she still sports today.

Usher's style has always been bold and fun, and he has not let the aging process stop him from experimenting with his image. And the singer very much knows that hair can be used as an accessory to at outfit just like hats, sunglasses, and jewelry (all of which Usher sports in abundance).

In January 2023, then-44-year-old Usher debuted a striking burnt orange 'do that turned heads during Paris Fashion Week. While he only kept the color for a short time, it was long enough that multiple outlets published articles about the unique look.