I’m a 41-year-old mum & tried the ultimate anti-ageing cut chopping 5ins off my hair… can it really wipe 5 years off me?

AS celebrities snip their long locks in a bid to roll back the years, mum-of-one Sarah Morton, 41, a writer from south London, braves a bob in the hope of looking younger and sexier.

Wandering down the street recently, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a shop window.

Nothing about this particular day was out of the ordinary, but I barely ­recognised the person looking back at me.

Haggard and weary, with my thin, straggly hair ­falling limply over my shoulders, I suddenly felt very, very old.

How did this happen? I looked at least a decade older than my 41 years.

Feeling slightly sick, I rushed home, turned on my laptop and frantically ­Googled “how to look years younger”.

If you ignore the vast majority of websites telling you to go under the knife — or eat more broccoli — one of the top results was: Cut your hair.

So I started doing some research.

It appears that right now, celebs are falling over themselves to get the chop, with the likes of Selena Gomez, Lily Collins and Rihanna opting for this winter’s hottest hairstyle — the trusty bob.

But could shearing off my long locks really knock years off my age?

A recent social media craze asked if celebs looked better with long or short hair, using AI to create the before and after styles.

Most agreed that the stars in question — including Adele, Sarah Jessica Parker and Demi Moore — looked a lot younger with a bob.

So, if a shorter ’do can work its magic on A-listers, I wondered if it could also work wonders on a knackered 41-year-old mum like me.

Could taking five inches off my tresses really make me look five years younger?

With research showing that shorter hair is the preferred length for the majority of women over 40, hairstylist and advanced technician Charlie Illi of London’s Brooks & Brooks salon believes it’s the perfect ’do.

“It’s such a popular style when it comes to our older female ­clients,” she confirms.

A shorter, flirtier cut can revive dead hair… it acts as a natural facelift

Hair stylist Charlie Illi

“You can’t go wrong with a classic bob — it never goes out of fashion.

“A shorter, flirtier cut can revive dead hair and lift the features. It acts as a natural facelift.”

She adds that with my type and texture of hair, a whopping five inches would be the optimal length to take off to get an anti-ageing “classic bob”.

Despite trusting Charlie’s theory, it wasn’t an easy decision to get the snip.

Running around after a toddler, juggling my career as a writer and spending most days wearing my greasy long hair in a scrunchie has made me realise I’ve neglected feeling pretty for feeling . . . comfortable.

Pulling on the same pair of leggings for three days straight and ditching make-up (because I can’t be bothered to take it all off at the end of the day) has become my norm.

I can’t even be bothered to blow-dry my hair anymore, preferring to let it dry naturally, where it falls into flat, boring nothingness.

I’m too exhausted to care, but that in turn is making me look older than I am.

During my twenties and even throughout most of my thirties, I would pride myself on looking good, always doing my hair and make-up, regardless of the ­occasion.

But motherhood and mortgages can really change a woman and the shock of then seeing my dishevelled reflection in that shop window was the last straw.

I suddenly realised that I was bored of not feeling attractive — and something had to change.

Knowing the bob is trending as the style of the winter, it seemed like an obvious choice.

But sitting down in front of the hair salon mirror, I soon feel nervous.

Since I was a teen, one of my biggest insecurities has been my double chin and knowing the chopping off my hair will essentially leave it on full display makes me slightly panicky.

But Charlie quickly puts me at ease, explaining that by framing my chin and neck with the style, I’ll be drawing attention away from my jowls, rather than accentuating them.

So there’s nothing more to do than grit my teeth and commit to it.

I trust Charlie knows what she’s doing and before I have time to talk myself out of it, her razor-sharp scissors are gliding through my hair.

Bye bye, barnet.

When she’s worked her magic, I turn to the mirror and I’m genuinely taken aback by what I see.

My hair is shorter by a whopping five inches, and the style has somehow lifted my face, the soft side fringe creating a frame around my eyes. I actually do think I look younger. And prettier.

The first thing I notice is the unfamiliar chill on my neck. Without my long hair — my armour — I feel strangely exposed.

I start to fret about my double chin, but looking in the mirror and seeing such a positive difference, I calm down. I don’t feel as vulnerable as I thought I would.

Right now, even though there are no strands to reach for, I feel confident and attractive

Before, in times of insecurity, I’d immediately reach for my hair, habitually placing it in front of my chin as a means of hiding myself.

But right now, even though there are no strands to reach for, I feel confident and attractive.

‘I feel sexier and sassier’

The haircut is gorgeous and I tell Charlie what a genius she is.

But the real test will be the reactions of my partner Jamie, 43, our two-year-old daughter, Sophie, and Jamie’s 13-year-old, Zoe.

My family were feeling equally ­nervous about me finally cutting my hair.

As soon as I walk in the front door, Sophie looks at me in wonder and immediately goes to touch my shorter locks.

“You look just like me,” she exclaims, delightedly.

I’m not entirely sure if that’s a compliment, as her little curls are currently in a style that makes her look like a Lego character.

But if the new ’do has reduced my age by 39 years, that can’t be bad, right?

Next comes Jamie.

Having always known me with long hair, this will be a big adjustment for him and I feel nervous to see him.

But I needn’t have worried.

He tells me he loves my new look and even uses the word “gorgeous”, which is something I’ve not heard in a while.

Other friends and family are equally as complimentary, with my mum Kath, 69, saying proudly — and rather too enthusiastically — that I could pass for a twenty-something.

I’m not sure I would go that far, but I definitely do feel so much more sexy and beautiful than I have in years.

Judging by this reaction, I think it goes without saying that in future, I’ll be keeping my hair short — and sweet.

Chop stars out in force

THEY’VE got it bob on!

Actresses Jennifer Aniston and Penelope Cruz, plus TV presenter Susanna Reid, are among the stars who have gone for the chop – knocking years off their looks.

Jennifer, 55, could easily pass for a decade younger with her chic lob, which perfectly frames her youthful face.

Meanwhile Penelope, 50 swapped her long, luscious tresses for a bob, which turned back the clock for her.

And Good Morning Britain’s Susanna wowed viewers when she debuted her playful bob, with one fan gushing: “It makes you look a lot younger.”