Hair style advice needed.

No perm. They really do a number on fine hair.
Is M IL concerned or is it mostly you?

You can get dry shampoos that would be easy for you to help her with.

Unless she says or acts like it is driving her nuts, leave it alone.

My mom's hair situation sounds very similar. She is 93 and lives with me and my husband. I keep everything with her as low maintenance as possible. I wouldn't do a body wave or anything as involved as that. I think you might try changing the cut if what she currently has doesn't look right on her. We wedge the back of my mom's hair just a touch (it's super fine and thin) and angle the front around the ears, then keep the top front a little longer and brushed to the side. I wish I could post a pic, but it looks very cute and it's extremely easy to keep up. If she needs to look special, I add a bit of mousse or gel and blow-dry it out on low heat. That makes a difference even with super thin hair...but make sure the temp is low.

The joke in my family is that when manufacturers need a template to make rulers, they consult my hair. It is THAT straight. And fine (but I fortunately have a lot of hair). When I was young and thin I had super short hair and it looked great. Not so much now that I'm older and wider (not wiser).

The added problem is that my hair tends to grow forward so unless it was constrained by a barrette or elastic, it covered my face when long, which I hate. I've had perms, "Dorothy Hamill" and high-maintenance "Flock of Seagulls" style in the 80's. For many decades now I've just kept it shoulder length and pinned back by a barret or in a pony or up in a hair clip. The problem for your MIL now is growing it out in order to be able to do this. I personally love when older women have buns, but someone would need to so this for her.

My 92-yr old mom has course, wavy hair and now wears it quite short but a good stylist will know how to make it look less "manly". Like BarbBrooklyn suggested, take pictures with you so the stylist has a better idea of what you want.

I guess I would ask…does she care? Is she complaining? If not I would have her get a cute stylish pixie..like I wear at 70 and always get compliments!

I feel for her! Since Chemo ,my hair came in VERY thin...I have bald spots all over my head. I used to have longer hair and it was very thick. Went the whole bald look with the Chemo, but now, even though it's been growing, it's so very fine and straight. I hate it! Lose about 60 hairs a day, so continuing to thin out. If you find something good for your MIL......let me know!

A big thank you to all who replied. I do appreciate your great suggestions. As gladimhere wrote, this may be more of an issue for me than for my m.i.l. So long as it is not hanging in her face, she has no complaints about her hair. I would love to do as cwillie did and have the hairdresser wash and set mom's hair once a week. Unfortunately, the hairdresser comes to my m.i.l.'s secure dementia unit only every other week. I think two weeks is too long to go between shampoos. Unfortunately it is not possible to meet with or even speak on the phone to the hairdresser. I was not able to schedule an appointment when I can be there. The hairdresser just calls the residents down as she is ready for them. So for now at least, I think the best I can do is print up a photo or two and give them to the aide to show the hairdresser.

KisVal, doesn't MIL's hair get washed when she is showered?

KisaVal: As I've aged, my hair seems to fall out more. On my daughter's advice, who is my colorist, I purchased an over-the-counter supplement called Biotin. Perhaps this would help your mother.

I have very fine hair myself & not a lot of interest in spending time fussing with it. Years & years ago, I was told about a product called Recoil Curl Activator Cream by AG:

https://www.amazon.com/AG-Hair-Curl-Re-Activator/dp/B002YJ5CHQ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=recoil%2Bby%2Bag&qid=1641844885&sr=8-2&th=1

I put about a nickel size dollop of it in my palm and then smooth it through my hair, comb, and let it air dry. I wind up with very curly hair once it dries. With very straight hair, I doubt your MIL would wind up with very curly hair after using it, but she might wind up with waves and more body. It's worth a try, I think. I would not get her a perm which is what a body wave really is, at least not before trying the Recoil. I've also had perms myself through the years, some turned out great and others not so great. Consult with the hairdresser beforehand, of course, and maybe a light perm with bigger rods would work.

Good luck!

My mom had a weekly wash and set as long as I can remember, bolstered with periodic perms. When she could no longer tolerate going to the hairdresser I began to cut her hair and use rollers after shampoos, but once she was in the nursing home she just had a simple style and I actually grew to like it very much. I think any one of these

https://shorthairmodels.com/best-hairstyles-and-haircuts-for-women-over-70/

can be very attractive, ask the hairdresser what she recommends for your mom's hair.