Discussion: Fountain of Youth(-ful Hair)

I remember way back yonder (like 2 whole years ago!) when I was 24 years old and a friend casually mentioned to me that I should start dressing "like an adult".... Oh. Hello adulthood.

But the same mentality that she had about clothes may or may not be present with hair. You know what I've noticed: the big increase in natural hair has women everywhere wearing styles from childhood. I've seen plenty of adult women with styles like this (baby hair included):

Lady of Rage

There was once a time when the only time you would see two afro puffs on the side involved a Halloween costume or throwback 70s house parties. But I have seen this on a regular day while women are going to the mall or running errands around town. And the battle of cute versus sexy is picking up steam.

I have also noticed the trend in wearing big fanciful bows in the front of the hair. I know this has been the new hotness in accessorizing hair, and bows aren't seen as accessories for little girls anymore. I tried it out for the first time this weekend. I couldn't help but feel like I revisited my childhood...where I also didn't like bows or flowers. I felt like a girly girl. The girliest of girls. Or worse... the girliest of women. See?

In my opinion, the balance of cute girl vs. attractive adult is off in the photo above. Now I'm logical, and I'm well aware that curls tend to beef up the feminine factor. Maybe it's a personal preference of how I choose to display my limited femininity. I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. Maybe it's a bonus that naturally curly hair doesn't require its wearers to grow up. But sometimes I just think the styling and accessorizing gives out a little less of this:

and a little more of this:

What do you think? Are there some styles or accessories that take away from adult femininity, or is that a cross that curly girls must bear?