The Better Blog

If you live in an area that stays cold, snowy and overcast for the majority of winter, spring can't come soon enough! Not only does our hair thrive in spring, but our minds, bodies and spirits do, too. Moving out into nature more, soaking in mood-boosting sunlight and enjoying later sunsets invigorates us mentally and physically. 

If your hair-care routine was pushed to the back burner this winter, don't worry! We've put together 6 reasons our hair thrives in spring, along with some spring hair-care tips to help you experience better hair and scalp health so you can step into the new season with your best style yet!

We’ve all gone through a phase of thinking we desperately need bangs. While cutting bangs on a whim is rarely a good idea (especially short, blunt bangs), if you have bangs on the brain, consider some of the latest hairstyles with bangs. Long, layered bangs are extremely popular these days, and for good reason. 

These hairstyles with bangs require much less commitment than a short bang does for a few reasons. One, your bangs are longer so the cut isn’t as dramatic. And two, if it turns out these latest hairstyles with bangs aren’t for you, it’ll take less time to grow your hair back out into how you had it before. 

Now when you’re thinking about the latest hairstyles with bangs, you must, of course, look to Hollywood, as the stars are the best inspiration for your next trip to the hair salon. Jennifer Lopez and Halle Berry have dabbled in long layered bangs, opting for hairstyles that allow them to sweep their long bangs away from their face when desired. Cynthia Nixon has a piecey, side-swept bang on her pixie cut, and her And Just Like That character has a similar but different side-swept bang, too! Priyanka Chopra also has long bangs that she pulls out from time to time, giving a slight frame to her face. And while her bangs are on the short side of long, you can’t talk about the latest hairstyles with bangs without mentioning Zooey Deschanel. She’s made thick layered bangs part of her signature look. 

For a few trendy takes on the latest hairstyles with bangs, check out Better Not Younger’s ideas ahead. And because it’s not uncommon to experience some buyer’s remorse when trying out bangs, we’ll also get into how long it takes to grow your bangs back out and how to take care of your hair during the process!

You might not know what "bubble hair" is, but if you've used heat stylers on damp or wet hair, chances are that you've dealt with the fallout from it. And if you’ve been inconsistent with using a heat protectant before blow-drying, curling or flat-ironing your locks, then you probably have some heat damage, especially at the ends of your hair. But this damage might not technically qualify as bubble hair. So how can you tell the difference? 

Keep reading to learn all about the signs and consequences of bubble hair for your delicate, aging tresses. We discuss whether heat damage causes hair loss and how a heat-damaged hair treatment plan that includes routine trims at the salon and the use of a heat protectant for wet hair are essential in healing your tresses and kicking brittle, damaged hair to the curb!

It's no secret that we love a leave-in hair mask for moisturizing and repairing dry, damaged tresses! Our best-selling hair mask for dry hair, the Hair Redemption Restorative Butter Masque, stands out because it heals parched strands using a proprietary blend of plant-based nut butters, plus nourishing oils, biotin and caffeine for hair health and manageability. 

But don't believe the myth that hydrating hair masks are for dry hair only! Hair mask benefits include so much more: color care, scalp maintenance and strand strengthening, to name a few. 

Read on to learn more about the hair mask benefits and essential ingredients in our popular butter masque, plus five reasons why making our Hair Redemption Butter Masque part of your weekly hair-care regimen is one of the best things you can do for your hair!

We've all heard recommendations for the best water temperature for our showers. Hot water steams our pores and opens them, but it can dry out our scalp. Cold water is invigorating and can leave our hair shiny, but it can be hard to handle frigid showers. If we ask 10 people, we can get 10 different answers. 

But what does science say about it? Should we be using cold water on our hair, or is hot water better for hair washes? 

We sat down with Dr. Debra Lin, Chief Scientific Officer at Better Not Younger, to give us the scientific intel on why water temperature matters when we wash our hair and which temperature is best.

While daily hair loss is totally normal, sometimes hair loss in women is a result of menopause or pregnancy or even other factors like stress. But just like hair loss in women is common (though frustrating), hair growth for women is generally on the other side of that hair loss.

New hair growth is almost always happening on your head, especially if you have healthy hair follicles. Signs of new hair growth are to be celebrated (though there is nothing wrong with or shameful about thinning hair on women!). To understand new hair growth, we have to also discuss hair loss, the hair growth cycle and signs your hair is growing back.

Split ends are incredibly frustrating when we're trying to grow out our hair. Even though our hair is resilient, it's still susceptible to breakage and splitting, especially at the ends. This is because the ends of our hair are the oldest and most prone to damage. 

How can we grow our hair out if it keeps splitting and breaking at the ends? It can feel like one step forward and two steps back! Before we dig into prevention techniques, let's take a quick look at how and why we get split ends and how it can affect hair growth.

Growing out short hair is not for the faint of heart! Longer hair requires more maintenance and TLC, especially on the ends. You wait impatiently, envisioning yourself with long, silky locks that are super versatile. You can't wait to get there. 

But the caterpillar doesn't turn into a butterfly overnight. Growing the long tresses you desire takes time. A few weeks into growing out your hair you might have questions: Are there any good haircuts for growing out short hair? How can I encourage hair growth? Am I destined to look shaggy for the next few months? HELP! 

Not to worry. We have the scoop on some cute transition hairstyles for growing out short hair, which are terrific haircut ideas for women over 40, plus hair-care tips and products to help you on your hair growth journey!

There are lots of factors that contribute to how quickly our hair grows. Sometimes our hair grows slowly because of genetics, but there are also environmental factors that can cause our hair growth to slow down, such as seasonal changes. For example, our hair grows faster in summer and more slowly in the winter. But why? One reason for this is that during warmer weather, our blood circulates more freely, carrying nutrients more easily throughout our bodies, and enabling our bodies to produce more keratin (the protein that our hair is made of). 

A second factor is that we usually get more vitamin D (the “sunshine“ vitamin) in the summertime. The sun makes our hair grow faster because our bodies synthesize UVB rays from the sun into vitamin D, which helps our bodies regulate keratin production. When we are deficient in vitamin D, this regulation misfires, triggering hair loss. 

Our hair also grows faster in summer because we tend to leave our heads uncovered more than in the winter, which creates less friction and breakage. When we bundle up to stay warm in cold weather, we often add hats, scarves and hoods, which makes sense because we lose a lot of heat through our heads! But these coverings create more friction on our hair than we typically have in the summertime leading to increased hair fall due to cold weather.

We all start new diets for a variety of reasons—trying to lose weight, dealing with inflammation, understanding food allergies and more. But when you go on a diet, a lot of different things happen with your body beyond your digestive system. For example, there’s a link between diet and hair loss and all your new diets will affect your hair—though it’s not always bad.

A lot of weight loss diets, however, can be really harmful to your hair because they’re restrictive. Depriving your body of vitamins and nutrients needed for hair growth means your hair will be crying out for nourishment. On the flip side, a diet for healthy hair can keep your hair strong and shiny. Keep reading for a look at some of the most popular diets and what they can do to your hair, as well as our pick of the best diets for healthy hair.