The Better Blog

Nearly two-thirds of the human body is water. Water plays a key role in digestion, energy levels, skin health and organ function. So it’s no surprise that dehydration taxes our kidneys and liver and can make our skin look dry, dull and uneven. Being dehydrated can even cause symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Water also plays a major role in our hair health. This is why dehydration can make our hair become brittle and prone to breakage, and dehydration can even impact hair loss. 

Read on to learn more about the link between dehydration and hair loss and how to identify dehydration symptoms in your hair!

Without even thinking about it, you might be damaging your hair every single day. That’s a bummer, right? But your go-to hairstyles might not be doing your hair any favors, especially if you’re not using easy protective hairstyles that will keep your strands strong and healthy. 

While some hairstyles may seem obvious as far as damage is concerned, others may not. Pulling your hair into a tight bun will obviously cause some breakage, but does wearing headbands cause hair loss? (More on this later!)

There are many ways you can help your hair stay strong but there are also ways you can stop damage in its tracks and bring your hair back to its healthy state. Even if you’ve been wearing harsh hairstyles for years, you can backtrack by opting for hairstyles for damaged hair or easy protective hairstyles that will show your locks some love. 

Keep reading to find out which everyday hairstyles could be wreaking havoc on your hair so you can switch over to hairstyles for damaged hair that are more protective. 

If you routinely heat style your hair, you probably know that you should use products to protect your hair. There are tons of options on the market, so how do you know what to look for in a quality heat protectant? And why, exactly, do we need to use a heat protectant every time we apply heat to our hair? 

A lot of the reason has to do with the characteristics of aging tresses. As our estrogen levels decrease over time, our scalp produces less sebum, which is the oil that keeps our hair hydrated and strong. This reduced sebum production is why our hair becomes drier and more brittle as we age. We also lose shine and start to see dullness on aging hair. That’s why nourishing ingredients like argan and avocado oils as well as vitamin E in a heat protectant is so important. 

As we age, faithfully using a moisturizing heat protectant spray to protect hair from heat styling is critical. A good heat protectant prevents damage to brittle locks. (Think of it as a sunscreen for your hair!) Better Not Younger's No Remorse Heat Protectant & Taming Spray is a light-weight, hydrating option infused with plant oils and vitamin E to coat strands and create a physical barrier between your hair and the heating element.

Most of us know that there's a correct order to apply our makeup and skincare products. Primer goes underneath our foundation. Sunscreen follows serums and moisturizers to ensure an uninterrupted layer of protection for our skin from harmful UV rays. But many of us are less clear on the ideal order of our hair-care products. 

Should we be using our heat protectant before or after mousse? Does leave-in conditioner or heat protectant come first? Does everyone need a hair oil, hair serum or hair cream? And what about scalp treatments—where do they fit in? Help! 

Don't worry. We’ve compiled a guide to understanding your scalp-care and hair-care products and their ideal order of application. Read on to learn more about different scalp and hair products and their uses in your hair-care routine!

"Self-care" is one of those phrases that we hear all the time. People do self-care challenges and self-care Sundays, but what does it actually mean? 

We are here to tell you that having a self-care day doesn't mean just indulging in a glass of wine or a hot bath. Instead, self-care is about practicing mindfulness and being attuned to your body's needs—and that includes the needs of your hair. Everyone's routine will look different, but the goal of any self-care routine is to relax and de-stress. Research shows that chronic stress can have a negative impact on hair health, so adding a routine with hair-care benefits is an important self-care step! 

Amping up your hair-care steps at home is also a confidence booster. Prioritizing our own needs over the chaos of daily life centers us, and using the right products and best hair-care practices helps us look and feel our best, inside and out. 

Read on to learn more about different types of self-care, including hair and scalp-care tips, and the importance of taking care of your hair and skin with a dedicated self-care routine.

We all need a little pick-me-up now and again. But these days, women are swapping their 3 p.m. coffee run for a midday break of a different sort—one that combines relaxation, pleasure and a little pampering to boot. Enter beauty snacking!

A micro-moment of self-care, beauty snacking is the perfect way to break up the monotony of a long day with a spa-like experience that gives your skin (and spirits!) a boost—and in many instances it only takes seconds! And while many of the flash treatments that have gained popularity cater to our skin—think moisturizing mists and jade rollers that you can use at your desk—we can’t help but share our favorite ways to do a little “hair snacking,” if you will.

Read on to learn more about how the beauty snacking trend first came about and how it can help you incorporate some much-welcome hair pampering into your daily routine!

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.

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.

We’ve all been there: We finally find a sulfate-free shampoo that works wonders for us! Our hair feels clean, manageable and healthy. Friends compliment us and ask what we’re doing differently with our hair. Then slowly, we notice the results start to fade. Or perhaps it’s more an issue of inconsistent results.

Maybe our hair feels dry after we shampoo with our trusty repairing shampoo. Or, our volumizing shampoo gives great boost and sleek shine one day but allows our tresses to fall flat and frizz up the next. Or maybe our hair just never feels clean anymore, in general. 

It might be time to consider rotating your favorite sulfate-free shampoo with another great option. Read on to learn how switching up your shampoo can help address all your hair concerns!