The Better Blog

If you have noticed light brown or grayish patches on your skin at midlife, you're not alone! Nearly 83 million older Americans have discolored patches known as sunspots. They're especially common on the parts of the body most exposed to sunlight: the neck, forearms, hands and face—and this includes your hairline. 

The good news is that even though these sunspots might be unwanted and bothersome, they usually aren't cause for concern. They're simply clumps of melanin that appear due to sun exposure. And even though preventing sunspots is ideal, there are many ways to treat your existing sunspots to lighten and minimize the appearance of these dark patches and prevent further spots. 

Read on to learn more about preventing sunspots on your face and hairline, and what you can do about sunspots if you already have them!

As we enter perimenopause and menopause, it's no secret that our skin undergoes some significant changes. Aging skin tends to be drier and less elastic than younger skin, and we might start experiencing the breakouts we dealt with as teenagers again. It's incredibly frustrating to be dealing with breakouts and aging skin simultaneously! Is there a way to tackle both at once? 

The answer is yes, by using salicylic acid and retinol. But proceed with caution so you don't irritate your skin! 

Salicylic acid is the gold standard for acne prevention, and topical retinol is the first-line treatment for wrinkles and loss of elasticity in aging skin. Keep reading to learn how to add salicylic acid and retinol into your skincare routine safely!

Nothing beats the glowy skin and thicker, healthier hair that comes with pregnancy! As our bodies change and our hormones fluctuate, the increased estrogen and blood flow nourish the scalp, supporting healthy hair growth and optimal sebum production. (All this while growing a baby—aren't our bodies just incredible?)

Many of us see this gorgeous skin and hair and wonder if there's a way to support healthy hair, skin and nails even more while pregnant? What about taking biotin during pregnancy or a dedicated hair, skin and nail vitamin? Read on to learn more about taking hair, skin and nail vitamins while pregnant, what to watch out for, and some hair, skin and nail supplement options we love!

Fine lines and wrinkles are inevitable as we age and our skin loses its elasticity. It's a part of life that we embrace for the privilege of growing older. But if your skin is chronically dehydrated, the lines and wrinkles you notice might be dehydration lines and wrinkles. 

Not to worry! Amping up your skin's hydration is easy and will help reduce the appearance of those pesky dehydration lines under your eyes and elsewhere on your face. Read on to learn more about what causes dehydrated skin and how to rehydrate it to curb dehydration lines and wrinkles!

For a long time, talking about menopause was a cultural taboo. This left many of us in the dark about what to expect for menopause skin changes like breakouts, dryness and discoloration. 

Thankfully, conversations about menopause and aging skin are changing. We're learning more about what we should know heading into midlife and how menopause can affect our hair and skin. 

And we've made considerable headway recently! According to Jill Angelo, CEO and Founder of Gennev, "There are so many more companies and brands taking on menopause from various different vantage points. This has driven up the conversation in the media, and as a result, women are starting to talk about it more and more. It’s so wonderful to see the progress in the past two years and I can’t wait to see where it goes!" 

Read on to learn more about the best skincare for menopausal skin and what menopause skin changes to expect!

"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.

Head down any supplement aisle these days and the collagen supplement offerings are overwhelming to say the least. You have your powders and pills, bars and beauty gummies, even collagen-infused waters and shots. 

But your choices don’t stop there—some are sourced from bovine collagen (that’s cow), others from marine collagen (that’s fish) and others still from porcine collagen, otherwise known as pig. And did we mention there are 28 different types of collagen? That being said, only 3 of them (types I, II, III) are the true influencers of firm, glowing skin and stronger, healthier-looking hair. Even so, there’s still a bunch of confusion out there about which types are found in bovine collagen vs marine collagen vs porcine collagen. 

So before we dive into the details about marine collagen, let’s set the record straight: Cow, fish or pig, the source of collagen doesn’t dictate the collagen type. Bovine collagen, marine collagen and porcine collagen are all composed of the same amino acid building blocks and contain types I, II and III, though each collagen source has different amounts of each type. For example, marine collagen tends to have higher amounts of types I and III while bovine collagen tends to have higher levels of type II. What’s important to keep in mind is that not all supplements will contain all types and each supplement will have varying ratios of different types. This all depends on the processing method, which is at the discretion of those formulating the supplements. 

Now that we cleared that up, let’s take a closer look at this superstar protein.

Our bodies use the nutrients we eat to create our cells and generate life-sustaining energy. This means vitamins are crucial for all our bodily functions, including our skin and scalp’s ability to retain their shape, conserve moisture and create hair fibers in the follicles.

Retinol is a form of vitamin A, an essential nutrient for skin and scalp function. Our bodies require retinol in our system to effectively build healthy skin from the inside out.

We receive vitamin A from the foods we eat, however, that isn’t always enough. Retinol supplements are an effective way to buoy our reserves and promote optimal skin and scalp health.

When you start witnessing skin changes like wrinkles and sagging skin, you can point the finger at menopause and rapidly decreasing estrogen levels. Estrogen helps you retain water and skin plumpness. When levels drop, you lose molecules that help you retain moisture.

Our bodies also produce less collagen causing our skin to lose elasticity. It all begins in our fourth decade when we reach perimenopause and then continues through menopause. In this guide to menopause skincare, Better Not Younger discusses what's happening to your skin and scalp and provides ways of solving those challenges.