The Better Blog

Is it just us, or is aging really having a moment? Well, it’s actually more of a movement. The conversations around aging are in the midst of a much-needed update as older women are owning their power past 40. Headlines are shifting.

When you turn 40, just like your skin and your body, your hair is aging as well. And the hair routine you had simply stops working. Here are a few key learnings on how to manage aging hair.

Have you ever thought about new hobbies that you would like to explore? I’ve always had a passion for food. To be more precise, the eating of food. I am well known for being the first to try out the new restaurant in town and the always-in-attendance guest at any friends or family events that involve food.

Sometimes I wake up and think I am crazy for starting Better Not Younger, but this is important to me for so many reasons. The bigger mission is about remembering and reinforcing that age can’t stop us. It’s about remembering that we as women become more powerful as we age.

Most of us are probably familiar with the well-known and proven fact that “healthy hair comes from within”, meaning that a balanced diet is a big factor in keeping hair healthy and shiny. But in our 40s, when our hair texture and density change so much, does this still hold true? If so, which are the best foods to help our thinning, more brittle, yet still much-loved tresses? Here are the answers to these questions.

In my many years working in the beauty industry, there was an accepted hierarchy to the different body features and product categories. This related to how consumers valued their body features. Working in hair care, we recognized our products were hand in hand with facial skin care, but we found an analogy that always resonated: your hair is like a frame around a picture.

How do we re-define ourselves at this age when we were supposed to know who we are? To each one of us, the answer has come at a different time and for different circumstances, and a few of my friends are still wondering. Some of us have started volunteering, joining organizations that share our passions and values. Others have taken on yoga or other more active forms of exercise and spending lots of time cooking healthier meals or exploring the farmers market.

My relationship with my gray hairs reminds me of the drama between the main characters of one of those long-running soap operas. I have admired them, feared them, ignored them, tried to hide them, and maybe, finally, learned to accept them.

With age we become unruly –just like our hair! One day you notice you need to add a bit more conditioner so your hair will look and feel less dry. Then, you start trying all kinds of treatments and when you realize that these measures are not going to cut it, you just start washing your hair less often.