The Better Blog

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!

We know how tempting it can be to take a quick shower before bed and dive between the sheets. Giving your hair time to dry or even pulling out the blow-dryer is labor intensive, and for night showerers, this sometimes just feels like too much work. Thus, going to bed with wet hair.

There are some issues with sleeping with wet hair, though, that you should be aware of before you continue on with this habit. While there are some myths surrounding sleeping with wet hair, some red flags you’ve heard are actually true. (Spoiler alert: Thin wet hair is fragile!) Here’s what you need to know about having wet hair at bedtime.

As we enter our 50s, our responsibilities and stresses don’t look the same as they did when we were younger. Family dynamics shift, and work and social obligations can change. As the “sandwich generation” tasked with both childcare and eldercare, one in seven of us is financially supporting both a child and a parent. As we adjust to life after 50, we often find ourselves being pulled in many directions, which can take a toll on our health, well-being, stress levels and even our hair! 

When we think about finding balance in our lives, this is usually because we feel like we have become unbalanced in some way. One of the best ways to start the recalibration process is to identify what specifically is not working for us and switch up our routines to address the problem head-on. But this is much easier said than done. 

So, how can we recalibrate? 

We’re here to give you the scoop on four approaches to help you find balance during this transitional time and build resilience in midlife while even rediscovering yourself. Read on to learn more about how small changes to your daily routine can have a huge impact in your life after 50!

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!

Our hair is one of our best instruments of self-expression—no matter our age. But we know that as we age, our hair can become thinner, which can make it harder to manage and style. This doesn’t have to be the case, though! There are plenty of short hairstyles for women over 40 that are easy to maintain, style and wear with confidence. 

Short hair can be comfortable and low-maintenance, and offer endless styling possibilities that certainly aren’t boring! It can be chic, alluring and playful, too—and it can even highlight your beautiful cheekbones. Keep reading for more benefits of sporting short hair, plus our favorite short hairstyles for women over 40.

Whether you use a blow-dryer, flat iron or curling iron, damage from heat styling is damage, no matter how you slice it. And brittle strands, split ends and frizz are just a few of the ways it shows up.

But knowing the proper precautions and preventative steps to take to protect your hair from heat styling, especially aging hair, is half the battle when you’re styling your hair with heat. The other half is perfecting your styling skills—and we can help with both!

Keep reading for expert techniques and protective tips approved by the pros, plus our favorite heat protectant styling products designed to not only reverse the damage that’s already been done but also stop future damage in its tracks!

If you are facing accelerated hair loss, you may be deficient in more than one vitamin, and it is essential to know the culprits. Your cells rely on vitamins to function and grow, and deficiencies may exacerbate hair fall. Your scalp boasts nearly 100,000 hair follicles, and of these, 90% reside in the growing (anagen) stage and require micronutrients like vitamins to sufficiently forge a robust head of hair. So if you are finding more strands in your brush than on your head, read on to find out which vitamins you should take for hair loss.