The Better Blog

We know that vaginal dryness is one of the most common symptoms of menopause, but that doesn’t make it any less of a pain in the, *ahem*, vag. It’s uncomfortable, disruptive, and downright annoying.

But silver linings time: There is a plethora of prescription medicines, at-home remedies, and alternative medicine practices to make things a little more comfortable down there.

Self love, self care and power at every age are inextricably linked to personal and political power.

Self-love begins with recognizing that you are a valuable, valid, holy part of nature, and part of creation.You are nature, no less than a tree or a blossom. You are worthy of being cared for, cherished and advocated for. 

One form of self love is boundaries. You come to a deep understanding of your own capacities, preferences and desires, and have a sense of your boundaries. Good boundaries increase the energy you have to give to the rest of the world. Creating boundaries doesn’t mean you’re making a tight little circle around yourself. You might have the personal capacity to have boundaries that are immense and wide and all-encompassing! Nonetheless, you know what they are—and when you approach them, you’re able to take the steps needed to take care of yourself. When you are self-loving, you know that that is a valid thing to do. When you know yourself, you also know when you have greater limits and capacities than other people, and when you can go that extra mile when others might flag.  

The third age, for many women, comes with a proximate biological marker: the end of menstruation. Our hormones and cycles may change suddenly, or gradually over a multi-year period, until eventually monthly bleeding stops completely. The average age in the west for this final menstruation is 52, but it can range from the early 40s to the mid 60s. "Post-menopause" is a boring name for the time after the bleeding stops- it’s a boring word for one of the most creatively vital parts of our life (this is why I call it ‘the free period’, instead). 

82% of women reported that sleep disturbances had a high impact on their quality of life in Gennev’s 2021 Women in Menopause Report. And lack of sleep can impact just about everything in our lives.  In addition to physical health, it can largely affect moods, productivity, weight, and mental health.  There are many reasons women don’t enjoy the restful sleep they once did during this time of their lives.  Hot flashes and night sweats, increased anxiety, urinary issues, restless leg syndrome, even new digestive challenges, can all contribute to women having difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. 

Are you approaching the stage in your life when menopause is starting to set in? You may be prepared to deal with things like hot flashes and mood swings, but menopause also affects things that you might not fully expect, including your quality of sleep. For most women, this is a temporary adjustment that starts to even out after that initial menopausal change, but it's still something that can cause quite a disturbance in your life. Recently there has been much research done on menopause and many science-backed solutions developed to help women ease the transition into menopause. 

There has been a great deal of misunderstanding and controversy about menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). Inaccurate reporting of results from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study nearly two decades ago in 2002 led to fear and concern that MHT causes increased risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. These inaccuracies were clarified by many updated and new studies demonstrating the safety of MHT for healthy women younger than 60 years and who are within 10 years of menopause. The overall benefits of MHT generally outweigh the risks in women with bothersome symptoms.

While hair loss is one of the 34 common symptoms women confront during menopause, each woman’s menopause journey is unique—and so is the selection of symptoms she experiences. With menopause-related hair loss, genetics, and hormonal changes are the defining factors in how much hair, if any, you’ll lose during this life stage. In most instances of hair loss, there’s nothing medically wrong, and it’s also not permanent. Keep reading to understand what triggers hair loss as you enter menopause, how much shedding you can expect, and the different ways you can prevent and even reverse some of this loss.

As a woman approaching midlife, there are five health issues you should be thinking about and discussing with your doctor. We know starting the conversation isn’t always easy so be sure to check out our free printable questionnaire for your next doctor’s appointment!

Thinning hair can be incredibly frustrating, especially if it’s completely out of our control. Though our hair naturally starts thinning as we age, there are also genetic conditions that affect the way hair grows. If thinning hair is something you’ve dealt with for a while, you might already have some tips for how to hide thinning hair or how to cover thinning hair. If this is a new experience for you, though, we’re here to help with plenty of hairstyling tips and tricks to cover crown thinning, wide hair parts and other sparse patches. Here’s how to hide thinning hair.

Now that summer is coming to an end, you may notice that your hair color has changed a bit over the last few months. Depending on your natural hair color, or the color you started the season with, you might actually like your new hue. But if not, then you’re probably wondering how you can get rid of your new unwanted warm tones and which products work best for getting brassiness out of your hair.

It feels unfair that we have to add menopausal acne to the long list of bodily changes we might expect during perimenopause and menopause. We already know about fatigue, insomnia, night sweats, hot flashes and even unwanted facial hair growth—can't Mother Nature cut us a break?