As we enter August, which is National Hair Loss Awareness Month, we’ll be hearing more about new innovations to help improve hair loss and thinning hair, which affects approximately 50 million men and 30 million women in the U.S. alone, according to the Academy of Dermatology. One such innovation that is unlike anything we’ve seen before is Better Not Younger Superpower Thickening Hairpatches, which, as you probably guessed, are hydrogel patches that help with thinning hair.
“Women have become used to using patches for the under-eyes, wrinkles, acne, etc., so this is a unique twist on the same technology,” says Sonsoles Gonzalez, founder and CEO of Better Not Younger. We met with the brand, alongside New York dermatologist Robert Finney, MD, a self-proclaimed “hair nerd” with additional training in hair restoration and hair loss, to find out more.
The Benefits:
“Hair loss and thinning hair is a very common concern with our customers, and one of the things they ask us often is why they see the hair on their temples receding more than other areas,” says Gonzalez. “That’s how we came up with a solution that is targeted specifically for the temples. These patches are the first and only of their kind, made with patent-pending hydrogel technology that allows for sustained release of the active ingredients onto the scalp and into the hair follicles. They enhance the density and thickness of the hairline and temples.”
One box contains 14 pairs of pouches, and the pairs are housed in a tray within a pouch to keep the ingredients stable and fresh. The triangular shape fits the temple area nicely and you can shift it around if you need to. (It’s not like eyeliner that dries in two seconds and can’t be budged.)
Dr. Finney says he’s been seeing a lot more women come into his clinic with hair concerns ever since COVID. “I think the telogen effluvium that’s come with COVID has unmasked genetic hair loss in a lot of women and drawn a lot more light to it. They’re noticing their ponytail isn’t as thick, or maybe their hair is visibly thinning around their temples.”
Better Not Younger’s formula combines a proprietary blend of Capixyl, red ginseng and centella asiatica, and in testing, Dr. Finney says “it helped with the cells that are regenerating the hair follicles, it helped build collagen around them, and it had an anti-inflammatory effect. Then the brand did a randomized clinical trial with both and men where they compared this blend to topical 3-percent minoxidil, and it performed similarly. The patches can also help with traction alopecia, in which tight ponytails or braids can damage the hair follicles around the edges to the point where they fall out or miniaturize.”
In an independent consumer test with every other day usage, 61 percent of women saw more baby hairs on the applied area after 12 weeks. With daily use, 78 percent of women saw new hair growth on the applied area after 12 weeks. Below are two before-and-after cases showing results after 12 weeks on different hair types:
How to Use Them:
You can use them for 15 minutes every other day for 12 weeks, or if you want to really jumpstart your treatment, you can use them every single day for two to three weeks. Make sure your hair is clean when you use the patches, like you would make sure your skin is clean before applying a pimple patch. “You’ll get the best penetration if you apply them on a clean scalp,” says Dr. Finney, noting that you can just dab the temple area with a little water if you have dry shampoo or another styling product in your hair. “The hydrogel patch helps to occlude and improve the penetration of the ingredients as well.”
The patches are easy to remove (they don’t rip your hair out), and the formula doesn’t make your hair greasy. It’s more like a nonsticky gel, so after you remove the patch, you can just dab in the remaining serum to get maximum benefits. “You can also combine the patches with our thinning hair serum,” Gonzalez adds. “You apply the serum on other areas of your hair and the patches on your temples for a complete treatment.”
Price/Where to Buy:
$79, better-notyounger.com (You can also subscribe to receive the patches monthly at a discount of 20 percent and free shipping.)
