Better Not Younger, a Miami haircare startup aimed squarely at women navigating their 40s and beyond, secured $3.5 million in funding in September 2022 from H Venture Partners, an Ohio-based consumer fund. The round brought total capital raised to approximately $6.5 million since founder Sonsoles González launched the brand in 2018, according to company reports and filings.
The investment arrived as beauty investors began circling what some call the "menopause market," a category that research firm PwC estimated at between $10 billion and $15 billion, with projections climbing to $15 billion to $25 billion by 2030 based on 8-10% annual growth. Whether those forecasts hold remains to be seen, but the demographic math is hard to argue with: millions of women entering midlife with disposable income and frustrations about products that don't speak to thinning hair, scalp sensitivity, or the particular texture of graying strands.
González spent nearly three decades at Procter & Gamble and L'Oréal before starting Better Not Younger, and she framed the brand around a straightforward thesis: the beauty industry had left a generation behind. "We want to be in those areas where she is underserved with products that are unique to her and her age group," she told Beauty Independent in 2021, referring to concerns like scalp health, volume loss, and gray hair care that rarely get premium shelf space.
The company's line includes more than 30 products sold primarily through its own Shopify site, with items like the $49 Superpower Fortifying Hair & Scalp Serum and $36 Lift Me Up Hair Thickener positioned at prestige price points. Collections are organized by concern rather than ingredient gimmicks: Superpower targets scalp and growth, Wake Up Call promises volume, Silver Lining caters to gray and white hair.
Before the 2022 funding round, Better Not Younger had pulled together $3 million in earlier capital—a $2 million angel round in September 2021 and earlier raises totaling $1 million, according to Beauty Independent. At the time of the angel investment, the company reported 22 full-time employees, with roughly 70% women and 70% aged 45 or older, a deliberate staffing choice that González positioned as core to the brand's credibility.
Retail expansion came in stages. Better Not Younger landed on Sephora's website during the 2019 holiday season and held a digital exclusive with the retailer through 2021. In September 2021, the brand entered roughly 600 Ulta Beauty stores with nine products, a rollout that executives projected would lift sales from $2.5 million to as much as $8 million that year, per Forbes and Beauty Independent. The company also tested television shopping through HSN, where it reportedly generated over $300,000 across five five-minute segments in 2021.
As of 2025, retail partners show a shifted distribution picture. Ulta's website shows no active Better Not Younger listings, and HSN's brand page shows items marked as sold out. The company's direct-to-consumer site remains operational, though the current state of its retail footprint is unclear.
Elizabeth Edwards, managing partner at H Venture Partners, hinted at the strategic calculus behind the investment in a 2021 interview with Glossy. "DTC is a very dangerous space to be stuck in unless you have a high AOV," she said, pointing to the firm's preference for brands with higher price points and clear paths into physical retail. Whether Better Not Younger has successfully navigated that transition remains an open question.
The competitive landscape has grown more crowded since the 2022 funding round closed. Actress Naomi Watts launched Stripes, a menopause-focused beauty and wellness brand that has drawn considerable attention and capital. Womaness occupies similar territory, while hair-specific competitors like Vegamour, Nutrafol, Divi, Nioxin, and Virtue vie for the same customers with overlapping claims around scalp health and hair growth. A 2025 outlook from investment bank Baird noted that prestige hair products grew 14% in 2024, with items priced above $30 capturing more market share, a tailwind for brands like Better Not Younger if they can hold distribution.
The company filed a patent application in December 2023 for a patch designed to deliver hair treatments topically, according to CB Insights, suggesting some appetite for product innovation beyond bottles and pumps. Whether that translates into differentiation or simply another SKU in a crowded category will depend on execution and, perhaps more critically, whether the thesis behind age-inclusive beauty proves durable enough to sustain the brands betting on it.
