November 23, 2018 at 01:22PM I have a seven-step facial skin care routine, but most days I can’t be bothered to have more than a “meh” attitude toward body care. Until recently, when the temperatures began to drop in Los Angeles, causing extremely dry skin on my knees, elbows, and lips. (It was a brisk 66 degrees here, which, I know, is not exactly frigid—but it was definitely a drop in warmth.) As a single woman attempting to date, I really don’t need to be worrying about whether my scratchy knees will draw blood if they make contact with my paramour. So I turned to Kerry Benjamin, celebrity aesthetician and founder of Stacked Skincare, to find out how to most effectively moisturize the driest places on one’s body. And get this: Instead of just slathering on some shea butter and sending a prayer off into the universe, it turns out that the key to hydrating extra-parched body parts is actually exfoliation. “You need to exfoliate those areas to get the dead, dry skin off,” Benjamin says. “Sloughing off the dead skin allows the products to penetrate better… The dead skin is like a layer of brick.” This goes for all of the most arid areas of your body—elbows, heels, lips, knees, and knuckles. Benjamin recommends using her TCA Body Peel, which is full of gentle acids, twice a week. And don’t worry if you experience some slight flaking—that’s a good thing, according to her. Gently brush away the flaking skin,
Day: November 23, 2018
The 20/80 shopping rule Hilary Swank uses to get the most out of her wardrobe
November 23, 2018 at 09:24AM When it comes to decluttering your life, Marie Kondo’s spark joy test is pretty much the gold standard as far as organization goes. The one downside to her method, though, is that it’s focused on helping you part with things you already own. If you’re looking to become more mindful with how you spend your money in the first place and guarantee you reap the most satisfaction from what makes it into your closet, you might want to try Hilary Swank’s 20/80 method instead. “The goal is to find items that take up only 20 percent of your wardrobe but control 80 percent of what you wear” explains the actress and founder of luxury womenswear label Mission Statement, which recently made a major mainstream expansion. (It’s now being carried at Nordstrom.) How does the Oscar winner do this? “I’m always looking for fabrics and designs that are of incredible quality and look that will hold up for many years,” Swank says. It’s the intention she sets for herself as a consumer as well as a creator of fashion. In fact, Swank started her own clothing line in 2016 because she was having a hard time finding pieces that followed her rule. Her, ahem, mission became making “evergreen wear for everywhere,” as the site refers to it: A skort disguised as a skirt that functions as well at the gym as it does for a museum date, a dress appropriate for your dance cardio class or the red carpet (as Swank
This chocolate hummus will sweeten the spread at any holiday party—without refined sugar
November 23, 2018 at 07:00AM It’s a true holiday miracle when you finally figure out a dish that pleases everyone at your holiday parties. But—dare we hope?—this chocolate hummus just might do the trick. (If you’re one of those people who allegedly “doesn’t like chocolate,” I truly don’t want to hear it.) Lauren Kirchmaier, the plant-based blogger behind Flora & Vino, recently shared a recipe that only requires five ingredients—oil and refined sugar didn’t make the list. Kirchmaier blends up chickpeas, raw cacao powder for a dose of chocolate, Medjool dates for natural sweetness, and tahini and almond milk for the creamy texture. In under 15 minutes, it’s ready to devour. View this post on Instagram Guys, I need to complain. I can’t get used to the time change!!! All I want when that 2:30 feeling hits is CHOCOLATE . LOTS OF IT. Bars, bits, pieces, whatever I can find. If you’re going to indulge like me, let’s at least make it this DATE-SWEETENED DARK CHOCOLATE HUMMUS with @baresnacks apple chips, yes? Oil free, packed with protein, and perfectly sweet with zero added sugar!!! Also this would be the perfect lazy girl (or boy) thanksgiving slash holiday spread for the whole fam! You know where to find the deets! Link. In. Profile. Baby. . . . http://www.floraandvino.com/date-sweetened-dark-chocolate-hummus-apple-chips/ . . . #floraandvino #desserthummus #refinedsugarfree #vegansnack A post shared by Lauren Kirchmaier (@flora_and_vino) on Nov 13, 2018 at 1:42pm PST //www.instagram.com/embed.js “A spoonful of it really kicks those chocolate cravings while providing protein
Second-day muscle soreness is no joke—here’s what your body is telling you
November 23, 2018 at 06:46AM You know that on-top-of-the-world feeling you have when you leave the gym after slaying a workout? You’ve earned a well-deserved rest day and so you schedule another burner for 48 hours later. Well, nothing kills that buzz like waking up on that second day, ready to tackle the gym again—only to have your plans ruined at the hands of delayed onset muscle soreness. You’re not sure you can get out of bed…much less swing a kettlebell. It begs the question: WTF? Turns out, this is an all-too-common phenomenon in the fitness world even has a nickname: DOMS (for delayed onset muscle soreness). “It affects everyone differently. Some people feel mild soreness and some people have pain so bad it restricts their range of motion,” says Adam Rosante, strength and nutrition coach and founder of The People’s Bootcamp. “The truth is, no one’s really isolated a single cause for DOMS, but it’s most likely a combination of damage to the muscle tissue and inflammation.” And, that intense second-day soreness or DOMS shouldn’t be brushed off as a lack of stretching or foam rolling. It’s actually a lot more complicated than that. Keep reading for the 411 on DOMS and how to know if intense soreness could be something more. Photo: Stocksy/Felix Hug So, what exactly is delayed onset muscle soreness? “DOMS is a feeling coming from deep muscle fiber tears. This generated from things like HIIT training or heavy eccentric lifting in certain types of workout programs. Usually,
Feeling the burn? Try these natural remedies for UTIs
November 23, 2018 at 06:00AM Out of all of life’s many annoyances, UTIs rank pretty high (probably somewhere above “trip to the DMV,” but below “bridal party email thread”). If you have yet to actually experience one, consider yourself lucky: They’re inconvenient, incredibly uncomfortable and sometimes painful reminders that being a lady is super fun. Urinary tract infections happen when bacteria gets trapped in the bladder, urethra, or any other part of the urinary system. While men do occasionally get them, they’re way more common in women (like, we get them 30 times as often as men do!). And that’s down to anatomy: Because a woman’s urethra is shorter than a man’s, it’s easier for bacteria to enter and make itself at home. Most UTIs are caused by E. coli, which can enter the urethra post-sex or after improper wiping. The bacteria can take root and replicate, leading to an infection of either the bladder (which is called cystitis) or urethra (called urethritis). If you experience symptoms such as burning or painful urination, the urge to pee frequently (even when you know you don’t have to), cloudy or strange-smelling urine, or see blood or pus in your urine, you might have a UTI. Left untreated, a UTI could easily spread to your kidneys and cause lasting damage, which is why you should make an appointment with your doctor stat. They’ll likely do a culture to determine if your symptoms are due to a UTI or some other infection and treat you accordingly.
Tracy Anderson’s full body workout will only take 6 minutes of your day
November 23, 2018 at 04:20AM [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIkd3sNLtig] Between travel and party plans, it can be hard to fit in regular sweat sessions during the holiday season, which is why we’ve tapped buzzy celeb trainer Tracy Anderson to create a full body workout that’s not only fast and effective, but able to be done anywhere—in case the only “gym” space you can find this week is the floor of your parents’ living room. By now, the tryptophanic haze of your Thanksgiving holiday is likely starting to wear off. (See you next year paleo pumpkin pie, sigh.) And if you’re looking for fitness tips on transitioning back to business as usual, Tracy Anderson’s ready with an assist. What you need is a total-body reboot—kind of like when you restart your computer in order to give your system a reset—says the trainer. “Part of the challenge of these movements is the muscular control.” The good news is that you can recharge with only a few exercises (three to be exact), a mat, and some brain power. “With these movements, you’re going to have to think, you’re going to have to balance,” says Anderson, whose #fitfam includes celebs like Lena Dunham, Jennifer Aniston, and Nicole Richie. And as the days not only become shorter, but the calendars become packed with holiday festivities, it can be difficult to find a time to squeeze in a sweat sesh. Alas, Anderson says it only takes 6 minutes to master a full-body workout. “Part of the challenge of these movements is the muscular control.” But the precision
Congrats! You’ve finally beat acne and have glowing skin, so uhh, now what?
November 23, 2018 at 05:00AM For more than half of my life, my skin has been Public Enemy Number One. Rather than get to do a normal skin-care routine and then frolic about with my day, I have always woken up in combat mode—because I’ve had acne for about as long as I can remember. Skin care for me has always been about fighting my complexion in rebellion, and so I’ve gotten used to slathering on salicylic acid spot treatments, layering on the retinol, and using face masks galore in an effort to calm my perpetually broken out skin. That was all until I started taking Spironolactone, a prescription medication that banishes hormonal acne. And now my face doesn’t break out anymore. This is of course amazing news, but it’s also been quite disorienting. After spending so long solely deal with my skin’s problems, how do I then use skin care in a non-angry way? When my complexion looks the way I want it to, how do I now cater to it? Can I finally put down my army of acne fighters and instead switch to a simplistic regimen? “You want it to be a really gradual process—you have to be really patient and remember that your skin is still healing the imbalance in your body, so you have to be patient with your cells regenerating an your scars to heal,” say Cara Peloso, facialist and skin-care guru at Cap Beauty. “You have to embrace the journey and realize that it takes
A new earring trend that’ll have you seeing red
November 23, 2018 at 03:42AM Statement earrings—both pairs and asymmetric styles—such as diamond strands or oversized hoops, started trending last season and show no sign of losing momentum heading into the holidays. For winter, the one twist is that it’s red earrings in particular that seem to be everywhere right now. You can find them from deep ruby to crimson and cranberry. And in case all of this has conjured images of brazenly kitschy ball ornaments hung from wire hooks, fear not: For 2018, red earrings come in styles to suit everyone from Marie Kondo minimalists to Gucci-level maximalists like myself. There are hoops (lots of hoops), drop earrings, and even small every-day wearable studs. Find your piece of holiday cheer below. Holiday cheer for your ears Buy Now Double Disco Double Down Red Hoop Earrings $190 Buy Now Dady Bones Cherry Bomb Earrings $45 Buy Now Rachel Comey Maya Hoop Earrings $92 Buy Now Cult Gaia Rhea Small Tubular Hoop Earrings $78 Buy Now Tuleste Pom Pom Earrings $38 Buy Now Svnr Xi’an Lifesaver Post or Clip-On Earring $300 Buy Now Made Au Gold Troubled Heart Earrings $16 Buy Now Super Cool The Full Palm Earrings $25 Buy Now Girl Crush Bling Bisou Earrings $37 Buy Now Of Arc Silver/Red Gelcap Clip-On Earring $80 Buy Now La Diamantine 6 Vermilion Red Stones Little Hoops $105 Buy Now Topshop Oval Link Drop Earrings $18 Buy Now BaubleBar Clip On Scarlette Bow Drop Earrings $38 Buy Now Clare V. Lizzie Fortunato
How to use qigong meditation to harness the healing energy of your body
November 23, 2018 at 03:00AM There are tons of different healing modalities: crystals, essential oils, yoga, meditation. One you may not have heard about yet? Qigong (pronounced chee-gun). The mind-body practice similar to tai chi is an ancient healing practice that is not often buzzed about in wellness circles, despite the fact that it’s been around for so long. So, curious to learn more about the practice, I asked two qigong teachers to answer my every question. What exactly is qigong? Qigong is a moving meditation that involves breathing exercises and different postures with your body, according to Los Angeles-based qigong instructor Christopher Barbour of Be Satya. “It’s an energy cultivation practice that comes from China.” Jummee Park, qigong teacher and founder of Jummee Method, adds that it’s about understanding and using the energy, flow, and strength of nature and bringing that into our bodies and harnessing that power. “We often call this ‘qi’ or ‘prana,’” she says, which means the life force that creates healing in the body. And although qigong and tai chi share similar movements, they are indeed two entirely different practices. In tai chi, Barbour says, there are different styles. When practicing, you don’t typically break away from that particular style. Qigong, on the other hand, is a little more open and way more focused on cultivating qi, he says. You can certainly follow a particular qigong style closely, but there’s more freedom to color outside the lines in your practice. What are the benefits of qigong? Research shows that qigong
“Short sleepers” are the 3 percent of the population who hit the genetic lottery
November 23, 2018 at 02:00AM If I had my choice of superpowers, I think I’d turn down invisibility, super strength, and even flying (so overplayed) in favor of one basic wish: To be able to thrive on little-to-no sleep. I mean, can you imagine the world crises you could solve, the number of yoga classes you could take, and all the Netflix you could watch with eight surplus hours in the day? Well, it turns out that while no one has the gift 24/7 consciousness, a small percentage of people have been found to possess a “short sleep gene” that allows them to operate normally with less than six hours of sleep a night. These so-called “sleepless elite” share a rare mutation of the DEC2 gene (which helps time your body’s circadian rhythms) with an estimated 3 percent of the population, reports Sleep Education. While the trait has only been analyzed in two studies so far, the most recent one—which was published in 2014—suggested that these Cullen-esque humans not only snooze less than their counterparts, they may operate better cognitively, too. In a comparison of 100 sets of identical and fraternal twins recruited from the University of Pennsylvania, researchers found that twins with the gene variant naturally slept about one hour less than their counterparts. Then, they tested their cognitive function over a period of 38 hours of sleep deprivation using the Psychomotor Vigilance Test. Those with the variant performed fewer lapses of performance on average than those without it and required less recovery sleep afterward. As