January 09, 2019 at 01:28PM by CWC If you’re a frequent visitor of beauty blogs or the drugstore aisle, you’re likely familiar with the idea of the “no-poo method.” In the last few years, the phrase has begun to dominate the beauty conversation as we’ve become more and more aware of what we should—and shouldn’t—be putting on our scalps. But aside from having some vague idea that “no-poo” is short for “no-shampoo,” many of us (myself included), may not be well-versed in what this new phenomenon means. If I’m being totally honest, I’ve Googled the term “What is the no-poo method?” more times in the last few years than I, a beauty editor, would care to admit. To find out once and for all what it actually means to trade your shampoo for no-poo, I consulted celebrity hairstylist Kendall Dorsey and DevaCurl Educator and DevaChan Certified Curl Specialist Jessica Fitzpatrick, who were more than happy to clear up misconceptions and help define it for me. Read on for everything you’ve ever wondered about no-poo, and how you can say goodbye to shampoo for yourself. What exactly is the “no-poo method”? As mentioned, no-poo is a play on the phrase “no shampoo” (which, duh, I guess) but what it actually means is slightly more nuanced than that. “No-poo, in the modern world, stands for a ‘no-lather cleansing system,’ says Dorsey. “If you have really curly hair, if you have wavy hair, or if you have hair that requires a ton of moisture, no-poo won’t have
Day: January 9, 2019
What you need to know before trying a 30 day fitness challenge
January 09, 2019 at 01:06PM by CWC New Years resolutions season is upon us, and every workout studio I’ve set foot in within the last two weeks—from no-frills gyms to fancy spin boutiques—has had two things in common: a sign boasting a “new year, new you!” mantra (meh), and a call to action challenging its members to 30 days’ worth of workouts. Based on a number of past conversations with fitness pros, I’ve always been under the impression that rest days and recovery workouts are an integral part of any training regimen—even celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels insists that her clients take at least one day off per week. Which had me wondering: Is it actually a good idea to force your body to the gym for 30 days straight? “It depends on what you are doing,” says Alonzo Wilson, founder and director of training at NYC’s Tone House. “Are you trying to run every day or run 26 miles a day? Lift weights every day or do the elliptical every day? The exercises you’re planning to do for 30 days changes the the risk.” “The exercises you’re planning to do for 30 days changes the the risk.” —Alonzo Wilson If your personal goal is simply to workout every day for a month, be sure to organize your week in a way that mixes up your modalities so that your body isn’t experiencing the same strain day in and day out. “If you change your routine so that certain muscle groups get
No pony, no problem: Hit the gym with these cute workout hairstyles for short hair
January 09, 2019 at 12:59PM by CWC Having short hair makes life easier in any number of ways. It cuts down on the time it takes to get ready in the morning and saves money on hair products. Split ends are hardly a problem. But since you can’t pull back shorter hairstyles into a ponytail, keeping it out of your face during sweaty HIIT session requires a little creativity. Thousands of hairstyle tutorials exist on YouTube for long-haired ladies who like to go to the gym, but it’s slim pickins for anyone with short hair. Luckily, there’s only one you really need. Chloé Brown has a video with 10 styles you can rock at the gym without looking like a goof. In the tutorial, Brown shares ideas that take a few seconds (securing a half-up topknot) as well as more complicated styles (creating a front braid and securing everything in place with bobby pins). [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJm5eD6B864?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281] If your hair is still too short for some of these styles, follow Kate Hudson’s lead and work in a product like this matte pomade from Ouai paired with a little hairspray. You also can’t go wrong with a thick cloth headband. Now, get that hair off your face and get to work! This one-minute trick can take post-workout hair from sweaty to ready. Or, here’s a hint that hair loss might be attached to stress. Continue Reading… Author Tehrene Firman | Well and Good Selected by iversue
Yes or No: Wearing your shoes in the house is disgusting
January 09, 2019 at 12:23PM by CWC At this point, most people have heard all about the dirty downsides to wearing shoes inside the house. It’s one of those things I know isn’t good for me, but sometimes I do it anyway—kind of like ordering a basket of fries, even though I’m well aware that they just took a dip in a vat of oil. But unlike America’s general consensus on the amazingness of fries, an indoor shoe policy is rather divisive subject. For some, it’s easy to overlook the ick factor of wearing shoes around the house. For others, those sneakers better be off before crossing the threshold. I totally get both, but Infection preventionist at UCHealth Lauren Bryan, RN, MPH, says, “[shoes] act as a vector, picking up dirt, dust, mold spores, chemicals, bacteria, and viruses wherever we go.” That sounds like a lot of things I don’t want all over my pretty new carpet. Sometimes it’s plainly inconvenient to remove my shoes, though, and I pretend those invisible little microbes don’t exist. So, should you or shouldn’t you wear shoes inside your home? The Well+Good team sounds off: The shoes-on argument “Growing up, my parents had a very laissez-faire approach to shoes inside. To me, this felt like it sent the message, ‘Welcome! Come—and stay—as you are!’ And so, I’ve carried my you-do-you approach to shoes-wearing into adulthood. You want to kick your shoes off at the door and get cozy on the couch? Mi casa es su casa.
Staying sober for Dry January has been a lot harder than I expected
January 09, 2019 at 11:58AM by CWC On the first Saturday night of my month of sober living, I found myself curled up on the couch, Googling ferociously, “Is Dry January making me depressed?” I had spent Friday night on that same couch, eating an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s, scrolling through Instagram, intermittently crying about a 2-year-old breakup (yes, I am a cliché), and feeling bad about the fact that there was an entire alcohol-fueled world out there that I was missing out on. When I decided to partake in Dry January, after a holiday season that felt like one party after another, I didn’t think much of it. I’d always considered my relationship with alcohol to be a fairly healthy one—a glass of wine with dinner a few times a week, Friday or Saturday night out with a martini or two—and figured that going a month without it would be NBD. I was excited about the prospect of starting my year off on the right foot and further motivated by a study that essentially said I’d be richer/more energetic/more well-rested after a month of no drinking. The first few days were as expected—a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I went to bed by 9:00 p.m., got an uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep, and I awoke ready to crush my workouts at dawn. My brain functioned at max creative capacity—I wrote more than I had in months. But then the weekend arrived. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I said no to every invite to
Derms say it doesn’t matter if you spend $8 or $800 on this skin-care product
January 09, 2019 at 11:47AM by CWC One of the many myths about good skin care—thanks in large part to celebs touting hundreds of dollars worth of treatments and serums— is that more dollar signs equal better quality, and therefore glowier skin. And while there certainly are pricey beauty products out there worth their weight in active ingredients or formula integrity (higher cost can sometimes equate to higher potency), there’s one item in your routine that dermatologists agree isn’t worth shelling out for: Your facial cleanser. When you think about it, it actually makes sense. Out of all of your skin-care essentials, your face wash is the one that stays on your skin for the least amount of time. It’s on your face for, like, 30 seconds tops before it’s washed off and vanishes—essentially sending your money literally down the drain. Really, all that matters when it comes to selecting a cleanser is that you’re using something that does its job and won’t strip your skin. “A good cleanser will remove dirt, oil, makeup, and pollution without compromising the integrity of the skin barrier,” says Joshua Zeichner, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York. “True soaps have an alkaline pH that disrupts the naturally acidic pH of the skin, and harsh soaps and scrubs may strip the skin of essential oils, which leads to inflammation.” So that means it’s key to avoid ingredients like sulfates, which can dry out the skin and possibly irritate your complexion. Instead, select a gentle cleansing agent like coco
5 easy ways to hack your beauty routine to make it super relaxing
January 09, 2019 at 11:35AM by CWC As an introvert whose anxiety switch is always flipped on, I’m forever on the lookout for easy ways to unwind. In the morning, I rely on 10-minute meditations followed by quiet time with coffee (sans phone) before my day starts. At night, I take a soothing bath to bring on head-to-toe calm before bed. It’s an ideal setup—sure—that is, until my week fills up with early gym dates and after-work obligations. Now that I’m sitting at a desk 40-hours a week and taking coding classes in the evening (read: busier than ever), my chilled-out rituals have left the building. Thank u, next. As a result I’m dreaming about deadlines, waking up with clenched teeth, and furrowing my eyebrows at the computer for no reason at all. So, what’s a girl who’s pressed for time but in major need of some chilled-out moments to do? Flip everyday must-dos into moments of calm. That starts with my beauty routine, which has become a key element of how I approach de-stressing before I tackle my day and wind down for bed. “Reserving space for a beauty ritual in your day creates built-in time to turn your focus away from outside stressors and towards caring for yourself,” says Katie Sobelman, an aesthetician who writes about organic and chemical-free skin care at the Organic Esthetician. “Do what you can, when you can. As long as you’re cleansing every night and protecting your skin with SPF every morning, you’re already on
Unsure if you’ve made the right decision? Pull a Lady Macbeth and wash your hands
January 09, 2019 at 11:04AM by CWC It’s easy to confuse a simple decision with a life-or-death scenario. From choosing a career to choosing an avocado, no one wants to make a mistake! But you don’t have to let these forks in the road haunt you forever—or even for minutes after you’ve made your choice. More than 400 years ago, Shakespeare unknowingly proposed a solution now called the “Lady Macbeth effect.” You may remember from a high school reading of the play that the heroine makes a big decision of her own in Act V, Scene 1. Having pressured her husband to commit regicide, Lady MacBeth washes her hands with water—figuratively washing away King Duncan’s blood—in a bid for absolution. We’re not saying whether or not Lady Macbeth made the right decision, but she may have been onto something. Even though—spoiler alert!—Lady Macbeth’s ending isn’t a happy one, some research does suggest that a good scrub might help you move on with the rest of your life. As part of a study published in the journal Science, researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, set out to determine whether or not hand washing helps to calm oneself after a weighty decision, reports NPR. For the sake of the experiment, participants ranked 10 music CDs (I know, throwback). Then, researchers asked them to choose their fifth or sixth favorite album as a gift. They made their choices and some of the music-lovers were told to wash their hands while others were not. Later,
6 easy things you can do to feel better about yourself when you doubt how magic you are
January 09, 2019 at 09:56AM by CWC You can wake up on the wrong side of the bed at any time of the year. During winter, though, it seems easier to slip into bad moods and moments of self-doubt due to a combo of low temps that make you want to stay under the covers, short bouts of daylight, or the general malaise that often accompanies seasonal affective disorder. Having a day here or there where your self-esteem and confidence seem shot is a normal part of the human experience, according to Joseph Burgo, PhD, psychotherapist, and the author of Shame: Free Yourself, Find Joy, and Build True Self-Esteem. Such moments can actually help us build character he says: “When we consistently and repeatedly try to avoid potential blows to our self-esteem, it can inhibit us from growing and building pride.” The flipside of this, according to Dr. Burgo, is that not learning how to feel better about yourself can potentially limit and hinder you from achieving the things you want in life. So, part of living your best life is learning coping mechanisms for dealing with moments of doubt. Below he shares his expert advice on how to feel better about yourself when you need of a pep talk. 1. Set small goals and define your intentions You can become a person you’re proud of by setting and holding yourself accountable to realistic goals and expectations you set. “Begin every morning by clarifying what you’d like to accomplish that day,” Dr. Burgo
‘Squashbread’ is a delicious two-ingredient recipe my dad made up
January 09, 2019 at 09:17AM by CWC Each year, after spending the holidays in Charleston, I return to a tiny New York apartment with its empty refrigerator and my head full of new recipes ideas. You see, my dad is kind of an expert at inventing new dishes that require just a few ingredients. Each recipe is more mouth-watering than the last and I waste no time in recreating them. I drop my luggage and make a beeline for the grocery store, where I’m bound to do a little damage. This past Christmas season, I went downstairs each morning to the kitchen knowing delicious homemade treats would be waiting for me—sugar-crusted blueberry scones, trays of biscuits, and quiches that would make Julia Child proud. But I predict that only one recipe will be my meal-prep hero in 2019, and it only adds two items to your shopping list. Dad’s squashbread (feel free to @ me if you have a more creative name) calls for just two ingrediants: squash (of any variety) and eggs. Just this week, I chopped up a squashbread and mixed it into a salad; I used another as a pizza crust; I bought an avocado and made soft tacos; and since we’re all friends here, I’ll admit that I snacked on several fresh out of the oven along the way. I suspect that if you topped squashbread with a healthy hazelnut spread, you’d have something of a crêpe even the French would declare délicieux. Without further ado, I give you a versatile recipe