September 18, 2019 at 11:55PM by CWC It can be easy to let seemingly harmless thoughts (like wondering why your skin won’t cooperate with your own agenda, or skipping that workout class due to the anxiety of sweating it out with a group of strangers) the same way you mentally cycle through your daily to-do list. But according to blogger, model, and disability advocate Mama Cax, now is the time to quit the negative self talk. And at our recent Wellness Collective event with Athleta, she broke down exactly how. The answer? Leaning on the power of your (literal) collective. In real time, she confronted these feelings head on by asking all 41 women in the room to write down their top three insecurities on a sheet of paper—and then share them with each other. Not an easy task, but the exercise proved that even taking a moment to be mindful of how you speak to yourself can immediately halt its effects. Case in point: One pair of women—who were complete strangers until this moment—were hung up on the same exact characteristic (they both thought they sweat too much) and felt a giant sense of relief once they realized they weren’t alone. Letting your insecurities out into the open creates an opportunity to reframe them—and reclaim your power. “How you talk to yourself affects how you feel,” shared Cax, who survived having her leg amputated due to cancer. “Instead of saying, ‘I hate my scars,’ I say, ‘I’m happy I
Day: September 18, 2019
A dermatologist says *this* is the number one culprit behind bikini-line bumps after you shave
September 18, 2019 at 11:22PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8oUKNCZHbo] I don’t remember how old I was the first time I decided to shave my bikini line, but I do remember how excited I was to finally be able to wear my favorite bathing suit without having to worry about flashing any #BigBushEnergy to the world (while that’s some people’s thing, it’s never really been mine). I also remember how painful it was when those first few ingrown hairs started to rear their heads, and how GD itchy my bits-and-pieces were when things started to grow back. So imagine my surprise when I learned that keeping razor burn at bay relies not in the way you shave, but the razor you don to get hairless. In our latest episode of Dear Derm—aptly titled “Booty Call Beauty” (lol)—board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, reveals everything you need to know about how to get rid of the hair down there, including the tools to do so properly and without having a whole “pants-on-fire” situation on your hands. After all, in the waxing-shaving-lasering lottery, it’s the least painful in the moment (and cheapest!) option out there. “Shaving is quick, easy and convenient, and we all know you can get it done in the shower less than five minutes after getting that ‘U Up?’ text,” she says. So what razor should you reach for? WTF do you do when shaving cream is on your shopping list, but not in your shower? Check out the video above to
Half of our editors use these peel pads, which make the rest of your skin care work better
September 18, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC There are very, very few beauty products that I would sell my soul to get a lifetime supply of. Someone recently asked me what my number one, can’t-and-refuse-to-live-without skin-care product is, though, and after some reflection and time gazing into my (very packed) beauty cabinet, I’ve realized that it’s: Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel ($88). I remember the day I received my first box of these peel pads, individually wrapped in the brand’s iconic orange package box. It’s an important date that I’ll celebrate right alongside my birthday and anniversary. Because, once I started swiping the pads over my skin in the morning—first, step one, the “exfoliate and peel,” then step two, the “anti-aging neutralizer”—I started seeing my complexion’s true potential. I’m not alone. These pads are a permanent staple in half of the Well+Good edit team’s beauty routine. The magic’s in the one-two punch of alpha hydroxy acids or AHAs like lactic, malic, and glycolic and beta hydroxy acids or BHAs like salicylic and willow bark extract, which more thoroughly exfoliate your skin. “They’re topical exfoliants,” explains Shirley Chi, MD, a California-based dermatologist. “Beta hydroxy acids go deeper into the pores and are great for acne, oily skin, and brightening. Alpha hydroxy acids are good for superficial exfoliation. So when they’re used together, you get more exfoliation and brightening than when used alone.” It takes two, ya know? Photo: Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare I know that chemical exfoliants and the
Go ahead, blame your zodiac sign for your love of gossip
September 18, 2019 at 09:48PM by CWC Arguably, we live in the age of legitimized gossip. Just last week, a personal essay airing influencer Caroline Calloway’s dirty laundry secured word count on New York Magazine‘s website and proceeded to spread like wildfire across the internet before landing in, of all places, The New York Times. Gossip! Perpetuated by The Gray Lady! Oh, 2019—how dare you! While this trend certainly won’t be viewed by many as the pinnacle of humankind, gossip is not actually as shameful a habit as we believe it to be. Or at least, we shouldn’t be as ashamed of it as one of my editors was made to feel earlier today when an astrology app bluntly notified her that she’s using gossip to secure her social status. In fact, that’s what gossip, in part, evolved to do—bond people together, as well as allow them to share information about others that would have (and still may be!) beneficial to survival. In other words, it’s an effective, honed-over-generations social strategy we all come by naturally. We’re actually rewarded, for the behavior, too; the act’s been shown to increase oxytocin, aka “the cuddle hormone.” This isn’t to say there’s no reason for gossip’s bad rap, however. Exclusion from your “clan” can cause the brain to over-activate its stress pathways, and such exclusion is undeniably engendered at times by gossip. Plus, it’s usually kinda petty, no? Since it’s not easy to override all that programming—and because an app’s brutal accusation has me
Here’s what happens when you simplify your skin-care routine for 28 days
September 18, 2019 at 09:42PM by CWC https://content.jwplatform.com/players/IfOtmYKC-AjgxWzQ7.js Few things in life are guaranteed, but hitting that stage when you feel like you should start paying closer attention to your skin’s needs in the name of #adulting—but having no clue where to begin—is one of them. If you’re in that transitional phase, the good news is it doesn’t have to be all that complicated. The trick is nixing the more-is-more approach, and finding the right natural products that support your specific skin needs, no matter what your age. Well+Good’s marketing director Jessica Pickens recently put that method to the test, and culled down her super-complex skin-care routine from six products to just three (thanks to Weleda’s new Skin Care Profiler quiz) in an effort to support her sensitive skin over time. “I do suffer from some red spots and some blotchiness, so it’s really important that all the products I use are for sensitive skin,” Pickens says. “And also [that I] make sure that they’re super moisturizing to help me prevent the first signs of fine lines and deep wrinkles.” Pickens used her three Weleda products (filled with nourishing botanical ingredients like gentle almond oil and line-blurring evening primrose) for all 28 days of the Weleda Beauty Bloom challenge to see how her skin reacted to a more natural approach. Her results? You’ll have to watch the video to see, but by day seven she was already getting compliments from French women. Merci. Watch the video above to see how
Meet the probiotic that’s designed to tackle multiple aspects of your health—not just your gut
September 18, 2019 at 09:10PM by CWC With the sheer amount of probiotics on the shelves, it feels impossible to differentiate between the ones that hold up versus the ones you should probably scoot on by. And if you thought you were the only one confused about how to navigate this new world of gut health, kindly get in line. “The rise of ‘wellness’ has ushered in a wave of consumer enthusiasm and self care, but also propelled a category filled with misleading messaging, unsubstantiated products, hyperbolic claims, and a shift away from science,” says Ara Katz, co-founder and co-CEO of Seed. Katz and her co-founder, Raja Dhir, built Seed to change all of that, with a focus on elevating standards in the probiotic space with legit science and education at the core—not to mention, a probiotic that people can’t stop raving about all over Instagram. To that end, they brought together key scientists, like Gregor Reid, PhD (who co-authored the scientific definition of probiotics for the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Panel, nbd), to develop a pipeline of the next generation of probiotics. The first one? The Daily Synbiotic—a two-in-one probiotic plus prebiotic designed to bring clarity through the noise. Keep scrolling to learn how Seed’s Daily Synbiotic separates itself from the rest of probiotics. Benefits beyond the gut When you think probiotics, you probably think digestive health, right? Makes sense, because according to a national survey, 72 percent of Americans live with some form of digestive discomfort (think:
How Much Protein Should You Actually Be Getting & Is All Protein Created Equal?
September 18, 2019 at 08:10PM Way more than you ever wanted to know about protein! Continue Reading… Author Stephanie Eckelkamp | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
6 foods for strong bones a rheumatologist wants you to eat every day—and 1 to avoid
September 18, 2019 at 06:35PM by CWC When it comes to wellness, the roughly 206 bones in our body tend to get short shrift—at least in terms of air time. We talk endlessly about our skin, microbiome, muscles, vaginas, etc., but the foundation of it all (i.e., your skeleton) gets little attention. Still, bone health is important, especially for women as bone density decreases after menopause. A loss in bone density can lead to osteoporosis which, in turn, can cause bones to fracture, thereby decreasing mobility. This isn’t a niche occurrence. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 1 in 2 women over age 50 will experience bone breakage as a result of the disease. As with all illnesses, the key is prevention. It’s important to pay attention to your bone health now, whether you’re anywhere near the mid-century mark or not. Stephen Honig, MD, rheumatologist and director of the osteoporosis center at NYU Langone Health, tells me this is accomplished with exercise (particularly of the strength-training variety) and by incorporating foods for strong bones into your diet, though this doesn’t account for the whole picture. To begin with, your bone mass is 80 percent determined by genetics and the rest is influenced by environmental factors like diet and exercise. The relatively small percentage is then disproportionately affected by what happens in your teenage years, explains Dr. Honig, during which time it’s mission critical to get adequate amounts of bone-building calcium and vitamin D. This is because one does not work,
Your guide to reduced-stress restaurant dining with a food allergy or sensitivity
September 18, 2019 at 06:33PM by CWC Kelsey Quinn sits down to dinner with her friends and gently opens the menu the waiter hands her, though she already knows what’s on it—and what she thinks she’s going to get. Quinn, who lives in Portland, Oregon, is highly sensitive to gluten, so as soon as the “where should we go?” question popped up in her group chat, she responded first, naming a place she knew prepared gluten-free options safely. Still, she was ready to ask her usual questions to the waiter about how certain dishes were prepared, and what exactly was in the sauce. Welcome to the world of navigating the restaurant scene with a food allergy or sensitivity. The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires clear labeling of food products with the eight most common food allergies (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy). However, there is no federal law requiring restaurants to warn customers of food that may contain allergens or take any special precautions to avoid cross contamination—which is problematic, given that an estimated 15 million Americans have a food allergy. According to FARE, a food allergy education and advocacy group, only five states have laws requiring restaurants to better serve customers with food allergies. The lack of oversight means that it’s up to the customer to watch out for his or her own health. This isn’t just about someone not eating bread because gluten-free eating is a trend; people with food
The grown-up version of ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ stretches the tightest muscles in your body
September 18, 2019 at 05:41PM by CWC When I picture my own personal hell-scape, the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” loops endlessly while scary cartoon characters dance around me with ritualistic fervor. But I really shouldn’t be so fast to dismiss the lesson at the heart this nursery rhyme. Learning how to use your head, shoulders, knees, and toes as an outline for stretching out your full body each day is something worth carrying well into adulthood, says yoga teacher Lindsay Pirozzi of New York City’s Y7 studio. “Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, it increases our range of motion, protects our joints,” says the yoga teacher. “Both joints and muscles are so necessary in everyday functional movements that we rarely think twice about—sitting down to go to the bathroom, walking up the subway stairs, bending down because we dropped our cell phone, or even lifting your arms to reach something overhead.” When you make head-to-toe stretching part of your daily ritual, everything else becomes that much easier. The same tender loving care also helps keep your mental dashboard free and clear, according to Pirozzi. She explains that in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), skipping physical self-care is believed to lock stagnant, stale energy inside the body. “Stuck energy in the body feels a lot like tension, and tension is the least natural sensation we’ll experience as humans. It’s a sign we have lost sight of our breath, and our connection to self,” she says. Um, no thanks. Below, Pirozzi shares an all-grown-up