Month: September 2019

September 30, 2019 at 06:05PM by CWC No matter what I did, my manicure almost always got ruined by a broken nail. Something I can fully blame on being a longtime nail-biter. (Thanks, former self.) That’s not the only reason it used to happen so frequently, but I didn’t know how to strengthen nails to prevent breakage in the first place. Until now. According to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology, brittle nails are also commonly caused by a cycle of repeated wetting and drying of the fingernails—something experts say only gets worse in low humidity and in the winter due to the dry heat. Breakage can also be caused by exposure to chemicals found in nail polish removers (especially acetone). Even with all the things working against your nails, there is a way to help keep them from breaking 24/7. If your nails break easily, first shape and file them daily to prevent further damage. The AOCD recommends finishing it off by applying a clear nail polish that contains a lesser-known nail-strengthening ingredient: tiny nylon fibers. While there are plenty of options you can use, those that contain nylon are a top choice because they add a powerful shield of sorts to the nail, making them thicker and more protected against cracks and breaks. To strengthen your nails at home, try Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails with Nylon ($10), which also contains retinol and omega-3 to hydrate and improve the look of your nails, or Nutra Nail Bullet-Proof

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September 30, 2019 at 05:42PM by CWC One summer day when I was little, I found out that my mom was taking my sister shopping—without me. Understandably, I was enraged. And so I did the only logical thing: I hid our mother’s wallet in the mailbox so that no one (no one!) would be getting new school clothes. Whenever my mom retells the story now, embellishments pop up right and left. (In one version, I also pocket $50 and raid the candy store across the street.) So does that make my mom a compulsive liar—or just a lover of over-exaggeration? Good Therapy defines compulsive lying as “a condition in which a person tells falsehoods out of habit, sometimes for no reason at all.” The term is interchangeable with pathological lying, mythomania, and habitual lying. But it’s different than mere embellishment, according to ThriveTalk. Just because you, or someone in your life, likes to alter the banal details of a memory to make it a little more juicy doesn’t necessarily make them lies. According to the official dictionary definition of “embellish,” the term means “to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful details.” The major difference between ornamenting a story and telling a straight-up lie is that embellishments find their grounding in real events (like, say, a wallet being stashed in a mailbox). Lying, on the other hand, is defined as “[making] an untrue statement with intent to deceive.” Not with the intent to make a story more interesting. Thus,

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September 30, 2019 at 04:45PM by CWC Knowing how to flirt is confusing because the act can take so many forms. Maybe it’s a bit of teasing or a laid-back date invitation to hang out. Maybe it’s a playful tap on the arm or even a dare. Maybe it’s even as small as a mere wink. Since flirting can encompass any of the options above and then some, being able to interpret signs of interest is more challenging, nuanced, and interesting than you might have imagined. But, by knowing the five basic flirting styles, you’ll give yourself a leg up in mastering the skill. According to research from the University of Kansas, there are five flirting styles. In a 2015 study, researchers paired 51 sets of opposite-sex strangers who had previously taken the Flirting Styles Inventory (which is available here) to determine how they convey interest. After watching the interactions, the research team also noted specific traits corresponding to a participant’s specified style and level of interest in their partner, which the participants revealed in a survey after the experiment. “The reason we’re bad at seeing when people are interested is because they show it in such a variety of ways.” — Five Flirting Styles author Jeffrey Hall, PhD “We’re really bad at detecting if people are flirting with us,” Five Flirting Styles author Jeffrey Hall, PhD, a professor of communication at Kansas said in a press release. “We‘re great at knowing when they’re not interested. But the reason we’re

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September 30, 2019 at 04:21PM by CWC Out of all of the facial cleansing options that exist—makeup wipes, micellar water, milky cleansers and the list goes on and on—one would think that oil cleansers would be the most gentle of the bunch. They’re formulated with an oil as the base, after all, and facial oils are known for dousing your skin with moisture. But actually, they can be a double-edged sword. “The reason oil cleansing works so well for a deep cleanse is the ‘like binds like’ concept,” says Sarah Villafranco, MD, physician and founder of Osmia Organics. “Oil massaged into the skin binds with oil, sebum, and the contents of open comedones or blackheads. If you oil cleanse too frequently, you’ll pull too much of the skin’s natural sebum away, leaving your sebaceous glands in a state of panic—they’ll feel like they need to create more sebum.” So there can be too much of a good thing, especially if you’re using a washcloth or another cleanser after oil cleansing to make sure all of the oil is removed. “When you use a hot washcloth to wipe away the cleansing oil, you’re removing every last bit of your skin’s natural oils as well, leaving your skin smooth and soft and often a bit tight,” says Dr. Villafranco. Dermatologist and founder of Visha Skincare Purvisha Patel, MD, echoes the fact that dryness can happen if you’re going overboard on oil cleansing. “Vigorous oil cleansing when done either by itself and definitely with

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September 30, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC In middle school P.E. class, my teacher taught me how to measure my own heart rate. I remember the moment being kind of magical. It was a brand-new way to take ownership of my own health and wellness, and I found myself taking my pulse in spare moments. You know, just for kicks. Now, it’s 2019—and if you have an Apple Watch, BPMs are just one of countless heart metrics your wearable is constantly recording. It’s fun to set aside an hour or so to learn the full span of what the Apple Watch can teach you about your own ticker. If you want to skip the homework and head straight for the heart measurement that matters the most though, Jennifer Haythe, MD, director of cardio-obstetrics and internist at NYPH/Columbia, says to look no farther than your resting heart rate. Your resting heart rate, as defined by the American Heart Association (AHA), is “the number of times your heart beats per minute when you’re at rest.” When you’re in the middle of a high-intensity workout, your pulse with quicken in your chest. But Dr. Haythe says that how it sounds when you’re doing, well, nothing tells a story of your overall health. “A person in excellent physical condition will have a low resting heart rate—50-70 BPM—and will return to baseline quickly after exercise,” she tells me. “This is because a fit heart has a larger stroke volume [or, a higher amount of blood

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