You are Here

Month: September 2019

You and your body

A derm finally reveals why cold weather makes your skin break out

3 min read

September 19, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC I may be in the minority on this, but I happen to get very excited when the temperature drops to “sweaters and jackets” weather. Seriously—I’ll take 55 degrees over 80 any day. But the only downside to colder weather (in my opinion, at least) is that it often brings along the breakouts. While our skin tends to deal with a whole lot of sweat and oil all summer long, most people have less pimples in the midst of this heat than they do when it’s freezing out. Why is this, exactly? It all comes down to dryness. “When it’s very dry out, your body tends to want to make more oil and creates compensatory hyper-secretion,” says Dhaval Bhanusali, MD, FAAD, a New York-based dermatologist. So, basically, your skin creates more oil to make up for feeling parched in the colder air. “If patients don’t change their summer skin-care routine—using drying cleansers and toners—it can further dehydrate the skin and then oil production will go into overdrive. This can lead to breakouts and blemishes.” A-ha. (Also, some research has shown that UV rays can help kill acne-causing bacteria, but Dr. Bhanusali says it’s not recommended to rely on that because of sun damage and skin cancer risks—naturally.) The key to staying zit-free is being strategic with your regimen. Dr. Bhanusali’s tip? Adjust it to keep your skin barrier strong and do whatever it takes to combat dryness. “A lot of [staying acne-free in the cold] has

Read More

City You and your body

Nobel Prize-winning technology is coming for your skin care

5 min read

September 19, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC At a certain point when every influencer, heiress, and celebrity has decided to join the beauty bubble and launch a skin-care brand, one starts to wonder if products are worth the hype. What’s actually behind them, anyway? Do they exist simply to expand someone else’s personal brand? Are they worth our attention? Our expendable income? Times like these make scientific studies, Nobel prize-winning discoveries, and vetted teams willing to invest in real innovation shine a bit brighter through the clouded expanse of options. Enter Clé de Peau Beauté, which just launched one of the most innovative collections on the market that doesn’t dumb down the real issues—like skin burnout—or just think about the surface. With seven new players including one hero (spoiler: it’s the serum) the Key Radiance Care layout is designed to tackle the effects of serious stress on your skin. “Think about when your brain is stressed–how do you look when you’re completely stressed out?” asks Jason Leong, the brand’s national training executive and formulation guru. “Skin cells are like the brain of your skin—internal and external stress lower skin intelligence. When this happens, skin cells become out of balance, which leads to visible damage and aging.” The concept led to the team’s newest innovation—a nine-ingredient illuminating complex at the heart of all their products—that uses state-of-the-art technology to give your skin a second chance. What is autophagy and why do we want it? To combat exactly this kind of one-two punch on your

Read More

You and your body

You can thank ‘sex brain’ for those out-of-character decisions you make when turned on

5 min read

September 19, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC Are you able to speak properly and make rational decisions when you’re super turned on? Because I can’t. I call this having “sex brain,” and it’s way more serious than an intense craving to pounce on your crush as soon as they walk into the room. Rather, it’s an inability to think, talk, and act logically that can plague even the most levelheaded among us. Sex brain is oh-so real and can strike in a number of ways, like jumbling words when you’re trying to talk dirty, having unprotected sex because you’re in the heat of the moment, going back on your plan to not hook up with someone after experiencing electrifying sexual chemistry in their presence, or something else entirely. There is a common denominator “symptom” of all these events, though: doing something that’s outside the realm of what you’d consider a good decision in your normal, sexually unaroused state of mind. Why does sex brain impair decision-making skills? “Much of this sense of passion and attraction occurs in the primitive brain—the limbic system—and, thus, often produces reactive, primal behavior that ‘doesn’t make sense’ to the rational mind,” says clinical psychologist and sex and relationship expert Carla Marie Manly, PhD. Sexologist Jill McDevitt, PhD, agrees that sex brain exists, and points to cognitive overload as an explanation. “The idea is that maybe sexual arousal is the brain equivalent of having too many tabs open, and processes start to get glitchy and shut

Read More

City Yoga You and your body

The Class by Taryn Toomey is coming to a city near you (you heard me!)

4 min read

September 19, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Every Sunday, no matter how non-virtuous my behavior the night before, I scrape myself out of bed at 8 a.m. to make it to a 9 a.m. exercise class. I do this not because I love to work out (I do not), but because it is the only time in the entire week I can catch The Class by Taryn Toomey (who happens to also be a Well+Good Council member) near my house in east L.A., and I gotta have it. If you know The Class, you know The Class. Trying to describe the yoga-HIIT-dance hybrid always makes me feel inadequate as a wordsmith, because it’s really different than anything else out there. Much of The Class is focused upon the principles that you can build long, lean muscle by focusing on working fast-twitch muscles. You do this by repeating small, dance-like movements for what feels like for-e-ver. It’s emotional, raw, and plain-and-simple: effective. And it’s gained enough of a reputation outside of the New York City and Los Angeles bubbles that the brand felt like it needed to take Toomey’s show on the road. In an attempt to answer these calls, she’s kicking off a seven-city tour this October. “Every day we receive emails and DMs from students near and far that are asking about when The Class might come to them, whether that’s in Midtown or Nashville,” says Toomey. “So we decided to bring it to cities where we’ve never been,

Read More

You and your body

Feng Shui your office for more wealth and success in just 5 steps

6 min read

September 19, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC If you’re anything like me, you probably spend way too much time at your desk, whether it’s in your home office or a cubicle at work. Luckily, there are many ways you can improve the vibe of your work space. Plants, for example, will breathe life into your office, literally. Essential oils will make the space smell heavenly and boost your mood too. Another way you can seriously create more good juju and take your work vibe to the next level? Feng shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement.“Feng Shui principles provide guidelines for how to successfully arrange our space with intention and meaning,” says Feng Shui consultant Jen Boyd. “Our environment influences the way we feel and it’s important that what surrounds us is supportive.” “It helps us discover how to create the most harmonious spaces for our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being,” adds Dara Dubinet, intuitive astro-geographer and Feng Shui consultant. By simply placing things in your office in a certain way and bringing in essential Feng Shui elements, you can boost your productivity, attract more wealth, and feel good on all levels—mind, body, and soul. Into it? Here’s how to Feng Shui your office, according to the pros. Step one: Declutter, declutter, declutter Before you infuse your office with good vibes, you first need to get rid of all the clutter, Dubinet says. Specifically, make sure there is no clutter on the floor so “chi,” aka life force energy, can

Read More

1 … 23 24 25 26 27 … 62