December 10, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC The holidays are a period of excess. Excess eating. Excess traveling. Excess buying. If you look at the actual stats, all that extra consumption is contributing to your carbon footprint in ways that might put a damper on your holiday spirit. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, American households produce 25 percent more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, adding one million tons per week to our landfills (plus enough ribbon to wrap around the entire globe!). That’s a lot of pressure on a planet with finite, dwindling resources. But it’s not only environmental waste that’s a cause for concern. “Looking at economic ramifications, it’s no secret that the holiday season can be an extremely expensive time of year,” says Brent Bell, VP of recycling at Waste Management. “By cutting down and being more mindful with shopping, hosting and gift-giving, you can also give your wallets a breather. Focus on spending special times with family and friends, and giving back to those in need.” With these tips on how to minimize waste during the holidays, you’ll be reducing, reusing, and recycling your way to fulfilled New Year’s resolutions—and a protected planet. Decking the halls Decorations are a huge part of creating holiday cheer, but their materials are not doing the environment any good (especially if you throw them out instead of recycling them properly—oops!). Bell recommends donating older decorations to local charities before buying new ones, or even better, reusing your decorations from
Day: December 10, 2019
Redditors couldn’t stop talking about these 5 beauty topics (and we won’t stop asking derms about them)
December 10, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC If you’ve got a skin care question, chances are that Reddit’s got the answer. The one million members of the SkincareAddiction community work together like super sleuths to solve any skin-related problem their fellow users throw at them, whether it’s which products get rid of dark spots or why their eyebrows are suddenly full of dandruff. In 2019, though, there were five such skin-care topics that reigned as the most popular: acne, cleansing, AHAs, aging, and cystic acne. As beauty editors, it’s our job here at Well+Good to have our fingers on the pulse of what people are talking about in the beauty world. And—surprise—Reddit’s most popular skin care questions of 2019 were among the most popular topics on our site, too. Over the past year, we’ve consulted with derms and other beauty pros to answer the most pressing skin care questions that people had this year, from how to treat acne and sensitive skin at the same time to whether or not you should be washing your face in the shower (and what cleanser you should be using if you decide to do so). Scroll through to see some of our top stories of the year on the topics Redditors couldn’t stop talking about, plus some serious skin-care intel from our resident Dear Derm star and dermatologist, Mona Gohara, MD. That way, the questions you were asking this year don’t have to be the ones you’re asking next year, too… just in case
What New York State’s new CBD regulations mean for the $4.6 billion industry
December 10, 2019 at 09:00PM by CWC New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law on Tuesday that will allow the state to regulate how hemp extracts, such as CBD (the non-psychoactive compound of the cannabis plant), are grown and sold. Under the law, everyone involved in the production process—including the growers and manufacturers—will have to receive a license sanctioning their practices through the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, reports the New York Daily News. Plus, they will be required to follow strict rules about labeling and testing their products. “The hemp industry in New York is exploding and with that growth comes a responsibility to regulate the industry in a way that helps ensure its long-term viability and protects consumers,” said Cuomo in a statement. According to Anthony Saniger, founder and CEO of Standard Dose—a company that curates CBD-based products—the legislative move will pave the way to more informed consumers. “One of the reasons we were built as a company was we wanted to create standards for the brands that we carry,” Saniger tells Well+Good. “We created our own set of standards and our own set of rules. The products that are going into consumers’ homes need to be vetted, need to be curated, and they need to make sure that whatever they say on the packaging is true and actually works. Now, with New York state coming out with these rules, we’re looking at what the legal requirements are for brands and we’re trying to educate our
4 surprising signs of burnout that totally extinguish on your flame
December 10, 2019 at 07:00PM by CWC It’s been over a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized burnout in the International Classification of Diseases. The syndrome—which is defined as “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”—doesn’t always present in obvious ways. Experts say that the signs of burnout can be just as subtle as they are damaging. “As psychiatrists, there is not a consensus as to how we define burnout, but I would suggest that it’s a mental or physical state where vitality and hope are impaired—when a person is too tired to make it through the day, or where they start to view life as more of a chore than a purposeful adventure,” says Gregory Scott Brown, MD, founder and director of the Center for Green Psychiatry. “Untreated, burnout may lead to depression, which may have a significant impact on physical and emotional health.” Dr. Brown and Erin Nicole McGinnis, LMFT, a licensed psychotherapist in Los Angeles and the owner of East West Holistic Psychotherapy, share five signs of burnout that might just fly under your radar. Signs of burnout that are anything but obvious 1. Anger and Irritability “People who are burned out tend to have a short fuse and may find themselves snapping at friends or loved ones,” says Dr. Brown. If you find that your temper starts to flare up more than usual, it may be time to consider the source of that animosity. “Sometimes there is a lot of shame
The $3 drugstore must-have if you’re getting a gel manicure
December 10, 2019 at 06:12PM by CWC Rocking a fresh manicure can make you feel like you have your life together in more ways than one. However, if your go-to hue of polish is disguising dry fingernails, dermatologists recommend rubbing ’em with one drugstore ingredient to restore your finger health. In a recent post published by the American Academy of Dermatologist, experts on your body’s largest organ (which your nails are part of) recommended moisturizing your nails in between gel manicures with a $3 tub of petroleum jelly. “Between polishes, apply a moisturizing product, such as petroleum jelly, to your nails and cuticles several times daily. This will minimize brittleness and help prevent your nails from chipping,” reads the article. “Try not to wear nail polish for one to two weeks or longer. This will allow your nails time to repair.” Really, it’s no surprise that the AAD loves petroleum jelly—so many derms name it as their desert island product. “Petroleum jelly is very occlusive, meaning it works to keep moisture from leaving your skin by blocking exposure of the skin to air because dryness in the air can really pull moisture from your skin,” says dermatologist Sandra Lee, MD, aka “Dr. Pimple Popper” and the founder of SLMD Skincare. Best of all, once you’ve treated all 10 dry fingernails, you can apply the gooey skin-care product to any other dry patches on your winter-struck body. I’m talking elbows, lips, knuckles—the list goes on. This dermatologist uses Vaseline as a makeup remover:
The dragon walk is so hard you’ll be breathing fire by the time you’re done
December 10, 2019 at 05:32PM by CWC It’s safe to say any exercise with “dragon” in its name is going to be ridiculously hard. Take the dragon flag, for instance—a Martial arts-inspired move where you literally turn your body into a human flag on a flag pole. And the dragon walk is no exception. “It’s an excellent core exercise, but it incorporates so many muscle groups that it feels like you’re working the entire body,” says Tee Major, trainer and author of Urban Calisthenics. “I like to start with this exercise because it takes the most energy, by far, than any other exercises you’re going to have in your workout.” Once you’re done with the dragon walk, you might just be breathing fire. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9QMwxysHoo] How to perform the dragon walk Start in a push-up position. Go down into a push-up, and on your way back up, raise your left arm and right leg into the air, keeping your hips square to the floor. As you move your left hand forward and position it onto the floor, bring your right leg to your side at a 90-degree angle and complete a staggered push-up. Push youself back up, this time repeating the process on the opposite side with your right arm and left leg in the air. After you get used to the movement, speed it up so you’re walking forward like a macho, badass dragon. Next, here’s how to do a perfect push-up: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V8nXGIyPOU] Keep working out like an
“As a young queer woman, ‘The L Word’ taught me the importance of a chosen family”
December 10, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC I was 18 years old, three months removed from having had my first kiss (with another girl), and two weeks into my first year at a college the first time I turned on The L Word. The drama series focusing on lesbian culture in Los Angeles, which ran on Showtime from 2004 to 2009, grabbed my attention with its sex scenes depicting relationships I’d never seen onscreen before. But the reason I continued watching? The queer friendships. I grew up in a town where very few gay people (who publicly identify as such, anyway) live. There were no gay bars. I had no (out) gay relatives. There were only two out students in my high school, and they hated each other. And the gay and lesbian characters I saw in media exclusively hung out with other straight folks (think: Grey’s Anatomy, The OC, Pretty Little Liars). So, prior to watching The L Word, I didn’t know that adult queer people may well also have a network of adult queer friends. I was completely unaware that queer communities existed offline. The L Word marked the first time I saw a group of queer people lunching, brunching, gossiping, dancing with, and supporting each other. I credit the show alone with teaching me the importance of a chosen family—because that’s really what these characters were to one another. Specifically, a queer chosen family. And for me, a lonely, closeted college student, that demonstration of friendship-turned-family was life-changing. I’ve since
Blue Zones thinking is coming for our workouts
December 10, 2019 at 10:30AM by CWC This one goes out to anyone who’s ever been told to schedule their workout like an “important business meeting,” only to fold under the pressure of a last-minute deadline or the prospect of 15 extra minutes with the snooze button. As our calendars come to look more and more like unbeatable games of Tetris, our workouts need to become less square. Which is why, in 2020, you can expect a more flexible approach to fitness to gain steam: A proliferation of shorter workouts from new and beloved fitness brands will make it easier to fit sweat sessions into jam-packed schedules, coupled with an increase in adoption of a “Blue Zones” approach to exercise—wherein we take a cue from some of the longest-living people in the world and work more activity into our daily habits—will have us raising our heart rate without hitting pause on our days. Flexible fitness for the win. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about a quarter of Americans are getting enough exercise, and one poll commissioned by the fitness app Freeletics named “not having time” as the number one excuse. One way an increasing amount of people are fitting workouts into their days? They’re making them shorter. Between January and September this year, YouTube views for 10-minute workout videos topped 150 million—that’s more than the views for 40-, 50-, and 60-minute workouts combined. Streaming platforms like Peloton, Aaptiv, Mirror, and Sweat with Kayla are also
The future of beauty is sustainable—and consumers won’t have it any other way
December 10, 2019 at 10:00AM by CWC The personal care industry produces about 120 billion packages every year, a staggering number that has consumers demanding change. According to 2019 Nielsen data, 73 percent of consumers say they want to reduce their impact on the environment, and 38 percent prefer buying beauty products that are sustainable. “Sustainability is really top of mind for people,” says Annie Jackson, co-founder of Credo Beauty. “People are looking for more sustainable manufacturers, sustainable packaging, and they want to understand the materials brands are using.” Beauty brands have gotten hip to the fact that if they’re going to thrive in the next decade, they’re going to need to put sustainability first—and that these changes need to go deeper than the packaging. But cleaning up their act will start with the packaging, and on this front, we’re going to see brands get more creative than ever in 2020. By 2025, Unilever plans to make all of its plastic packaging fully reusable, recyclable, or compostable. Dove, a drugstore staple and one of Unilever’s top brands, has already switched to fully recycled plastic bottles, and plans on being completely plastic-free by the end of 2020, with reusable, refillable, and stainless steel deodorant sticks in the pipeline. Another huge player, Procter & Gamble, is also prioritizing sustainability–Herbal Essences now produces 25 percent of its shampoo and conditioner bottles with ocean plastic, which they’ve collected and recycled from littered coasts. And then there’s Seed Phytonutrients, a personal care brand under the
Lymphatic health is the next frontier in wellness
December 10, 2019 at 09:30AM by CWC Hate to break it to you, but your body leaks. Fluid seeps out of your cells and tissues into the spaces between, where it can build up and cause swelling. It’s the job of your lymphatic system to collect all of this excess liquid, filter out nasties like cellular waste, bacteria, and pathogens, and return it to your bloodstream. In the past few years, we’ve seen a rising awareness of just how important this system is for reducing inflammation, staving off disease, and promoting good digestion (the wellness trifecta, if you will), and accordingly, there’s been an uptick in services and treatments meant to promote lymphatic health. In 2020, these spa offerings and workout classes will hit the mainstream, and “lymphatic health” will become the wellness buzzword on everyone’s lips. Because the lymphatic system doesn’t have a central pump (the way your circulatory system has your heart), it relies on you to keep things moving. Sometimes, this takes the form of “someone manually squeezing the tissues,” says Jonathan Leary, DC, founder and CEO of Remedy Place, a wellness club that opened in Los Angeles in November. Manual lymphatic drainage (or lymphatic drainage massage) has become a popular offering at Remedy Place and is at the core of a crop of bodywork studios that have opened in the past few years, including HigherDOSE in New York (which will open a west coast outpost in 2020), Ricari Studios and Upgrade Labs in LA, and Shape