December 12, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC Ever wondered why you take quite awhile to get over a breakup while your ex jumps into something new pretty much immediately? And maybe you envy your friend who—even though you can tell she’s sad—seems to process her feelings in a rational way you could only dream of accomplishing for yourself? It turns out that one big factor at play for navigating the roller coaster of breakups is relationship attachment styles. There are four major attachment styles—secure, anxious, fearful-avoidant, and dismissive-avoidant—which are essentially part of your subconscious makeup. They can inform how a person forms interpersonal relationships and deals with conflict, intimacy, breakups, and everything that comes with the complicated mess of romance. Once you know your attachment style (you can take an online quiz like this one to find out), you can stand to understand more about why you react the way you do when relationships come to an end. Secure Secure individuals generally know how to cope with their emotions in a healthy way. “Essentially, secure attachment styles use breakups as an opportunity to understand what they need in a relationship in order to be happy,” says relationship expert Monica Parikh, who adds the these learnings can inform what these people do and don’t want in future partnerships. “Secure attachment styles use breakups as an opportunity to understand what they need in a relationship to be happy.” —relationship expert Monica Parikh Of course, this doesn’t exclude grieving from the process—breakups are hard
Month: December 2019
Your derm-approved guide to creating the perfect skin-care routine for acne
December 12, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC If you’ve ever had to look your complexion in the mirror and call a truce, you’re not alone. At the first sign of a pimple, acne-prone skin can flare up with inflammation or additional reactionary breakouts. This is why crafting a skin care routine for acne is an art that takes plenty of research on which beauty ingredients are your skin’s friends and which are best left on the shelves. “It’s important to know which products to use [if you have acne],” says Michele Green, MD, a New York-based board-certified cosmetic dermatologist. Although the enormous selection of beauty products and buzzy skin-care ingredients is tempting, you can’t just slather any old ingredient on acne-prone skin and call it a day. First of all, Dr. Green says it’s important to make sure the product label says oil-free and non-comedogenic. “Non-comedogenic products are formulated in a way that avoids breakouts or clogs pores,” she says. That should be your baseline when shopping. As for what else to avoid? Anything aggressive. “Harsh or abrasive products such as exfoliating beads should be avoided if you have acne,” says Dr. Green. These, she explains, would be those that contain extra-drying ingredients, like sulfates—which, she says, “can damage your skin’s natural protective barrier and result in severe irritation.” Those with acne-prone skin should also steer clear of oil-based products, artificial fragrances, dyes, and alcohol-based products. Dr. Green points to coconut oil, almond oil, shea butter, and mineral oil as
There’s only one month a year when it’s acceptable to drink eggnog—here’s how to do it vegan, dairy-free, and delicious
December 11, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC Even if you’re the type of person who likes listening to Christmas music year-round, even if you put your tree up when there are pumpkins on your porch, even if you don’t understand the backlash against Love Actually and are committed to defending it as the best movie of all-time, it’s still socially unacceptable to whip up a batch of eggnog in any month other than December. It just is. Could you imagine if someone offered you the velvety drink in the height of summer, when everyone else is drinking coconut juice cocktails? Or in February, as a Valentine’s Day after-dinner drink? There’s a reason why it’s restricted to the holidays: when else does warm milk sound appealing other than when the weather is outside is frightful? A glass of eggnog is delightful on a cold winter night whether spiked or spirit-free. Traditional eggnog is made with egg whites, egg yolks, heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, and an optional shot of brandy, whiskey, or rum —definitely not a combo that was crafted with vegan or dairy-free eaters in mind. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with rich and creamy vegan eggnog recipes. Dairy-free and vegan eggnog recipes that are rich and delicious Photo: Minimalist Baker 1. Coconut milk maple eggnog All it takes is 10 minutes and six ingredients to make a batch big enough to serve a dozen party guests when you follow this eggnog recipe from Minimalist Baker’s Dana Shultz.
The 9 healthy cookbooks of 2019 that inspire us to eat and live well
December 11, 2019 at 09:23PM by CWC A good cookbooks is one gift that never goes out of style. With hundreds of healthy cookbooks released each year, it’s hard to know where to start. I’ve done the legwork for you, paging through many of my favorites to find not just the best recipes, but the books that serve specific dietary needs with creative recipes and gorgeous photography. The books rounded up here are timeless, the best of the best, the ones bound to be the gifts that keep on giving for years to come. These are the best healthy cookbooks of 2019 1. Well+Good Cookbook by Alexia Brue and Melissa Gelula Did you know Well+Good has a cookbook? It has 100 amazing recipes by friends close to the brand. A very small sampling of what you’ll find tucked inside: Lea Michele’s shaved radicchio, Parmesan, and truffle pizza; Elle MacPherson’s chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries, and cacao nibs; and Well+Good co-founder Alexia Brue’s CBD strawberry smoothie. Pretty epic, right? 2. The Blue Zone Kitchen by Dan Buettner Take a literal page out of a book inspired by people who live to be over 100. Blue Zones expert Dan Buettner has been preaching their healthy lifestyle tips for years, but this is the very first time he’s releasing a cookbook. It hits shelves December 19, so there’s no chance the foodie on your gift list has it yet. 3. Whole Food Cooking Every Day by Amy Chaplin This elegant book has a
Lizzo is entertainer of the year, and she’s also my personal mental health hero
December 11, 2019 at 07:44PM by CWC I’ve listened to 14 hours worth of Lizzo songs this year. That number includes the all the times I blasted “Truth Hurts” when I knew sending a text to an ex was a bad idea, danced naked in front of my mirror to “Tempo,” cried on the subway platform to “‘Cuz I Love You,” and pumped myself up on my morning commute with a playlist that consisted of “Soulmate,” “Juice,” and “Good As Hell.” So it was no surprise to me—or, based on the Internet’s reaction, to anyone—that the fearless singer was named both Entertainment Weekly and Time Magazine‘s “Entertainer of the Year” on Wednesday morning. In addition to being my top Spotify artist, she copped eight Grammy nominations, landed on the covers of British Vogue, Elle, Essence, Billboard, Allure, and brought down the house with her performances (and outfits) throughout 2019. Culturally speaking, there is no denying that Lizzo is important: She’s made unapologetic waves “celebrating her black skin and ample curves” in a world that has traditionally been dominated by thin, white women, and has become a symbol of positivity in every sense of the word. There’s a reason that Instagram is replete with #LizzoIsMyTherapist memes, a sentiment that, for me, rings overwhelmingly true. Lizzo’s music has become a critical part of my mental health since I first heard “Good As Hell” in 2018, fresh off of a breakup and deep in dark thoughts. In the last two years, she’s taught me that it’s okay
A trainer shows us how to tell if your kettlebell is too heavy for your workout
December 11, 2019 at 06:48PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsO6GM0DeWg] Choosing the right kettlebell can often feel like a Goldilocks-level feat: If you go too light, you wind up short-changing your workout; and if you go to heavy, you tap out before your desired number of reps… or worse, you hurt yourself. And so, it’s important to go jussst right with your weight. The best way to figure out what that is? The kettlebell rack. Racking a kettlebell involves picking up a kettlebell using one hand, and is the basis for pretty much every other move you’ll do with the weight. If you’re automatically doing it incorrectly, it’s a good sign that the kettlebell you’ve picked is too heavy for you. According to trainer Roxie Jones, there are three common mistakes that people make in their kettlebell racking that serve as clear indications that they need to go lighter: They need to use their other hand to assist in lifting it, their elbow is sticking way out to the side to support the weight, or the bell is swinging wildly over their shoulder. “Picking up your weight the right way is how you’re going to proceed with the rest of your workout, and if you’re not doing that correctly, you’re probably going to do the rest of your workout incorrectly,” says Jones. “And then you’re probably putting strain on your other muscles that you don’t need to be working.” Watch the video above to see the right way to rack a kettlebell,
The answers to Google’s 5 most-searched makeup questions of 2019
December 11, 2019 at 06:35PM by CWC A person’s search history can reveal a lot about them. Like, do they prefer hot yoga or classic vinyasa? Are they a 20-step chef or a 3-ingredients-or-less kind of person? In 2019, Googlers sought out “how-to” beauty tutorials from the world wide web, and I feel personally validated to report that we’re all very, very confused about how to apply makeup. The top beauty questions from Google’s year in search report (shared with Well+Good via email) reveals mystification surrounding the topics of primer, toner mascara, and more. Below, beauty experts break down the basics so that, come January 1, 2020, you’ll have a brain full of beauty knowledge. You asked, we answered—here’s how to apply makeup 1. The deal with toner According to Joshua Zeichner, MD, a board-certified dermatologist, you really only need toner if the water pressure in your shower is super hard. Otherwise, skip it! “Toners are liquid skin-care products that have a slightly acidic pH to balance the skin’s natural pH level,” Dr. Zeichner previously told Well+Good. “The outer skin layer, referred to as the acid mantle, has a pH of about 5.5. Harsh scrubs, true soaps, and even hard water can disrupt the outer skin layer, alter the pH, and cause inflammation.” To apply your toner, pour a small amount on a cotton round and apply it gently on freshly-washed skin. 2. Um, so do I need a primer? A primer is the base coat for your #lewk. While it’s
Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is a nod to the importance of pronouns in our gender-fluid world
December 11, 2019 at 03:38PM by CWC Whenever I stumble upon a word I don’t know how to use, I hit up the dictionary search bar. As a health and sex writer, I’m mostly looking up multisyllabic mumbo-jumbo like endocannabinoid, perineum, and astragalus. But according to a recent announcement from Merriam Webster, a seemingly simple four-letter word is the word of the year: They. In September, Merriam-Webster added the use of gender-neutral singular ‘they’ to the dictionary. And today, after tallying 2019 search results which showed a 313 percent increase in searches from 2018, Merriam-Webster named “they” the 2019 word of the year. Likely, this is due in part to the fact that celebrities like Amanda Stenberg, Jacob Tobia, and Sam Smith announced that they use they/them pronouns. “Our lookups are often driven by events in the news,” writes Merriam-Webster in a press release. But whatever the reason, gender, identity, and LGBTQ+ activists celebrate the addition. “Merriam Webster is widely recognized as the authority figure on the english language, so to have them recognize ‘they/them’ as widely used singular pronoun that’s grammatically sound is important,” says pleasure-based sex educator and sex-positivity advocate Lateef Taylor. “These are the kind of steps can better peoples lives. As someone who uses they/them pronouns, I personally find the addition to be really affirming and useful.” Sexologist Jamie LeClaire who specializes in sexuality, gender, and identity and also uses they/them pronouns offers a similar sentiment: “The acceptance and recognition of ‘they’ as a singular by a
I’m a dermatologist, and these are the 3 kinds of face masks worth buying
December 11, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC When you’re shopping for a face mask, you’ll find that there’s one for practically every skin concern out there. This is great news when you consider all the skin-boosting possibilities that can happen within a 20-minute masking treatment. But anyone who’s slathered on masks to no avail has one question: Which skin conditions are best served by face masks and which ones should you reserve for your serums? “Masks are a huge part of the skin-care market,” says Rachel Nazarian, MD, a New York City-based, board-certified dermatologist, explaining that they offer benefits through prolonged contact of active ingredients on your skin. “This process enhances the penetration of those active ingredients.” She’s also a fan of the product category because it’s so representative of self care and “encourages the need to stop and sit.” In other words: You get to relax and benefit from a complexion boost. Win-win. That said, there are some skin conditions that leave-on products are best suited for. “For major skin issues like severe acne or rosacea, I would not depend on a short-contact mask to greatly improve [flare-ups],” says Dr. Nazarian. New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Melissa Kanchanapoomi Levin, MD FAAD agrees, noting that the skin benefits of face masks tend to be “minimal if anything.” You won’t notice as much of a change, for example, if you use an “anti-aging” face mask with retinol as you would from using a retinol—an active ingredient that’s been studied to better
Low sex drive in women is a medical diagnosis that’s finally starting to get the attention it deserves
December 11, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC It’s long been recognized in the medical community that if you’re a man struggling to have a satisfying sex life, it deserves not only a solution, but one you don’t have to pay for. Viagra has been on the market for over a decade and you’ll be hard up to find an insurance provider that doesn’t cover it. Women’s right to sexual desire, however, has a more complicated history—and has only recently become a mainstream topic of discussion. Doctors have finally started to recognize the reality and prevalence of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), a medical condition causing low libido that affects one in ten women (though this number is likely underreported). However, advocates are still fighting for HSDD to be treated as seriously as erectile dysfunction. Cindy Eckert, the CEO of Sprout Pharmaceuticals, says the battle to get her company’s HSDD drug Addyi and FDA-approved was a long, hard fight. “There’s the tale of the blue pill and the tale of the pink pill,” she says. “[A drug to treat erectile dysfunction] was seen as such an important medical need that it received a special status and was fast-tracked to the FDA, and was then approved in six months. By contrast, [a drug to treat low libido in women] took six years, despite the fact that HSDD is just as prevalent in women as erectile disfunction is in men.” Despite the continuing hurtles, progress is finally being made in treatment for HSDD, in