You are Here

Year: 2019

2019 Health

We put our most romantic editors in a Slack chat with V-Day haters—here’s what they figured out

11 min read

February 09, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC With Valentine’s Day coming up, we have a lot of thoughts. About romance. And love. And, let’s be honest: hate (for the marketing of deep human emotions, just for starters). So we took to Slack (as we’ve done on the topics of dating app craziness and astrology) to figure out for once and for all: Valentine’s Day—hell yes or nah? Here, senior food and health editor Jessie Van Amburg, assistant editor Tamim Alnuweiri, and associate beauty and fitness editor Zoe Weiner, and I have a (very loving) verbal brawl over the meaning of February 14.  ERIN: Let me start by saying we won’t be talking about the 2010 film Valentine’s Day, starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, and about 47 other celebs. Just to be clear! We’re talking about the February 14 lovefest. So I came into this feeling like Valentine’s Day is SO over, mostly because that’s how I feel about it, and most of my friends. In a long-term relationship, Valentine’s Day feels like the New Year’s Eve of love: performative and, often, not that much fun. So I find a thrilling freedom in just not caring and JOMO-ing the whole thing. But I am aware that others have not quite lost that loving feeling for V-Day! So, first question… Valentine’s Day: yay or nay? And why? TAMIM: I don’t really do “relationships” so even when I’ve been seeing someone around that time of the year I’m not that down to

Read More

2019 Health Relaxation

Derms say the time you wash your face at night actually matters—here’s why

3 min read

February 08, 2019 at 01:16PM by CWC I may be an avid face washer, but the actual time that I practice my double cleansing routine changes. Sometimes, I’m extra ambitious and clean the day away right when I get home from work (it’s increasingly more difficult the more tired I get). On other occasions, I’m washing my face just before I hit my pillow and drift off into peaceful, glow-getting sleep. Both methods give me a debris-free complexion that’s dutifully slathered with my selection of serums and oils. But I started to think about whether the timing of my facial cleansing impacts the effect of the products on my skin. Your cellular regeneration magic happens while you sleep, after all. For clarification, I sought some derms’ advice. “During the course of the day, whether you’re wearing makeup or not, your skin is going to be a magnet for pollution and debris and grime,” says Rhea Souhleris Grous, aesthetics director and beauty expert at Union Square Laser Dermatology. “All day long, you’re collecting it and your skin’s fighting to preserve itself—so the faster you get home and remove it, the faster your skin can relax and repair itself. You’ll be ahead of the game.” Dermatologist Shirley Chi, MD says that the more important factor is what you’re applying to your skin afterwards. “You can wash your face any time during the day, but it depends on what product you’re putting on your face afterwards,” she tells me. “Retinol for instance is

Read More

2019 Health

The sneaky way hormonal birth control can mess with your hair

4 min read

February 08, 2019 at 12:17PM by CWC Hormonal birth control can do some pretty funky—but also amazing!—things to your body. It can change your skin (buh bye, hormonal acne), regulate your periods, and in news-to-my-ears, it can also change your hair. When a friend recently told me that she was convinced her IUD was making her hair curly, I admittedly had my doubts. I’d never heard of such a thing! But after talking to an OB/GYN and a trichologist on the subject, she may actually be onto something. “The birth control pill can definitely affect the quality and quantity of hair growth,” says Sherry Ross, MD, an OB/GYN and author of She-Ology. “Some women notice their hair thins out when taking the pill, while others notice hair loss. There are also women who notice a fuller, thicker, and shiny head of hair while taking the pill.” She notes that it all comes down to how your body and the hormones work together, and that a family history of hair loss may mean that certain hormonal birth control methods could trigger that same reaction in your body. IUDs, she explains, can be some of the most common culprits when it comes to hair changes: The Mirena has been known known to cause hair loss in a very (I repeat: very!) small percentage of women: It has alopecia listed as a side effect that effects less than 5 percent of women. According to her, the non-hormonal copper IUD has been associated with hair loss and changing

Read More

1 … 694 695 696 697 698 … 789