Year: 2019

January 24, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC Glossier has won over a legion of skin-care obsessives with its smart products (they’re famously designed to address its plugged-in community’s needs) and a rock-solid social media game (I’ve double tapped too many shelfies to count). But despite all the buzz, I hadn’t actually dipped my proverbial pores into its pink portfolio of products yet. So when I got the chance to try Glossier’s Solution, an acid exfoliator, I was intrigued—but the word “acid” gave me pause. Like many women, I went through a period in sixth grade where blackheads set up permanent shop on my forehead (yay for getting through puberty!), and now deal with redness and irritation. With my sensitive skin, angry patches pop up when I’m out in the cold for a couple minutes, or just, like, take a shower. Would the formula be too intense? “Acids aren’t as scary as they sound […] Chemical exfoliants gently let go of dead skin by dissolving the bonds between cells.” Melissa Souto, Director of Product Development at Glossier, says sensitive-skin worriers like me should chill. “Acids aren’t as scary as they sound,” says Souto. “Unlike tough physical exfoliants—the grainy, bead-filled ones many people are familiar with—chemical exfoliants gently let go of dead skin by dissolving the bonds between cells.” Phew, no face-melting for me. Yep, acid exfoliation can work for sensitive skin. Here are 3 things that happened when I tried Glossier’s Solution. Photo: Glossier 1. My usual post-shower redness has started to

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January 24, 2019 at 11:25AM by CWC Spritzing magnesium on your skin can have countless benefits—from soothing sore muscles to helping you fall fast asleep. But if you’ve ever sprayed it on yourself as a way to drift off to dreamland, you likely know that there’s one pretty pesky side effect associated with the stuff: itchy AF skin. The mineral, explains Stephanie Morimoto, owner and CEO of Asutra, can absorb through your skin, which makes using it in the form of a Magnesium Oil Spray ($12) an alternative to incorporating it into your diet (albeit not an exclusive one ATM, according to science). “Your skin will easily absorb it and deliver much-needed magnesium to your bloodstream and cells. Topical magnesium bypasses the digestive tract, making the nutrient more bioavailable without overdoing it.” But if you’re supplementing with a spritz or spraying it as a cue for your body to wind down at the end of the day, you’re likely familiar that the stuff tingles on skin. There are two schools of thought as to why this happens: Many people, including Morimoto, believe the theory that when magnesium levels are low in the body, tingling occurs and subsists over time as your supplies are restored (though it hasn’t been studied). “If your body’s cellular magnesium levels are low and you apply magnesium oil directly onto your skin, it may sometimes sting a little, she says. “Over time and with gradual use, this sensation usually decreases.” Dermatologists, however, have a different theory as to why

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January 24, 2019 at 09:21AM by CWC When I lost weight a decade ago—75 pounds—I did so in a public way, chronicling every ounce I took off for a national publication. Suddenly, the backhanded compliments I had received all my life—things like, “You have such a pretty face, if only you’d lose some weight”—were replaced by genuine praise, especially after my big reveal hit newsstands. I welcomed the kudos, but inside, I struggled with a self-imposed pressure to never be a “rebounder.” My desire to maintain my weight loss was complex: On the one hand, I had replaced self-sabotaging behaviors with healthier ones I felt good about, and I couldn’t deny that my confidence had improved. On the other, I was clinging to the external validation my new size engendered. After all, our society rewards people for having smaller bodies, and punishes people for having bigger ones—and after being punished in subtle and overt ways for so many years, I didn’t want to go back there. But, perhaps inevitably, all the pounds that initially came off didn’t stay away forever. I’ve played whack-a-mole with the same 20 or 30 pounds that pop up (and then go down) too many times to count. As I write this, I’m about 15 pounds up from my lowest weight. I was clinging to the external validation my new size engendered. After all, our society rewards people for having smaller bodies, and punishes people for having bigger ones—and after being punished in subtle and overt

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January 24, 2019 at 09:11AM by CWC Instructions on a package of birth control pills are crystal clear. Take one “active” pill at the same time every day. And when you get to the row of seven with a slightly different hue (the so-called “reminder” pills), you’ll get your period. Easy, peasy. But on January 21, the United Kingdom’s Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) announced, “Women can safely take fewer (or no) hormone-free intervals to avoid monthly bleeds, cramps and other symptoms,” per a press release. On this side of the pond, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t set forth similar guidelines for birth control just yet, but I talked to Dr. Adeeti Gupta, MD, founder of Walk In GYN Care in New York City. She didn’t mince words. “It’s totally fine to skip the placebo week and go on straight to the next pack,” she says. Dr. Gupta does recommend taking a placebo week at least every three to four months so that your uterus can clean house, though. “Continuous suppression of estrogen and progesterone (which is what the birth control pills do), can also lead to severe vaginal dryness and decreased libido as well,” she adds. According to Planned Parenthood, the FDA has approved three synthetic birth control combination pills for the purpose of regulating menstruation on a quarterly (rather than monthly) basis—Seasonale, Seasonique, and Lybrel. Rather than a pack of 28 pills (which includes seven placebos), each package contains 84 days’ worth of active pills. Asking your

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January 24, 2019 at 08:19AM by CWC Last night, I worked out with Jennifer Aniston‘s boxing trainer. And after decades of thinking that I knew exactly what I was doing, I learned something game-changing about how you should be starting your sweat sesh. Yes, it’s great to get into a gym and jump right into your workout, but chances are your regimen could benefit from adding one essential step before you hit the weights: mobility training. “The foundation of working out is moving better, so you want to mobilize the body before you start any workout,” says Leyon Azubuike, boxing pro and founder of Gloveworx, an LA-based studio that just opened its first New York City location. Mobilizing your body before you move is sort of like a mix between a warmup and stretching, but it’s more focused on opening up your body, which is protracted after being hunched over at a desk all day. Azubuike likens your body to a car: “After typing all day and all of a sudden going to your workout, you just want to drive your car,” he says. “But the engine is cold in the car—it’s like going right from the room to driving 60 miles per hour. That’s not gonna work. You’ve got to warm the car up and then go.” So, without mobilization exercises, your workout is like igniting your body straight to fourth gear—and that leaves you more prone to injury. What exactly are mobilization exercises, you may ask? Good question. They

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