February 05, 2020 at 10:43PM by CWC There are two types people who I trust wholeheartedly to give skin-care advice: dermatologists and French women. So when New York-based board-certified dermatologist Shereene Idris, MD (known on social media as “The Pillowtalk Derm” thanks to the A+ skin-care advice she delivers from her bed every evening) combined the two when and shared her haul of French drugstore products to her Instagram story, you better believe I whipped out a notebook. Most of her picks—like the Bioderma Micellar Water ($15), which all of our editors swear by, and La Roche Posay Spray Sunscreen ($36)—came as no surprise, since they are cult-favorites in the Parisian beauty category. But there was one item in her cart that I had never heard of before: Nuxe Reve de Miel Hand and Nail Cream, ($20). The cream happens to be a French drugstore staple, but is also (thankfully) readily available on Amazon. It’s packed with all kinds of nourishing, good-for-your-hands properties, like sunflower seed oil, which acts as an emollient to seal in moisture beneath the surface of your skin, vitamin E, which is an antioxidant that protects skin from the environment, and honey, which is known for its healing antibacterial properties. Dr. Idriss likes to put it on after manicures to help with broken skin or sensitive cuticles, but it’s also good for giving your hands a boost whenever they’re feeling extra-dry or cracked. Much like your face, your hands deserve a skin-care routine of their own
Day: February 5, 2020
I teach 40 spin classes a classes a week, and these are the 3 things I always do to recover
February 05, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC Akin Akman spends 40 hours a week teaching fitness classes. That doesn’t include his own workouts in the gym, or the classes he takes from the other teachers at his new AARMY fitness studio in New York’s Noho neighborhood (a second location also opened in Los Angeles earlier this month). Considering how much exertion he’s putting on his body on a regular basis—through spin classes, boot camps, and a whole lot of ab exercises—it’s no wonder he takes his recovery routine just as seriously as he takes his fitness regimen. “It’s important to take a moment to assess where you’re at with your body—you don’t necessarily always have to go all out, especially when something feels tweaked,” he says of why recovery is such an integral part of what he does for himself. “Pay attention to the details. Sometimes there’s something that you need to address with recovery before you move on.” Think hip tightness as one example, which he says is key to stretch out before incorporating that muscle group in a workout. As a lifelong athlete (before he was teaching celebs at SoulCycle, he trained as a tennis player), Akman admits that his body can recover fairly quickly from even the most intense workouts… as long as there are some serious zzzs involved. “Since I’ve adapted to this lifestyle, I can take a nap or get a good night’s sleep and I’ll be up and ready to go,” he says. Ice
Berkeley’s carbon footprint calculator shows *exactly* how your lifestyle affects the environment—and how to change it
February 05, 2020 at 09:30PM by CWC Carbon dioxide levels are higher today than they’ve been at any point in the last 800,000 years. In fact, NOAA reports that the last time the global atmospheric CO2 reached current levels was 3 million years ago. With climate anxiety becoming more and more prevalent, its important to know your impact—and where to scale back. University of California, Berkeley’s CoolClimate Network is here to help with a a calculator that delivers an estimate of your carbon footprint. “All the things we do as the result of being humans alive on the planet today result in carbon emissions,” Peter Miller, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Climate and Clean Energy Program, Western Region, previously told Well+Good. Berkeley’s calculator is a kind of quiz that asks a series of questions related to your income, modes of transportation, utility usage, the food you eat, and how much you spend on other goods and services. Once you input your data, it allows you to choose from actionable steps to decrease your footprint, like riding you bike 20 miles a week instead of driving, or switching to more efficient light bulbs. The quiz asks questions about how many miles you drive a year, and how much do you spend a year on electricity, so pull up past bills and look through your purchase history to really get an accurate depiction of your habits. Nearly everything we do uses some form of energy, so it can be hard to
Finally, there’s a peanut allergy treatment for the 1 million children who have them
February 05, 2020 at 08:30PM by CWC As one of the “big eight,” the most common food allergies in the U.S., peanuts have been expelled from most schools and airlines. And for good reason—a nut allergy reaction can lead to trouble breathing, feeling lightheaded, and passing out. In extreme cases, it can even be life-threatening. But the Food and Drug Administration announced some major news: the first drug for children with a peanut allergy has officially been approved. The new drug, called AR101 or Palforzia, helps increase the tolerance of peanuts little by little. This is important because it means that if a child is accidentally exposed to trace amounts of peanuts, their bodies will be strong enough to handle it. The drug is available to anyone between the ages of 4 and 17, but with a price of $890 a month, it won’t be accessible for everyone. And unfortunately, even when taken over time, it doesn’t “cure” someone of a peanut allergy. Still, it’s the biggest advancement for sufferers yet. “As both a dietitian and a mom of a baby with a peanut allergy, I find Palforzia to be an exciting development,” says Lindsey Janeiro, RD. “[Though not a cure], a lessened reaction could still be the difference between life and death in some instances.” As a registered dietitian, Janeiro urges parents to still proceed with caution, and not to allow the drug to give a false sense of security. “Strict avoidance of peanuts is still required, along with
Finish every workout with this simple move to avoid lower back pain
February 05, 2020 at 07:30PM by CWC Every exercise you do helps to strengthen those beautiful muscles of yours. The only issue is that certain exercises, despite doing wonders, can cause aches and pains in your lower back if you’re not ending your workouts with some glute bridge pulses to combat it. Glute bridge pulses are great after glute, thigh, and core moves because they open up the hips and prevent any exercise-induced strain that results in lower back pain. If you commonly experience pain in the area after working out, giving your hips a boost could help put the issue to rest. “[Glute bridges] rehabilitate anything that’s going on in your lower back and even your hips, but it makes your ass look amazing. So it’s a double win,” says celebrity trainer Isaac Calpito in a recent Obé fitness class. “The posterior chain is all interconnected. From our hamstrings to our glutes to our lower back, they each work together to help keep us aligned,” says personal trainer Sam Tooley, founder of Alpha Fit Club in New Jersey. “Ending a workout with glute bridge pulses to strengthen your hips can help anyone who’s having lower back pain specifically. My recommendation would be to focus on the contraction at the top, pausing, and squeezing for a few seconds before releasing. You can also try mixing it up with some single leg efforts as well to isolate them unilaterally.” Before you finish up your next workout, be sure to add in
Climate change is making it harder for Olympic athletes to train—Nike wants clear the air
February 05, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC Put yourself in the sneakers of an athlete who’s spent the majority of their life dreaming, training, and spending every waking hour living for the chance to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Now, imagine there’s a very real, looming adversary standing between you gold—beyond those with the same hopes of winning it. It’s happening as we speak: Climate change is affecting how athletes prepare for their given sports, and it’s posing a threat to performance. The number of days above 90°F has increased by nearly 25 percent since the 1980s, and the change in weather has forced some United States states to adopt rules around when the temperature necessitates postponing or cancelling practice altogether to keep athletes safe. Nike reports that the current rate of climate change could decrease the time athletes spend on the field by up to two months in southernmost states by 2050. And meanwhile, viable snow days for snowboarders could decrease by 11 to 22 percent within the same timespan. The escalating temperatures are so top of mind, in fact, that the 2020 Olympic marathon site has been moved from Tokyo to Sapporo (a city 500 miles north) due to heat concerns. It’s enough that Nike, as a brand that outfits athletes from all over the world, is looking to address in the concerns of sustainability while also offering performance-forward gear that allows athletes to succeed and continue to break records in more grueling climates. “At the
Take a note from ‘Cheer’ and use structure to win the Grand National Championship of your own life
February 05, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC The six-part Netflix documentary Cheer follows the Navarro College cheer team along its journey to compete for the annual Grand National Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida. To lead her team, coach Monica Aldama leans heavily on principles of fierce, structural rigidity. No spoilers here about whether her tactics—which often land her squad members in the hospital—end up working (but, frankly, her championship-winning record can speak for itself). Aldama’s regimen of blood-sweat-and-tears-level intensity begs the question, though, of whether structure can also answer the question of how to plan success in your own life, landing you on top of your proverbial pyramid. Or, is it more likely that an unwavering relationship with structure becomes a hindrance that sends you tumbling backward, with no spotters (or stunters) in sight? First, know that structure is a necessity for living a fulfilling, healthy life. “Structure is fundamental to physical and mental well-being in humans,” says life coach and physician Anna Stratis, MD. In her work as a physician, Dr. Stratis career focuses on helping people create healthy habits that eventually form their backbone for living well. For example, something as simple as knowing that a daily bowl of oatmeal keeps you full until lunchtime can make you feel more productive and happy overall. Structure is fundamental to physical and mental well-being in humans.” —Anna Stratis, MD But regardless of how heavily or lightly you lean on structure to design your life, coping skills are crucial for being
I ditched melatonin for $55 personalized sleep supplements to optimize my zzz’s
February 05, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC Melatonin supplements have had a constant home on my nightstand since I was 12 years old—so I guess you could say that sleep and I have had quite the rocky relationship over the years. And, in that regard, I’m hardly alone: When Well+Good surveyed 1,500 readers last year about their sleep habits and woes, 92 percent reported feeling fatigued more than once a week, and 53 percent said they use melatonin to remedy their tossing and turning. But in the age of personalized…everything, I decided to try a new regimen in the hopes of it helping me clock precious hours of sleep with ease. And that’s how I came to know Remrise. To be clear, when I say “personalized,” I mean that the company’s formulas are far more complex than the difference between taking, say, 3 milligrams and 10 milligrams (which is what happens when I’m deciding between different bottles of melatonin at the drugstore). Rather, Remrise asks its customers to take a quick quiz that places them in one of five different categories, or sleep profiles: “Chilled Out,” “Rise & Shine,” “Peace of Mind,” “At Ease,” and “Power Off.” Each profile is connected to a different plant-based formula, all of which are “inspired by centuries of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which recognizes that each person experiences unique sleep issues and requires a unique resolution,” says Remrise founder and CEO Veronika Lee. “We developed our sleep profiles based on the most common issues
It’s time to rebrand ‘foreplay,’ which currently delegitimizes sex for many
February 05, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC It’s unfortunate that so many people regard foreplay as if it were a flight layover—that is, the place you stop by really quickly on the way to your final destination. But, since many of us understand foreplay to be the opening act for penetrative sex, the mind-set isn’t surprising. After all, the word foreplay literally means “before play.” The problem? That understanding of the term suggests that only vaginally or anally penetrative acts constitute sex, says sex educator and sex-positivity advocate Lateef Taylor. And that’s simply not the case. “The word ‘foreplay’ is a bogus term that reinforces a penis-centric, heteronormative, cis-centric, exclusionary, and ableist understanding of what sex is,” they say, adding that the currently understood meaning of foreplay creates a hierarchy in which all other types of pleasure rank below these two forms of sex. “It delegitimizes sex acts that aren’t insertive.” Sexologist Carol Queen, PhD, also takes issue with the term because it validates rushing through certain acts with high pleasure potential to get to a designated main event. This pattern can result in people not understanding that many of these acts can be essential to arousal. In fact, rushing through or skipping foreplay acts altogether and then jumping into insertive sex can result in less pleasure or even downright pain. “Reinventing the term and ridding it of its ‘lesser-than’ connotation could help close the orgasm gap.” —sexologist Carol Queen, PhD That’s why, in the name of inclusivity and increased
The high-tech, do-it-all device that de-puffs skin in 7 minutes flat
February 05, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC Using quality, dermatologist-recommended active ingredients in your beauty routine is a pretty clear-cut way to improve your skin. Lesser used and talked about, however, are tools that can take the results from serums and moisturizers up a notch. Electrical stimulation is becoming a more-and-more talked about way to do just that, and one brand in particular—ZIIP Ox ($480)—is out in front, putting high-tech tools, usually reserved for the derms’ office in the hands of us all. ZIIP uses both microcurrent and nanocurrent waves to stimulate your skin’s collagen and elastin. There are a total of nine treatments programmed on the device that do everything from target pigment to kill bacteria- causing breakouts to de-puff under eye bags. The latest treatment (which takes only seven minutes start-to-finish) is called “lymph and lift” is meant to promote lymphatic drainage and give you that post-facial glow. The device is able to do this through microcurrents, which help your skin to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a repairing compound your body naturally creates but diminishes as you age. Simultaneously, nanocurrent sends teeny, tiny waves that also help repair collagen and elastin, and also stimulate circulation. As this happens, the lymph fluid that has built up in your face is broken up and ushered away. “Lymphatic drainage is skin 101,” says Melanie Simon, creator and co-founder of ZIIP. “It’s something that’s very much a part of most skin-care treatments when you go to a spa.” This happens because the