March 05, 2020 at 11:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwMeaiiyzHo] Dermatologists are well-equipped to answer all of your skin-related brain busters, like, “what products should I be using if my skin is oily and dry?” “What’s the deal with topical collagen?” and “Do hair loss supplements actually work?” But the most common skin questions MDs get actually have to do with the most seemingly simple part of your routine. In the latest episode of Dear Derm, we asked board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, to spill the deets on the skin subjects her patients are frequently confused about. And the one that made the top of the list? The right way to wash your face. Washing your face the right way is the most important element of keeping your skin clean and healthy. While it may seem like an easy lather-and-rinse regimen is all you need, there are certain small things you should be doing when you cleanse that can make or break the effectiveness of your routine. For example, did you know that some cleansers need to stay on your face longer than others? Or that micellar water doesn’t actually wash your face? Because I, a beauty editor, did not. Dr. Gohara breaks down a whopping eight face-washing no-no’s in the video (click the vid above to see all of them!), but one that will truly blow your mind? “Soap” and “cleanser” are two totally different things, and one of them has no place on your skin. “Never, ever, ever, ever use a soap on your
Day: March 5, 2020
Use the ‘hip to lip’ method to max out your fastest sprint ever
March 05, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC Running gets written off as a leg-centric sport, and for good reason: pounding the pavement demands a lot of your quads, hamstrings, and hips. What people often forget, though, is that a powerful arm swing can shave seconds (or even minutes!) off your race pace. So to get your full body on board for lightning-fast miles, trainers recommend a little something called the “hip to lip” method to teach you how to swing your arms while running. “A proper arm swing counterbalances and stabilizes the body,” says Melissa Wolfe, a coach at New York City’s Mile High Run Club. “While one leg is driving upwards ahead of us and the opposite arm is driving back behind us—and vice versa. That balance is enabling us to move forward in a straight line.” When you drive your elbows back powerfully and then swing your arms up beside your face (the “hip to lip” method), your lower body reacts by kicking your heels up higher and creating a more forceful stride. “For sprint pacing, when we pump our arms faster our legs will also follow with a faster turnover.” Wolfe tells me that everyone’s body and running form is unique, but generally, two things will get in your way of performing the hip to lip swing. First, your arms should be swinging forward. “If you had an imaginary line down the center of your body, you’d want to keep your arms and hands from crossing to the other side,”
Have we reached peak hydration?
March 05, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC Over the past few years, the basic earth element of water somehow snagged itself a cool-factor edge. Google searches for “hydration” have almost doubled since 2015; new apps that remind you to drink water (like, a lot of apps) have burst onto the scene; and at the time of publish, more than 790,000 Instagram posts had used the #stayhydrated hashtag. Furthermore, since 2016, bottled water has been the most popular beverage in America, outselling coffee, soft drinks, and all manner of other beverages. On one hand, it’s hard to find any real problem here: Water is essential for keeping our bodies functioning, and dehydration can lead to a whole host of problems. But on the other hand, there’s no medical proof specifying any need to drink a half gallon of water a day—so why does it seem like hydration has become a trend and top wellness priority for so many people? The Jennifer Aniston effect It all started with a rather unlikely culprit: Jennifer Aniston. She’s influenced a lot of cultural trends (like, with that haircut, for one), but perhaps the most enduring is also the most under-the-radar: the notion that water is an all-purpose beauty elixir. In 2007, Aniston became the spokesperson for Glacéau’s bottled water brand Smartwater. Prior to that point, bottled water brands more commonly ran ads focusing on the water’s purity or rustic qualities, like Poland Springs’s “What it means to be from Maine” campaign. While pricey water brands
Have trouble asking for what you want during sex? This 5-minute exercise will help you communicate orgasmically
March 05, 2020 at 08:00PM by CWC I’m in a room packed with strangers when I learn something new about myself: On a scale of 1 to 10, I prefer to be touched at a pressure that lands somewhere around a four. And I like a little bit of dragging-nail action, too. (Spicy! Who knew?!?) No, I’m not at an orgy or participating in some kind of innovative new workout. Rather, I’m taking a mindful sex workshop hosted by pleasure brand Dame, led by somatic psychologist and certified sex therapist Holly Richmond, LMFT, who says that for so many of us, communicating how we want to be touched is difficult for one key reason: We’ve never actually asked ourselves what turns us on, which makes knowing how to ask for what you want in bed extra complicated. “It sounds so simple to ask for what we want in sex, but it’s so hard,” says Richmond. “We always have to be open if we are in long-term relationships so that when our partner’s preferences change, our feelings won’t get hurt when they ask for someone different.” As challenging as it is to voice what you want, research confirms the point that—particularly in the case of longer-term sexual relationships—it’s a beyond-vital skill. Take a 2016 study published in the Journal of Sex Research, which found that rates of “sexual satisfaction and maintenance of passion were higher among people who had sex most frequently, received more oral sex, had more consistent orgasms, and
My grandma says she needs less sleep as she gets older—is she lying?
March 05, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC You can consider it an old wives tale or something that gray-haired ladies weave while power-knitting: the older you get, the less sleep you need. That sounds like a rare and significant pro of aging, being able to be energized for longer hours. It also sounds… extremely not real. While I do remember my grandma up-and-at-’em around 6 a.m. each day, and I also remember her out cold on the couch, head toppled backwards. So do you need less sleep as you get older? Or is YiaYia a liar? Well, first off, there’s at least an element to truth, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Our needs definitely do change as we age. When you’re a fresh-out-of-the-oven newborn to 3 months old, you require something like 14 to 17 hours a day. Diaper-bound infants need more like 12 to 15 hours a day. Toddlers to kindergartners need 11 to 15 hours a day, hence the mid-day break of nap time. It slims to nine and 11 hours of sleep until you hit your teens, and it’s more like eight to 10 hours. Seven to nine hours is the recommended number for adults (I know, I’m giggling, too), and that’s the same once you’re 65 or older. So, yes, technically you do need less sleep as you get older. But the reason why you factually get and function on less sleep has nothing to do with becoming an incredibly spry elder who really wants
I’m an Ulta Beauty Pro Artist and these 4 items *never* leave my makeup bag
March 05, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC My high school best friend scored a part-time job selling makeup the summer before our senior year. I watched in awe as her cosmetic bag turned into Wonderland, and she became fearless Alice, braving the before-uncharted lands of cream blushes, whisper-soft makeup brushes, and slick eyeliner. Since that fateful summer, I haven’t had such close proximity to bottomless blush; yet recently, after sneaking a peek inside Ulta Beauty pro artist Deney Adam‘s beauty bag, I felt that same feeling of tumbling head-first into Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland: makeup edition. When I ask Adam his criteria for choosing makeup products, he tells me he loves to think about the trends that could be, rather than what’s popular currently. “I am a seasonal-type makeup artist, and I aspire to create trends; therefore, I tend to go through different products quickly,” he says. “There is so much innovation out there and makeup formulas just keep getting better and better.” Earning a permanent place in Adam’s cosmetic bag is next to impossible, but four next-level makeup products have done it. Keep scrolling to find out which ones. 1. NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, $30 All Photo: Ulta “NARS concealer applies like butter and the texture is so light and creamy, it just melts into the skin. I also like that it has buildable coverage so I often use it as a foundation, and it works well on all skin types,” says Adam. The compact tube means it slips into your
This new inflammation index shows just how healthy your favorite foods are
March 05, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC There’s a lot of helpful intel crammed onto the inches that make up a food label’s nutrition panel. The amount of fiber? Check. Sugar, including what’s in there naturally versus what was added in? Check. The vitamins and nutrients, including how close a serving gets you to meeting the day’s requirements? Yup, that’s there, too. As great (and necessary!) all this information is, putting it all together to determine if something is healthy or not still takes a bit of detective work and analyzing. Imagine if there was also a score included on the nutritional panel, which clearly rated the food’s overall health impact. For Suzanne Judd, PhD, a nutritional epidemiologist, it isn’t just an imaginary, cool idea. Dr. Judd (who is a professor in the department of biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health) and her team recently created an inflammation index of foods, which seeks to determine just how much inflammation many foods cause, as well as how much inflammation some foods prevent. The results were published in the Journal of Nutrition. “My goal was to try to figure out if there is a way that we can use math to create a diet score that represents what people eat and look at that score to see how it represents overall health and the risk of disease,” Dr. Judd says of her research. “We wanted to look at scores that would be associated with inflammation within
This is what it’s like to walk into a real-life wellness wonderland
March 05, 2020 at 05:30PM by CWC Picture this: You step into a room and immediately feel the Zen vibes you’re always chasing during your self-care time. You look around and see tables lined with all the wellness-boosting tech, tinctures, and teas you can imagine, the healthy pantry of your dreams stocked with all the buzziest snacks, and a mocktail bar that makes you forget it’s not the real thing—all in one place. When my entire office started buzzing that such a place finally existed IRL, I knew I had to get myself there ASAP. Where is this real-life wellness mecca, you ask? STORY at Macy’s—an experiential space that brings a new theme to life every few months. And from now until April at the STORY flagship inside New York City’s Herald Square Macy’s (along with 19 variations of the experience at other locations across the country) it’s focused on—you guessed it—wellness. Feel Good STORY (which was created in collaboration with Well+Good editors—we are the experts, after all) is chock-full of all the pro tips and next-level tools you need to feel nourished, balanced, and energized. STORY is like the grown-up version of Disney World, but instead of treats and rides, there are meditation booths and foam rollers galore. First impression? Those grapevine rumors didn’t disappoint. STORY is like the grown-up version of Disney World, but instead of treats and rides, there are meditation booths, foam rollers galore, and tons of other wellness gems I will be adding to my
How to style the OV exercise dress for winter, because we’re team no pants all year round
March 05, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC Many months ago, I packed away my shorts, skirts, and dresses for winter—already wishing that I could rewind the “lazy-hazy-crazy” days of summer and sport them all once more. There’s was one wardrobe exception, though: the Outdoor Voices Exercise Dress ($100) in winter proved too versatile to be exiled to the back of my closet. So with the help of fashion stylist Alyssa Sutter, I learned how to style the garment come sun, slush, or blizzards. “My general rule for styling summer dresses in the wintertime is incorporating layers and textures,” says Sutter. “You can layer a turtleneck or tights under your dress, or pair it with a knit sweater and boots.” Since the dress itself is made with a thin, sweat-ready combo of nylon and spandex, you’re going to want to make sure the rest of the ensemble is built around staples that keep you warm. To help you do just that, Sutter dreamed up three ways you can wear the exercise dress no matter the weather forecast. Then, once you get to the gym or barre class, you can peel off the under layers and get down to doing things. 3 ways to sport the Outdoor Voices Exercise Dress in winter 1. The LB(exercise)D “This LBD can be your new winter go-to if you want to look effortless,” says Sutter. “Pair it with a fitted turtleneck under and a great pair of black, sheer, or opaque tights.” To switch things up,
Just chill, because I’m about to tell you everything you’ve ever wondered about CBD gummies
March 05, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC CBD or cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive element of the cannabis plant, continues to be the most-talked-about ingredient in wellness right now. From leggings to deodorants to lube, that good (wellness) kush is in almost too many things—including squishy gummy candies. But given that there are so many different ways to consume CBD—from powders and supplements to tinctures—are CBD gummies’ effects worth spending your hard-earned cash on? Here’s the thing: People turn to CBD for a number of reasons: to support thier sleep, quell anxiety, or fight inflammation. And boy do they sound great when your grandmother, sister-and-law, and coworkers sing their praises. But when you’re deciding whether CBD gummies (or CBD in any form) are right for you, remember that the science has yet caught up to most of CBD’s fanfare. “There is very little data from rigorous scientific research on the therapeutic effects of CBD,” J. H. Atkinson, MD, of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego previously told Well+Good. Still, though, the massive market for CBD (which is estimated to reach $24 billion by 2024) suggests that many people can make an anecdotal case for the ingredient. And Jessica Mulligan, founder of gummy CBD company Winged, believes that peoples’ interest in CBD in its gummy form (and others) really comes down to a need to calm the nervous system in a world that’s stress-inducing and fast-paced. “CBD nourishes an important system in our bodies called the endocannabinoid