January 31, 2020 at 02:00AM by CWC Trust feels like an alien idea when your road to romance has been littered with red flags, and yet it’s a key component (if not THE key component) to having a healthy relationship. We want to trust our partners, but that begins with finding someone that seems, well, trustworthy. And if you’re early stages of dating and need a good vetting process, the Gottman Institute recently released the five major components of trust. “This is a great way of looking at it because it’s easy to translate these into actions,” says clinical psychologist Aimee Daramus, PsyD. “That will make it easier to tell if someone shares these values.” So how do you identify someone you can’t trust versus someone who is True Blue? Here are the five components of trust. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Gottman Institute (@gottmaninstitute) on Jan 27, 2020 at 10:30am PST //www.instagram.com/embed.js Honesty Ask Yourself: Does this person seem like a liar? It’s the best policy, although we won’t tell if you tell a white lie about having seen The Big Lebowski on your first date. Generally speaking, though, this is the bottom of the totem of trust. If someone shows up on to a date barely inching towards 5’9” and their profile boasted 6’1”, you’re not inclined to trust them after that, right? Transparency Ask Yourself: Is this individual being shady? You want to be with someone who takes your hand and
Category: Beauty
A dermatologist reveals the one Trader Joe’s skin-care product she’d never put on her face
January 30, 2020 at 11:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIr2SVSbl9Q] Over the last few years, certain Trader Joe’s beauty products have emerged as cult favorites in skin care. There’s the $9 moisturizer that is pretty much a dead ringer for La Mer, the hyaluronic acid serum that skin slurps up like tall glass of water, and the Açai Blueberry Scrub that Reddit went wild for back in 2018. Our editors have tried—and loved—a whole lot of them. But what does a dermatologist have to say on the subject? To find out, we had board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, put an entire roster of serums, scrubs, and moisturizers to the test over the course of a month for our latest episode of Dear Derm. And while she was generally impressed by some of the offerings (“this is so cosmetically elegant,” she says about one SPF product), there was one product in particular she says she’d never put on her face (click the video above to see which one!). As beauty products become less and less expensive and more and more effective, it can be helpful to know how to shop like a derm. The first thing Dr. Gohara does? Checks out the ingredients. You don’t have to be a beauty whiz to know how to do this, either: The ingredients towards the front of the list are found at the highest concentrations and those towards the back are found at lower concentrations. As far as the ingredients themselves, if a word looks
Headspace is teaming up with Barbie to bring meditation benefits to kids
January 30, 2020 at 09:22PM by CWC Burnout has become so pervasive that in 2019, the World Health Organization formally recognized it as a medical condition—and it’s not just adults who are impacted. According to the American Psychological Association, stress levels among kids and teens rival those of their elders. On Thursday, in partnership with the meditation app Headspace, Mattel debuted Barbie Wellness with the goal of introducing children to self-care practices worth sticking with well into adulthood. Yep, meditation Barbie is leading the mental-health charge. Barbie Wellness launches with seven dolls—ranging in price from $15 to $30—designed to depict self-care activities like going to the spa, getting a mani-pedi, and soaking in a bubble bath. This is admittedly the Instagramified version wellness, a term that in reality is much more wide-reaching and complex. But “Breathe with Barbie,” a mindfulness-oriented doll that leads a guided meditation with the click of the moon necklace around her neck, could offers some very real value to a demographic that needs it. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics found a 20-percent increase in anxiety diagnoses between 2007 and 2012 for children ages 6 to 17. And the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that, of the third of adolescents ages 13 to 18 who experience an anxiety disorder, incidences are higher amongst girls than boys (38 percent compared to 26 percent). This data shows that there’s a clear and present need for equipping adolescents with wellness strategies before they’re shepherded
This yoga flow boosts flexibility so you’ll be touching your toes in no time
January 30, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpkWNyU20iw] You may feel drawn to yoga for its stress-relieving reputation or its cool, contortionist shapes. But according to The Yoga Alliance (which is basically the Supreme Court of Vinyasa), the majority of folks seek out yoga to become more flexible human beings. Every yoga pose requires at least a little bendiness to properly perform, but if you’re looking to really up your flexibility to become the limberest of them all, instructor Andrea Russell put together a flow just for you. On this week’s episode of Well+Good’s YouTube series Good Moves, Russell guides you through a sequence designed specifically to unwind the tension in the creakiest, crankiest parts of your body—including your hamstrings, groin, quads, hips, and spine. For twenty luxurious minutes, all you have to to think about is breathing into whatever tightness has accumulated in your body from, you know, life. For this particular sequence, you’ll only need a yoga strap (a towel works, too!), a mat, and your body. You’ll start by warming up your hammies with reclined head-to-toe pose. Then, you’ll move into other yoga mainstays like lizard, goddess squat, and bridge. By the end, you’ll have 10-plus new poses in your playbook that you can pull out whenever your muscles doth protest after a particularly challenging gym session or fitness class. What’s more, 20 minutes accounts for quadruple the amount of stretching you need to do in a day. Physical therapist Meghan King, DPT, previously told Well+Good that
10 affordable plant-based staples everyone should buy
January 30, 2020 at 03:00AM by CWC Grocery shopping tends to go one of two ways: you nail it and wind up with a cornucopia of ingredients… or you panic and arrive home having only purchased bread, frozen peas, and a box of Wheat Thins. Both scenarios have happened to me many times, so to make supermarket stops a little more efficient, I asked a dietitian for help in the form of a plant-based grocery list. Below, Malina Malkani, RDN, media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and creator of Solve Picky Eating, shares ten items that deserve a forever-spot in your pantry, fridge, and freezer. No more wheat thin frozen pea sandwiches for you. Bookmark this 10-item plant-based grocery list for years and years of smart shopping 1. Plain, unsweetened soy milk “Calcium and vitamin D are important for bone health, and when fortified, soy milk is a good source of both,” Malkani says. You’ll also find 8 grams of protein in each cup and plenty of potassium. Pour it over your favorite healthy cereal, slice up some fruit, and breakfast is on. The best alt-milk you can buy: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO5rBK1Lte0] 2. Whole grains such as oats, brown rice, barley, or quinoa Whole grains deserve a place at every meal because of their fiber content, explains Malkani. They’re satiating and will help your blood sugar stabilize after you’ve eaten a meal. “Whole grains also offer some plant-based protein, healthy fats, and many essential micronutrients such as magnesium, iron, copper, selenium,
This trio of drugstore buys will revive dull skin as well as a chemical peel
January 30, 2020 at 01:30AM by CWC Everyone is chasing a “glow” for their complexions, but when it’s this cold and dry outside, all bets are off. Thanks to zero-percent humidity in many winter climates, a dry-skin cell pileup happens on skin, leaving it looking a little dulled down. It couldn’t be any more annoying, then, that the way to deal with dull skin is to exfoliate, which can cause more dryness. It’s a vicious dryness cycle that’s hard to escape, and that’s exactly why we reached out to a derm for recommendations on how to brighten up skin without totally drying it out. “Skin gets dull in the winter because it gets dry,” says Adarsh Vijay Mudgil, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. “A combination of cold weather and the drying effects of indoor heat creates a double whammy situation.” His tip for getting that radiance back? Hydration is step number one, so start by nurturing the complexion with a moisturizer rich in hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and barrier-building ones like ceramides. Besides that, combatting dullness is all about light exfoliation (read: gentle!) and giving your skin protection through antioxidants to fend off future damage and restore the glow you had before this frigid air came upon us. Keep scrolling for dermatologist-approved dull skin solutions that’ll brighten up your skin, all of which you can grab at the drugstore for cheap. La Roche-Posay Brightening Foaming Cream Cleanser, $25 Begin your regimen with this brightening cleanser, recommended by
6 foundation myths makeup artists want you to stop believing right now
January 28, 2020 at 11:00PM by CWC Foundation is makeup’s most confusing category, and the cringe-worthy photos we’ve all got of ourselves with orange skin, an unblended line and/or a caked-on face serve as proof. Finding the right product (and then applying it) can be tricky, especially because there is so much information—and misinformation—out there on the subject. Thanks, Instagram. For example, did you know that applying three coats of light-coverage foundation is not the same as applying one coat of a full-coverage option? Or that you shouldn’t be applying any type of foundation directly to your face? Jaw-dropping stuff, I know. To clear up some of the most common misconceptions in the makeup world, we asked makeup artists to debunk the foundation myths that they wish people would stop believing. This way, you’ll be fully matched (and blended to perfection) every time you apply. Myth #1: Heavy foundation gives the best coverage In spite of popular belief, “full-coverage” and “heavy formulas” are not mutually exclusive. While you certainly can cover your skin with something more intense, if that’s what you’re into, a light or sheer product is also fully capable of doing the trick. “Layering a foundation will get you the perfect, full coverage you are looking for, while still allowing your skin to look like skin,” says Julia Dalton-Brush, makeup artist and founder of B3 Balm. Myth #2: Foundation should go straight from the bottle onto your face In the interest of time, it’s tempting to squirt your
I’m a yoga therapist and MD, and these are the 5 middle back stretches I recommend every day for a healthy spine
January 28, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC The human body is home to 33 vertebrae that support your muscles, protect your spinal cord, and aid in other ways that help you, you know, have a spine. The thoracic spine, or middle back, sits just between your cervical and lumbar sections, and Loren Fishman, MD, medical director of Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in New York City, says it can be a painful area for some of us vertebrates. So to make sure your back feels good all the way from T1 to T12 (a little spine humor for you), Dr. Fishman gave us a handful of middle back stretches to commit to memory. First, how common is middle back pain? And why do you have it? “[Your middle back is] not a frequent source of back pain,” says Dr. Fishman. “There’s much more neck pain and much, much more lower back pain. The ribs act like outriggers and keep the spine in relatively good alignment, but you can get pains there especially if you’re doing a lot of lifting over your head, because those muscles have to contract.” Rare as it is, though, discomfort in the center of the spine presents a very real—and very achey—problem for those who deal with it. “The main people [with middle back pain] are those who do the kind of exertion that raises your arms over your head—especially if they do so while they’re horizontal so that raising their arms in a way that
How to tell different kinds of pimples apart, according to dermatologists
January 28, 2020 at 07:31PM by CWC Acne is straight up the most common skin condition there is, but not all zits are the same. In fact there are many different kinds of acne, which can make dealing with pimples a tricky venture. Because while certain products can make one kind of pimple vanish overnight, they might be good-for-nothing when it comes to dealing with another type. It can legit feel like you’re playing a game of Clue to figure out what will make a given spot go away, which is frustrating (to say the very least). So we tapped dermatologists to get the low-down on treating the most common acne types that they see. “When we talk about acne, we are often referring to the most common type, which is acne vulgaris,” says Tiffany Jow Libby, MD, a New York City-based dermatologist. Acne vulgaris is the medical term for inflammation from a blocked pore, and within this broad umbrella category, there are four major categories: comedonal, inflammatory, nodular, and hormonal (though all acne is technically a result of hormones). Besides these, acne mechanica, or breakouts you can get from things like sweat or friction, is also fairly common according to dermatologists. While it sounds overwhelming, Dr. Libby notes that most patients predominantly have one of the above types of acne (or some combination). “If the patient has a combination of acne types, I’ll combine different recommended treatments to figure out what works best,” she says. “For example, some patients have
The CBD lip balm benefits dermatologists want you to know about
January 28, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC You can find CBD in practically every product imaginable. Sometimes, it’s serving an actual purpose (like for showering or for muscle soreness), and sometimes it’s more of a marketing ploy (looking at you, CBD leggings). But experts agree that the CBD lip balm benefits are legit, and when your lips get extra dry this winter, it could be worth slathering on. When used in a lip balm, CBD extract works to moisturize dry, damaged lips. “CBD is very nourishing and has anti-inflammatory properties that can help soothe chapped skin,” says Claudia Mata, co-founder of Vertly. Much like the most dermatologist-recommended ingredient to heal chapped lips (beeswax!), CBD is another top contender for hydration. “With a well-made CBD lip balm, the CBD oil will seal moisture in your lips, preventing them from becoming dry or flaky,” says Gretchen Frieling, MD, triple-board certified dermatopathologist. It does this by acting as an antibacterial and an antioxidant. For example, Dr. Frieling points to a study that reveals that CBD contains antibacterial compounds that help keep your lips protected. As an antioxidant, “CBD can help skin stabilize free radicals and [better protect itself from] overexposure to the elements,” she says. “It can also help reduce redness and irritation around the lip area, and can be helpful if you are experiencing cold sores, the aftermath of allergies, or have inflamed lips due to a dehydrated epidermis.” When shopping for a CBD-spiked lip balm to add to your collection, it’s