January 11, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC Like pretty much everything in your early teens—your first crush, your first period, your first bra purchase—navigating your first skin-care routine can be particularly confusing. It’s as if all of a sudden, your hormones have all teamed up and decided to hit you with a one-two punch of oily skin and acne, and you’ve got to figure out how to deal. My own personal introduction to skin care came at the ripe age of 13 by way of a mail-order skin-care kit that Jessica Simpson swore cleared up her acne. In other words, I had no idea what I was doing. Allow me to make things easier for future generations of skin-concerned teenagers. Besides helping deal with whatever skin concerns are looming from hyperactive sebaceous glands (damn you, adolescent acne), the products we use as teenagers actually help set up our skin for later on in life. “Think of your youthful skin as the foundation that your skin starts from as cell turnover slows down after the age of 30,” says board-certified dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD. “When you are young, your cellular machinery is functioning optimally so you want to enhance that activity the best you can.” In other words, taking care of your skin the right way early in life means you won’t be making up for lost time when wrinkles and age spots set in down the road. While we grownups can’t exactly do anything about, say, the plastic beads we
Category: Beauty
The secret nutty sauce recipe a doctor uses to make plant-based meals ’10 times better’
January 11, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC When you have a good sauce on hand, it’s really all you need to take your meal from good to great. And it’s especially helpful if you’re eating a plant-based diet. That’s why one doctor has a go-to secret recipe for a nutty sauce she uses almost every day. Casey Means, MD, a Portland-based doctor and nutrition expert, recently shared one of her all-time favorite healthy cooking tips on Instagram: Whipping up a creamy nut- and seed-based sauce that makes vegan and plant-based meals “instantly 10 times better.” Using a base of any combo of nuts and seeds (her go-to is sunflower seeds and flaxseeds) combined with a splash of ACV, garlic, and a little tamari and chili powder leaves you with a dairy-free sauce that can be used on nearly any plant-based dish. It also provides some major health benefits. “For many of my patients trying to improve their diets and move away from inflammatory foods, kicking the dairy habit is the biggest hurdle,” says Dr. Means. “One of my favorite tips to ease this transition away from dairy is to substitute creamy, rich sauces made from nuts and seeds, which are extremely simple and quick to make in a high-powered blender, and can be tailored to any thickness or flavor. These sauces contain a number of health-promoting compounds, like omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, micronutrients, and phytochemicals.” Using the sauce is also a great way to add satiating fats to your dishes
Whoa, whoa! Should I be mixing my skin care products to use less and save money?
January 11, 2020 at 02:00AM by CWC You might apply your skin-care products like you’re icing a cake: layer by layer. But dermatologists say that if you’re doing so with active ingredients, you’re likely wasting a ton of your favorite formulas (and a lot of money)—but there’s a pretty easy fix when you’re trying to figure out how to make skin-care products last longer. First, identify the actives in your routine. “Active ingredients are those that have a therapeutic effect in the skin, either to improve skin tone, texture, wrinkles, or even acne,” says Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital. Actives include ingredients like retinol, vitamin C, and glycolic acid. “The actives are the ingredients that get the job done, as opposed to the inactives which are ingredients that make up the base formula.” And because they’re so potent and powerful, it’s easy to overdo it. If you do feel more comfortable applying one layer at a time, Dr. Zeichner recommends following a new protocol. “I typically recommend using one green pea-sized amount of your product containing active ingredients for the entire face. Spread a tiny bit on the cheeks, nose, chin and forehead then rub in and connect the dots,” says Dr. Zeichner. Alternatively, you can also combine your active ingredients, says Tiffany Masterson, Well+Good Changemaker and founder of Drunk Elephant. Just make sure not to combine products that work against each other. (If you can, it’s best to consult
This retinol oil has completely transformed how bright and even my skin looks
January 10, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC When my hormonal acne wouldn’t budge, I had to end my love affair with facial oils as I figured out a game plan for clear skin. This saddened me, because although facial oils are luxe, nourishing ways to hydrate and feed your skin, lots of dermatologists advise against acneic skin types using oil-based beauty products. Now that my breakouts have been under control for a little over a year (praise be), I’m in a committed relationship with one particular facial oil: the Mara Beauty Algae Retinol Oil ($120). I’ll admit I was scared to slather an oil onto my temperamental skin after such a long break, but felt hopeful about this one since it is packed with so many of the top skin-boosting ingredients out there (retinol and algae, for starters). Plus, when this Mara Beauty creation launched right before the new year in 2019, it quickly garnered one five-star review after another on every beauty retail website out there. And so, after one week of nightly use, I became attached—or devoted, really—to the retinol… because it was transforming my skin into the glowiest and brightest that it’s ever been, and I now refuse to live without it. Photo: Mara Beauty Shop now: Mara Beauty Algae Retinol Oil ($120) I was first intrigued by this oil because it’s riding the wave of the algae in skin care trend—an ocean-derived ingredient that retains moisture and is filled with skin-friendly nutrients and minerals, and has
This pressed serum is pricey but absolutely worth the money
January 01, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC Discovering Maya Chia’s “The Super Blend” ($105) was a happy accident. After forgetting my usual moisturizer on a trip home to see my family, my mother handed me the pressed serum with a ceremonious flourish and said: “Here, try this.” Since then, the sherbert-hued skin-care product has a forever-home on my face. The beauty brand describes the product as a “multi-correctional moisture concentrate using our most complex ingredient deck to date in a high-performance, luxurious formula” and I’d like to second that. The formula includes botanicals, pressed seed oils, and butters—all of which are great. But personally, I’m most invested in how all these components come together in a rich, non-greasy balm that turns my skin from dull to luminescent overnight. In short: It has set a new standard for how I expect all my beauty products to work. Now, I know the triple-digit price tag may seem like a bit of a deterrent, but please allow me to explain why my Maya Chia mainstay is worth the extravagance. To get the full, glorious benefits of the product, you really only need a teeny-tiny bit (I’m talking the amount you can fit on the tip of your pinky finger). The jar that I purchased last Christmas ran out a few days ago and some very warped, self-indulgent math tells me that means I only paid about 29 cents per application. There’s something else, too. Whenever I feel the slightest bit comfier in my
If you’re looking for a less-is-more $4 solution to skin care, it’s time to get ‘slugging’
January 01, 2020 at 02:00AM by CWC I only buy Vaseline when my skin looks like it’s been through the shredder, and that’s how I started slugging. After a no good, very bad cold, my nose and mouth were dry and chapped to tatters, but my go-to lip balm had been contaminated with sick-kid germs, so I’d tossed it. Left only with a tub of petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline), I started Googling how it could help my cause and wound up on a Reddit thread all about “slugging.” Slugging is a K-beauty practice that simply means layering on the (notoriously thick) moisturizer overtop your entire skin-care routine. Vaseline has been around for 100 (I repeat: 100!) years, so while “slugging” itself is a new-ish concept, for all intents and purposes, people been doing this for years—even dermatologists. “I’m obsessed with using Vaseline as a facial moisturizer,” says board certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD. While Dr. Gohara doesn’t slug (or apply it quite thickly all over the skin), she does apply it every day. “I use it morning and night, but I don’t slug. I just use small amounts to repair my skin barrier. In small amounts, it rejuvenates and hydrates the skin to help it glow.” Now the fine print: If you have dry skin, slugging is great because it creates an occlusive (locked-tight) barrier that traps other skin-care ingredients within the skin. Using it in large amounts (as with any skin-care ingredient), however, isn’t advisable. Research from the Journal of
The new class of lip glosses are just as hydrating as your go-to lip balm
December 31, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC We’re thankfully living during a time when most-every product in our makeup bags is skin-friendly. We have skin care-foundation hybrids, lipstick with skin-boosting ingredients, lip-to-cheek palettes spiked with serum-worthy ingredients, and at last, a hydrating lip oil gloss that’s packed with good-for-skin ingredients, while giving lips a shellac of pigment. “Lip oils tend to be more nourishing than traditional lip glosses since skin-care ingredients are in the formula versus traditional glosses where shine is the main goal,” says Jeannie Vincent, a Boston-based makeup artist. “These new options also tend to be less sticky, which is a nice alternative, since regular lip gloss has a pretty gluey reputation.” She points to the new-ish Kosas Wet Lip Oil Gloss, which has hyaluronic acid that works to “draw hydration back into the skin” and the Tower 28 Lip Gloss, which uses “various oils to moisturize like apricot, castor, raspberry, and avocado.” That said, if you go with a colorless option, she recommends topping your gloss with a waxy balm to seal in moisture because “an oil alone generally isn’t enough for the lips—you might lick it off or it will disappear after a while.” Her fave? Drugstore staple Moroccan Magic Rose Lip Salve ($4). As someone who ditched lip gloss after middle school, I’m a born-again shine fan, because these lip glosses douse my lips in hydration that is much needed this time of year. Keeps scrolling for the ones to grab next. Kosas Wet Lip
This Mexican stew is loaded with protein—and it’s 100 percent vegan
December 30, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC If you’re in desperate need of a new recipe on rotation after one too many tomato soups and grilled cheeses, I have the perfect addition to your lineup: a vegan Mexican stew that’s loaded with plant-based protein. Bethany Ugarte, the blogger behind Lilsipper, has been eating menudo—a tradition Mexican soup—during the holidays for as long as she can remember. While the main component of the original version is cow stomach, she remade it with all vegan ingredients to reap the benefits in a healthier way. And the star of the show is none other than everyone’s favorite legume: chickpeas. With 39 grams of protein per cup, chickpeas are an excellent source of nutrition. Put together with vegetarian both, tomatoes, kale, and a splash of metabolism-boosting hot sauce, you create a simple meal in minutes. The next time you want to cuddle up with a cozy stew, whip up Ugarte’s easy-to-make recipe. Mexican chickpea stew Ingredients 3 cups chickpeas (pre-cooked or canned) 4 cups water 4 cups veggie broth 1/4 cup Frank’s RedHot Sauce 1 18 oz. jar diced tomatoes 1 cup fresh dinosaur kale, chopped black pepper to taste 1. Warm all soup ingredients in a pot. 2. Once warm, garnish as desired. For another healthy plant-based recipe, try this immunity broth: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-U4V3PTnas] These are the best plant-based proteins that won’t mess with your digestion. Then check out the only 7 spices you need to create a million flavor combinations. Continue Reading…
One of the best ingredients for dry skin is found in, um, your pee
December 30, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC As a beauty editor, I frequently find myself having to tell people: “Please, don’t put that on your skin.” Case in point? Kombucha. But one freaky thing that actually might be worth slathering all over, particularly during the colder months of the year? Urea, which is a nitrogen-rich compound that’s naturally excreted through urine, folks. Before you freak out (or worse pee in a cup for an au naturel skin remedy), it’s important to note that while urea is excreted when you go number one, the stuff that’s used in cosmetics to help with dry skin and keratosis pilaris (aka chicken bumps) is synthetic and manufactured in a lab. I repeat: It’s not like someone is actually extracting it out of the toilet (and neither should you!). The best way to describe urea is that it’s a moisturizer and a chemical exfoliant wrapped up into one. “Urea is a great winter ingredient,” says board-certified dermatologist Dhaval Bhanusali, MD. “It’s a moisturizing humectant, which helps keep skin hydrated, but also a keratolytic, which means it can get rid of dry skin (particularly thicker buildups), and is really good for softening the skin in general.” And there’s science to back it all up: One study discovered that urea can help with the permeability of other topical ingredients (aka: it can help make the serums that you use alongside it more effective), and research has also found that it can help with conditions like dermatitis, excessive dryness,
The best biodegradable glitter makeup that will have you sparkling well into the new year
December 28, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC The 1980s may have been known as “the glitter days” (in the words of Joey Ramone, at least), but the 2020s are about to take hold as the biodegradable glitter days. As we look towards sustainability in all of our beauty products, brands have begun to rethink the way they manufacture glitter. Traditionally, sparkly makeup has been made of plastic, which anyone with access to the Internet knows is not good for the environment. But the new wave of products is made from materials that break down in nature, and won’t hang around in our oceans and landfills from here until eternity. Thanks to makeup artists like Pat McGrath and Doniella Davy (and the entire cast of Euphoria), glitter makeup is no longer reserved for teenagers and Halloween costumes. There are plenty of sophisticated ways to make glitter appropriate for adults, any day of the year. Read on to find out why biodegradable glitter will be taking over your makeup bag (and not our water supply) this year, plus makeup artists’ favorite ways to use it IRL. What is biodegradable glitter? Biodegradable glitter is different than regular glitter in that it, well, biodegrades or over time decomposes in the environment. “Regular glitter is made up of thin sheets of copolymer or PET plastics that are cut up into tiny pieces, whereas biodegradable glitter is made from plant-based cellulose,” explains Detox Market makeup artist Merrady Wickes. “Regular glitter is basically microplastic which ends up in our water, and