February 12, 2020 at 04:33PM by CWC I’m sorry, but the expression “dry as the desert” needs to be rewritten to “dry as winter 2020.” Because, if the moans and groans of the Well+Good office, all of my friends, and you—dear reader—are too be believed, the start of the new year has been thirsty. But what if I told you that dryness may be an issue that goes beyond skin-deep (like, all the way to your hormones)? Derms say that specific phases of your menstrual cycle may be causing—sigh—facial hormonal dryness. “Your estrogen and progesterone levels are lowest when your period starts. It is during this time that your skin is most susceptible to dryness,” says Mamina Turegano, MD, a dermatologist with Apostrophe. And all the flaky fun doesn’t stop once your period is over. New York City-based dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, says that since low hormone levels linger into the week following your period, you may find yourself jonesing for extra moisturizer then, too. “Your skin is likely the driest in the week after your period, when your hormone levels are low,” he says. But, what goes down must, um… come up? Dr. Zeichner says that for hormones at least, that rings true. “Hormones start to rise in the second week of your menstrual cycle, culminating in ovulation mid-cycle,” explains the doctor. Meaning, your skin will retrieve some of its dewiness once you’ve reached the seven-day post-period mark. Until then, Dr. Zeichner says you can tweak your normal skin-care regimen
Category: Your Healthiest Relationship
7 on-sale sex toys that’ll make you feel loved on Valentine’s Day (and every day)
February 12, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC In Hustlers, Cardi B’s character says she has a boyfriend—her pink vibrator. She then notes that this boyfriend doesn’t nag her, get jealous, and only ever complains when his batteries need changing. And, no matter your own relationship status, this mood is a great one to co-opt for Valentine’s Day. With so many luxe vibrators discounted for the holiday, why not treat yourself to some well-deserved pleasure with any number of on-sale Valentine’s Day sex toys? Below, check out our favorite highlights of all the A+ sex toy sales happening in honor of the holiday of love. 7 Valentine’s Day sex toys on sale that are ready to love you every day of the year 1. Le Wand Point, $93 Photo: Le Wand The palm-sized Le Wand Point vibrator is nothing short of incredible for hands-free clitoral stimulation and can also be looped into a harness for strap-on or pegging sex. This is great if you once fell in love with a wand-style massager but weren’t into the size of it. Whether you want something like the Point that’ll fit into a carry-on or are committed to the still-lovely Le Wand classic, the brand is offering 25 percent off through Valentines Day with the code “VDAYVIBES.” 2. Womanizer Pro40, $79 Photo: Womanizer If you haven’t been introduced to the wild and wonderful world of clitoral-suction sex toys, meet Womanizer Pro40, now for $79 instead of $129, or the smaller, more advanced W500, now
Memorize this move to automatically engage your core when you work out
February 12, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC On arms day, your biceps and triceps are top of mind. But in order to get the most out of those curls and dips, there’s actually another muscle that’s critical in every move you make: your core. Whether you’re in a spin class, on top of a Megaformer, or just doing some strength training, there’s a reason why trainers constantly tell you to “engage your abs” while you’re working your arms with weights. “Engaging your core is extremely important during all upper body workouts, because it ensures that you are putting less tension in your lower body and using your core stabilizers to assist you,” says Katie Hayes, owner of Urban Lagree Megaformer Studio in Austin, Texas. She explains that pulling your navel in toward your spine keeps your body in one straight line and will prevent you from falling forward, particularly when you’re doing moves on an unstable surface (like the aforementioned spin bike and Megaformer). Not only that, but if you’re not working your core enough, it can lead to back pain down the road. To create your own unstable surface during an upper body workout—and really put your core strength to the test—Obé fitness trainer Peter Tucci suggests challenging yourself with a “flamingo arms” series. This means you’re doing the exercises while standing on one leg, flamingo style. The benefit of this, he explains, is that your core is getting more engagement, since you’re balancing at the same time as
The case for *not* cutting your narcissistic best friend out of your life
February 12, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC I understand the reasoning for cutting toxic people out of your life, yet I often worry that ridding my contacts list of those who suffer from nuanced personality disorders like narcissism isn’t morally sound. After all, developing a personality disorder isn’t a choice, and while people who suffer from them can sometimes work to alter their behavior patterns, they can’t necessarily change who they are. That reality does not make them inherently bad or unworthy of human relationships so much as complex and complicated. And I’m staunch in my opinion about this, largely because of my experience of being friends with a narcissist whom I refuse to cut out of my life. For background knowledge, “a narcissist is a person who lacks empathy, is deeply entitled, grandiose, often quite superficial, chronically seeks external validation and admiration, has difficulty managing things like disappointment, and will often—when frustrated or disappointed or stressed—manifest those emotions with rage they can’t manage,” says clinical psychologist Ramani Durvasula, PhD, author of Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving a Relationship with a Narcissist. “At the core, they’re deeply insecure.” Narcissists tend to have a lot of difficulty with situations wherein they feel unimportant, less than, or ordinary, adds clinical psychologist Aimee Daramus, PysD. “They have to feel like the most special person in the room, however they define that,” she says. In short, they can be energy vampires and difficult to be around—let alone depend on for any
You only need 3 ingredients to make the best, healthiest stir-fry sauce ever
February 12, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfK9aDhqU_8] Want to transform your cauliflower rice from basic to unforgettable? Watch Chef Dale Talde get it done. When the work week draws to a close and the contents of your fridge can best be described as “this and that,” an easy stir-fry can transform that rando bell pepper, quarter onion, single lonesome egg, and bag of sad carrots into a dinner miracle. Of course, though, one component of your dish will make or break the entire meal: the sauce. Rest assured you never have to be satisfied with the pre-bottled sauces again, because we learned the easiest, best stir-fry sauce ever from celebrity chef Dale Talde on the premiere episode of Well+Good’s new video series, Cook With Us. The series, which launches today, invites some of our favorite chefs and foodies into the kitchen to, well, cook with us. Literally. In the episode, Well+Good senior food and health editor Jessie Van Amburg challenges Talde—a three-time contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef and co-founder of Food Crush Hospitality—to whip up a 30-minute healthy fried rice recipe. The catch: it has to be high in protein, vegetarian, and rice-free. However, before adding anything to the pan, the cuisinier immediately pulls out the ingredients he needs for a shockingly easy and flavorful sauce: 1/2 cup tamari sauce (aka gluten-free soy sauce, although you can use soy sauce too 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1 Tbsp sesame oil According to Talde, the tamari acts as the base
There’s a reason people swear by shea butter—the benefits can’t be beat
February 12, 2020 at 03:00AM by CWC Shea butter has been a go-to in many beauty regimens—especially when it comes to pregnancy and mitigating stretch marks. That’s because besides being super moisturizing, while also providing many other noteworthy benefits. “Shea butter comes from the nuts of the shea tree, which is native to Central Africa,” says Dr. Josh Axe, DNM, author of the best-selling book Collagen Diet and host of The Dr. Axe Show. “The outer shells of the nuts are removed. Then they’re crushed and slowly roasted into butter. Finally, the butter is commonly kneaded by hand in a basin of water to separate the fatty acids. These fatty acids, or oils, are removed from the butter, cooled, and hardened to make what we know to be shea butter.” Shea butter is perfectly safe to use for most skin types, adds Dr. Sonia Batra, MD, co-host of daytime show The Doctors, and it has been used in cosmetics for centuries due to vitamins and fatty acids that hydrate and calm the skin. Intrigued? Keep reading to learn about its many other benefits and possible side effects, as well as pro tips on how to use it. Photo: Getty Images The benefits of shea butter 1. Shea butter moisturizes skin and hair If you have dry, dull skin, shea butter may become your new best friend. “Shea butter works as a skin-conditioning agent,” Dr. Axe says. “It helps retain moisture by forming a protective barrier on the skin’s surface, which
Why it’s so much harder to train at higher altitudes if you’re not used to it
February 12, 2020 at 02:00AM by CWC Altitude training is not for the faint of heart. Perhaps you’ve heard of the technique where elite athletes spend weeks—if not months—training at high elevations to strengthen their athletic performance. As a casual runner, who spends most of my time in New York City, I’ve always envied athletes’ ability to spend time several thousand feet above sea level, pushing their race-day performance to the next level. So, when I found myself living part-time in Aspen, Colorado, where the elevation tops around 8,000 feet, I was ready to take full advantage of the terrain as I prepped for the Los Angeles marathon. Training at high elevations is both physically taxing and mentally challenging, because there are many, many variables to consider: extreme weather conditions, freezing temperatures, altitude sickness, dehydration, and icy (if not rocky) terrain. Typically done at around a minimum of 2,400 meters (or 7,800 feet) above sea level, logging miles in altitude boosts oxygen-carrying red blood cells and has the ability to make you a stronger athlete in time. Ready for day one as a “newbie” altitude trainee, I turn to Asics pro-runner Lyndsay Flanagan for some advice on how to perform at high elevations (she’s currently training in Boulder, Colorado at 5,328 feet). First up, Flanagan strongly suggests taking your time to acclimate accordingly. “When you first come up, you want to spend the first two to three weeks getting in mileage and gradually add in harder sessions. The biggest thing
Why the food labels of the future may include a carbon footprint score
February 12, 2020 at 01:00AM by CWC Last month, plant-based protein company Quorn became the first major brand to introduce carbon labeling on its products. The brand asked a third-party company to evaluate the emissions impact of 30 of their products—information that it’s publishing on its site and on the packaging of these products. The goal is to help consumers understand the environmental impact of their food shopping. Certainly more people are considering where their food is coming from—and how that affects the planet—but a carbon footprint label is certainly a new thing for most people. Questions about what the number on the packaging means, how it’s calculated, and even if it’s authentic are all worth considering. After all, brands haven’t been shy about deliberately confusing consumers into buying products in the past. (Exhibit A: Splitting up different sources of sugar on the label so they are lower on the ingredients list.) Here, sustainability experts give the full low-down on how a food carbon footprint is calculated and what to keep in mind when grocery shopping, in terms of sustainability. How is a food carbon footprint calculated? In simplest terms, a food carbon footprint calculates the total greenhouse gas emissions generated to create a particular item. “To calculate a carbon footprint for a food product, you need to total the sum of the greenhouse gas emissions produced or used throughout the product’s entire lifecycle, including production, distribution, use, and disposal,” says Laura Timlin, the director of business services at the
Dermatologists say the “big four” are all you need to beat oily skin
February 12, 2020 at 12:00AM by CWC If you’ve got oily skin, you likely know all too well that there’s a fine line between when your complexion looks happily dewy and when it’s straight-up greasy. The trick to being on the right side of that line all comes down to finding the right routine—but that doesn’t require a zillion tubes and bottles. In fact, according to dermatologists, as long as you’re using the right ingredients, you can get the job done with only four products. Oily skin occurs thanks to an overproduction of sebum in your pores, and derms say there are a few reasons why this happens. The environment (more pollution=more oil), your stress levels (more stress=more oil), and your hormones (your period=more oil) can all play a role in how oily your complexion is on any given day. And, as anyone who’s dealt with oily skin likely knows, increased oil production also goes hand-in-hand with acne. Breakouts can happen when excess sebum gets trapped inside of a pore. Down the line, that sebum mixes with bacteria and dead skin and a pimple forms. It’s not all bad news, though: Research has shown that people with oily skin tend to have fewer wrinkles as they get older, and that sebum is packed with free-radical fighting vitamin E, which helps to fend off environmental damage (and let me take this moment to remind you that people pay good money for vitamin E). Since your skin is already providing you with one
Jennifer Aniston’s 5 wellness habits that keep her looking ageless
February 11, 2020 at 08:00PM by CWC Fifty-one years ago today, the heavens broke open and down came Jennifer Aniston. Since her big break in Friends nearly 30 years ago, the SAG award-winning actress and producer has blessed us with her talent in countless TV shows and movies—hardly appearing to age in the process. So how does she manage to circumvent time? Good skin care is part of it, of course, but her habits go beyond just serums and scrubs. Aniston takes her health and fitness seriously. So seriously, in fact, that she can do a three-minute plank. She has a go-to elliptical routine, too. (Using the elliptical doesn’t just involve flailing around till you break a sweat? News to me.) But she’s also learned that true wellness is all about balance. “I went from being a crazy workout girl to sort of saying, ‘My body wants a little bit a of break,’” Aniston told Women’s Health in 2014. “I kind of stay with more simple stuff and taking walks and not being neurotic about working out and eating right. I started to enjoy life a little bit more.” Keep reading to find out exactly how she does it, along with the skin care routine that makes 51 look so good. These 5 Jennifer Aniston skin care and wellness tips are easy enough to add to your own routine 1. MOISTURIZER AND SPF ARE non-negotiable Aniston previously told Now to Love that she spends a lot of time in the