October 05, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC We hear from facialists and dermatologists somewhat regularly (every single day, if you’re me), but it’s not often that we get to tap the brains of the actual people in the lab formulating the beauty products that we’re using. Recently, when I got that beyond-exciting opportunity (I’m a beauty geek, okay?), I had to ask: Out of all the personal care products out there on the shelves, which of them do we have expert-backed permission to buy on the cheap? Perry Romanowski, a cosmetic chemist and founder of Chemist’s Corner, says to save your money on shampoo. “Skip expensive shampoos,” he tells me. “If you are going to use a post-shampoo conditioner, then the shampoo you use doesn’t matter much.” This is news to me, especially as someone who gets googly-eyed browsing hair products. It’s really easy to want to get those fancy-looking shampoos that promise to thicken and detox and give you good hair days on repeat, but product formulators say cheap ones are just as good at doing their hair-cleansing job. “Brands like Pantene, Garnier Fructis, and Tresemmé are good shampoos and relatively inexpensive,” says Romanowski. “They would be fine to use alone because they contain moisturizing ingredients and are often two-in-one shampoos without advertising that they are.” Victoria Fu, cosmetic chemist and co-founder of Chemist Confessions, agrees. “Considering hair isn’t alive, we actually don’t have too many concerns about shampoo,” she tells me. “We’re almost certain most shampoo products are able
Category: Your Regeneration
What your go-to confidence coat says about you
October 05, 2019 at 08:00PM by CWC With the arrival of autumn, half of the women in my office started wearing plaid blazers… so I started wearing a plaid blazer. It isn’t that it’s a cute look—I’m a tiny-headed waif so I look full David Byrne—so much as it’s a power blazer. It makes me feel confident, in control, studious, and like I can definitely front a prolific new wave band. It’s why; selecting the right outerwear at the beginning of those cold months is so important; since you wear it every day, it helps determine what kind of person you want to be. Call it a confidence coat. Believe it or not, there is something a bit psychological to this. Ever hear of enclothed cognition? Research tends to show that the clothes we wear influence us to be whatever they mean symbolically. In the OG study on enclothed cognition, in fact, wearing a lab coat helped improve participant’s attentiveness versus not wearing a lab coat. That means they felt more empowered when a coat transformed them into Dr. Somebody. Using this line of thinking, whatever your chosen autumnal armor is empowers you to be that person. Or it should. Hopefully. Kind of. Because you’re curious, I broke down what your confidence coat says about the person you want to be this season. Denim Jacket You’re carefree, fun, laid-back, and probably look great without a trace of make-up. Something about rocking a jean jacket as your go-to feels super all-American, and you rock that effortless
The 3 most important things to keep in mind when dealing with under-the-skin breakouts
October 05, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC Out of all the breakouts that I get, closed comedones make me especially angry. They’re like ghosts—you can kind of feel that they’re there, but it’s really hard to figure out how to get rid of them. (You feel me on this?) That’s because closed comedones, unlike all the other types of acne we so amazingly have in this world, are not fully exposed on the surface of your skin yet. They’re not quite there, but you can definitely still feel them brewing… it’s as if they’re haunting you. “A closed comedone, AKA a whitehead, is an accumulation of dead skin cells trapped within a pore,” explains Loretta Ciraldo, MD, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Dr. Loretta Skin Care. “It’s covered with a layer of skin at the top, which is compared to an open comedone, or blackhead, where there’s no cover of skin and we see the black buildup of dead cells.” Because its head isn’t present on your skin, it’s more difficult to treat topically. “Since it has a covering of skin, products don’t readily penetrate into it as they do open comedones,” says Dr. Ciraldo. “Even red pimples, because they’re inflamed, tend to have blood vessels around them that more readily absorb topical acne products.” Great! That’s not to say there’s no hope in nudging pesky closed comedones into the end of their life cycle, though. For one thing, retinol can help (of course it does). “Retinoid creams can help
62% of you hate working out at night—here’s how to get to the gym anyways
October 05, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC After a full day of sitting through meetings that could have been emails and trying not to lose your cool at Karen for forgetting to re-fill the office coffee pot again, the last thing most people want to do is haul to the gym. In fact, in a recent Instagram survey, 62 percent of our readers revealed that they would rather work out in the morning than at night. And personally, I’m right there with them. I’m one of those people who is constantly singing a refrain of: “If I don’t workout in the morning, it isn’t gonna happen.” That’s mostly because I would rather go home and drink wine on my couch than go sit on a spin bike after the clock strikes 7 p.m. “After work workouts can be tough because there are more chances that a variety of things can happen during the day to deter you,” says Colette Dong, co-founder of New York City’s the ness. “In the mornings there is usually only one variable —can you wake up?—because your day hasn’t been long enough to let in as many distractions.” At night, though it can be a combination of work, exhaustion, or the desire to just mindlessly watch television, she adds. But every once in a while, even if you’re a die-hard member of the morning workout tribe, every once in a while, you find yourself in a position when you’ve gotta motivate to get to the gym after a
10 Pinterest-perfect braided hairstyles that make you feel like a girl on fire
October 05, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC When it comes to doing my hair, I have two main styles: down and wavy or straight, or up in a ponytail. As you can probably tell, there’s not much experimentation going on here. Now don’t get me wrong: I used to rock my fair share of butterfly clips and pigtails back in the day. There’s one area I don’t have as much experience in, though: braids. While I can handle the basics, you won’t catch me doing a French fishtail braid anytime soon. But now’s your chance to freshen up your style. If Katniss Everdeen can nail the look, so can you. Switch things up with these braided hairstyle tutorials [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3PEEPI_UXU] 1. French fishtail braid I always thought fishtail braids looked hard, but this step-by-step tutorial makes them seem easy. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyGIiw4XoTw] 2. Bubble braid Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi made a big impression with her braided bubble ponytail, and here’s how you can master the look at home. Instead of using a traditional braiding technique, you’re getting a braided appearance using small elastic hair ties. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FydhU_gnBQ] 3. Braided top knot You’ve probably seen this braided bun style all over Pinterest. Because you’re only braiding a small section of your hair, it’s quick and easy. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm0omGre9D0] 4. Hair scarf milkmaid braid The most effortless way to give your milkmaid braid a pretty upgrade is to add in a scarf. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2ouuFyXEYI?start=47] 5. Side braid There’s a secret to creating a
The McKenzie Method for stretching will have your back and neck thanking you forever
October 05, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC There are so many different ways to stretch. There’s dynamic stretching, stretches you can do in doorways that feel like full-body massages, movements specifically for your feet… it’s kind of amazing. But the McKenzie Method is the one I’d never heard of that could be the solution to relieving chronic back and neck pain for good. Despite being around since the 1960s—and basically all of Reddit swearing by it!—the McKenzie Method isn’t something you hear about every day. Created by a physical therapist in New Zealand, the evidence-based technique focuses on extending the spine through a series of movements, helping those with back and neck pain self-treat their current problems (and prevent further issues in the future), says SpineOne. So, how does the McKenzie Method work, exactly? Each exercise uses gravity to get displaced intervertebral discs back on track, helping improve your overall spine health. As you’re breathing and relaxing, they’re drawn back into the spine, and that’s good news on the pain front. When your spine is happy, so are you. You can start small, too. Every exercise comes as a series of progressive positions. If your back hurts really bad, for instance, you would just start with the initial position then slowly work your way through the rest over time. If you want to try out the method at home, there are a handful of different exercises you can start with demonstrated in the video below, including extension in lying and
New parents have enough things to worry about—making your own baby food doesn’t need to be one of them
October 05, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC When it comes to new babies, everyone seems to have strongly-held opinions on how parents decide to care for their child. Whether it’s panic about what to eat when breastfeeding, pointed comments from your MIL about the merits of letting kids “cry it out,” or even randos leaving comments on your IG criticizing how you’re holding your baby in your vacation pic… everyone has something to say. Including, of course, what you feed your child. We won’t get into the breastfeeding versus formula debate because that’s a whole other Thing, but generally, babies are ready to start eating solid foods between four and six months of age, says Dyan Hes, MD, a pediatrician and founder of Gramercy Pediatrics. “Babies can start with purees—meats, fruits, vegetables, yogurts, or cereals. It is really a personal choice of the family,” she says. Emphasis on personal choice—yet if start scrolling through Instagram or parenting forums, you’ll see a lot of people talking about how making your own baby food is the ONLY way to go. My own daughter just hit that six-month mark, which has had me wondering about the merits of this whole ethos. Taking care of a baby already involves a lot of worry (and not a lot of sleep). Do I really need to make all of her first foods from scratch? I tapped some experts to get the low-down. How necessary is it to make my own baby food? “Most of us love
There’s never been a better time to buy an inexpensive serum—and these under-$35 options are proof
October 04, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC With so many great serums on the market filled with it-ingredients that you’ve just gotta have for your routine, it’s hard to resist going gaga over them all… like a child pining for every doll in the toy store. Beauty shelves are minefields of options, and it makes it far too easy to empty your wallet in pursuit of a healthy complexion. So what’s a girl to do? With a seemingly infinite number of skin-care serums out there to choose from, there are more affordable—and effective—options than ever. Formulators have nailed how to pack actives like vitamin C, retinol and niacinamide into products that everyone can manage to snag for themselves without breaking the bank. The Ordinary has been dutifully offering potent skin-care serums since 2016, with not one bottle running past $29 (and for what it’s worth, that single $29 serum is double the cost of the rest of the line). Over the past year or so, even more wallet-friendly skin-care brands have infiltrated the shelves: There’s Versed, a solution-oriented collection you can get at Target; The Inkey List, a London-based beauty brand where nothing costs over $15; Sweet Chef, a spin-off line from buzzy K-beauty brand Glow Recipe that’s sold at Target and makes nutrient-dense serums for much less than its sister brand; and Ghost Democracy, a derm-backed skin-care line offering the most coveted ingredients at more cost-effective prices than most. Drugstore staple brands like Neutrogena and Olay have even caught
I tried the most over-the-top workout class in New York City and have some thoughts
October 04, 2019 at 10:30PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yNSf7aMBGc] It’s the classic Friday night conundrum: do you hit the gym after work, or blow off your workout to go get drinks with your friends? Well, thanks to Grit Boxing—the New York City fitness concept created by none other by Pitbull (the singer) and Tony Robbins (the motivational speaker)—you now don’t have to choose between the two, because they’ve got both under one roof. There’s nothing like chasing your treadmill sesh with an electrolyte-packed margarita, huh? In the latest episode of What the Wellness, senior video producer Ella Dove stops by the studio to see if it lives up to the hype. While the adorable studio pup (a boxer named “Gritty,” natch), a glitter punching bag, and a liquor selection might have you thinking you’re in for an easy workout, she quickly discovered that it’s anything but. The 50-minute class is truly unlike anything you’ve ever seen or experienced before. It cycles through different modalities including boxing, running, and weightlifting, and by the end of the first round (there are two and a half, ICYWW), you’ll be crushed. “You’re so busy trying to be focused on what you’re doing and making sure you’re following the cues that you don’t realize how hard you’re working,” Dove says of her experience in the gym. “And then when I was sprinting, I got to the point where I felt like I couldn’t go any faster, and couldn’t go any harder.” Now that’s my kind of
These genius tips from top dietitians make a bowl of oatmeal so much more delicious
October 04, 2019 at 09:00PM by CWC For many healthy eaters, part of the their seasonal transition involves trading iced green smoothies for warm bowls of oatmeal. The nutritional benefits of the original healthy breakfast are impossible to deny: oatmeal is full of fiber (with about four grams per one cup cooked) and antioxidants. Here’s the thing though: most easy oatmeal breakfast recipes aren’t all that exciting. (Hey, we were all thinking it.) We asked healthy eating experts to name the easiest ways to make a bowl of oatmeal more interesting while reaping even more health benefits. Their ideas are sure to make it into your breakfast rotation all year long. 5 easy oatmeal breakfast recipes that are as interesting as they are healthy 1. Add an egg on top Whole In One author and registered dietitian Ellie Krieger, RD, likes adding extra protein to her bowl by adding an egg on top. “I love to make savory oatmeal bowls in the morning—or for lunch,” she says. “Just cook oats in water or milk, top with a fried egg, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, some chopped parsley, freshly ground pepper, and sea salt. You could even add some prosciutto if you are feeling racy.” Follow her guidance and your oatmeal will be full of flavor. 2. use it as a cruncy topper Another oatmeal hack Krieger has it to convert it into granola by cooking it in the oven at 300°F, separating it out into little clumps on parchment-lined paper.