October 23, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC Hyaluronic acid is like the popular girl in school—the captain of the skin-care cheer squad, if you will. But as if plucked from a throwback cheer movie of your choosing: Another hydrating ingredient is giving it a run for its place in your skin squad, looking for v-i-c-t-o-r-y for your complexion. That ingredient is squalane. Like hyaluronic acid, squalene (its base compound) is naturally made within your our bodies. “Squalene is a lipid in our sebum produced naturally by our own bodies,” says Liana Cutrone, a skin therapist with Heyday. Also like hyaluronic acid, it tends to diminish within your body as you age—which is why it’s a good addition to your skin-care products. In skin-care formulations, squalene originally came from shark liver oil, which is obviously frowned upon for its sourcing. You can get it from plants, though—Cutrone points out that common sources include amaranth seed, rice bran, and wheat germs. Naissan Wesley, MD, FACMS, a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles, adds that you can also find it from extra virgin olive oil. But squalene “must often be hydrogenated first to give it stability,” she says—because it’s not particularly stable on it’s own. Squalane, however, is completely hydrogenated squalene, which is why it’s more common on skin-care shelves. “Squalane is more commonly used as it’s typically more stable in products,” says Cutrone. The reason you can find it on every shelf? It’s super hydrating and calming on skin. “Squalane and squalene act
Tag: Well+Good
Feeling stressed? Try these Ayurvedic techniques to get back in a calmer headspace
October 23, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC For wellness expert, writer, and cook Mira Manek, Ayurveda—a holistic medicine and wellness practice from India—played a major role in her upbringing. From doing yoga with her grandmother to eating foods best suited for her dosha, it was just simply how she lived. Here in the U.S., Ayurveda isn’t quite as well-known among the mainstream population, and when it does come up, it’s most mostly in the context of food. The wellness-obsessed cook uses Ayurvedic spices, for example, and maybe washes down their food with lukewarm water. But as Manek discusses in her book, Prajna: Ayurvedic Rituals For Happiness ($18), Ayurveda is a holistic lifestyle, with a lot more to offer than just helpful tips on how to eat. In fact, Ayurvedic practices can be especially helpful when managing stress, Manek says. (Surprised? You shouldn’t be.) Here, she shares her tips on how to use Ayurveda to feel more peaceful—even when your to-do list seems miles long. Next time you’re stressed, try these Ayurvedic lifestyle practices: 1. Take a deep breath Ever heard the advice that deep breathing can help quell anxious feelings? It stems from Ayurveda. “‘Prana-yama’ means the stop or control of the breath,” Manek explains. “It’s a set of breathing techniques that regulates the frequency and depth of the breath, falling into both yoga practice and meditation.” If you feel stressed or anxious, Manek recommends slowing the breath down and holding it for a few seconds before exhaling. “You could
The case for being okay with being bad at things
October 23, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC I’m kind of a quitter. In middle school, I quit choir because I’m not a good singer. Quickly thereafter, I quit the violin because I’m—wait for it—bad at playing the violin. In high school, I quit soccer and track, and I bet you can now guess why. Throughout my life, I’ve grown skilled at knowing when to throw in the towel on pursuits that seem to be not much more than imminent dead ends. Being bad at something makes me want to stop immediately, and even if I stick with it, it’s with a begrudging attitude—just ask my trainer, who is forced to ignore my whines whenever he instructs me to run or do push-ups. But does only sticking with endeavors at which you excel preclude you from accessing a magical feeling akin to a runner’s high that comes with improvement and growth? Or when you feel like quitting, is it okay to go that route? After all, if something doesn’t make you happy, why shouldn’t you just find the thing that can be your thing? Well, when it comes to being big-time awful in any given pursuit, there are benefits to reap from simply leaning in and letting yourself be awful. “None of us is good at everything, so if you want to really love and respect yourself, you have to be comfortable being bad at some things,” says therapist Aimee Daramus, PsyD. In practice, though, being okay with mediocrity, or even
6 interval running workouts to help you break through physical and mental barriers
October 23, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC Whether you adore running or despise it, discovering interval training for the first time can feel straight-up serendipitous. After all, the number one complaint about pounding pavement is usually that it’s “so boring.” But that just isn’t the case with interval running, which keeps your body guessing mile after mile. “Interval running pushes your body to work through short bursts of tough efforts and to recover within a restricted amount of time. Then, it recruiting the body (and mind!!) to push you to that tough spot again,” says Melissa Wolfe, a coach at New York City’s Mile High Run Club. “The perception of tough efforts may be created using speed, hills, ratio of work to recovery, or a combination of those things.” “Interval running pushes your body to work through short bursts of tough efforts and to recover within a restricted amount of time. Then, it recruiting the body (and mind!!) to push you to that tough spot again.” —Melissa Wolfe, coach at Mile High Run Club On a physical level, interval-style workouts work head-to-toe magic. “Cardiovascular function improves, post-workout metabolism increases for an extended amount of time, muscle fibers build resiliency and quicker response, and you’ll experience increased endurance both aerobically and anaerobically. Simply put, interval training is an effective way to build your body’s tolerance to the demands of your goals—regardless of whether they’re distance, time, or overall fitness-based,” explains the runner. Those bodily benefits may be enticing enough to convince you
‘Inside Out’ inspired me to anthropomorphize my sadness to regain self-control
October 23, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC I’ve been feeding the void the past few months. Though I’m aware that reads as equal parts scary and sexual, it really just means I’ve using retail therapy to get me through a rough time. And while I’m a big advocate of the “treat yo’self” way of living, I recently caught myself veering into dangerously extra territory. When I caught myself thinking, You know what this bedroom needs? A Victorian fainting couch, I knew it was time to come up with a new emotional detachment strategy for self-soothing. Because void feeding ain’t cheap. Enter: A study recently published in the Society for Consumer Psychology that takes a cue from 2015’s Inside Out. The Pixar film examines how the psychological process of emotional detachment can ease your sadness…and help you make better choices. To that point, the study concluded that when you anthropomorphize your sadness, regarding it as an entity rather than just as an emotion, you’re less likely to make impulsive, void-feeding decisions. To test this, the researchers had one group of study participants write about sad experiences and instructed another group to anthropomorphize their sadness by writing about it as if it were a person. Both groups were then asked to select a side dish—salad or cheesecake—to accompany their lunch, and participants who anthropomorphized their sadness were more likely to end up on team salad. Of course, there’s no harm in enjoying cheesecake, but the results do make the case that by
These Native American runners are transforming their mental health, one mile at a time
October 23, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC The first time Sarah Agaton Howes laced up her sneakers and decided to go for a jog, she was admittedly self-conscious. Running wasn’t something she saw anyone doing on the reservation where she lived in northern Minnesota—or any reservation that she knew of, really. But she wanted her life to change—and this was the first step. It was her doctor who had suggested running. Howes’s daughter had died a year and a half before, and what followed was the deepest depression she had ever experienced. In the midst of her pain, she gained over a hundred pounds. Her doctor warned that if she didn’t change her sedentary lifestyle, she was at risk of becoming diabetic. “I had a new baby, and I didn’t want him to grow up watching me in the place where I was, both physically and mentally,” Howes says. So she decided to run. She didn’t get very far that first time, but Howes kept running and even signed up for a 5K. “I came in dead last,” Howes says. But it didn’t matter, especially when she saw her husband and son cheering her on at the finish line. “I felt victorious for the first time in a long time,” she says. The sight of an indigenous woman crossing a finish line is a powerful one. Headlines about Native Americans and mental health typically highlight the obstacles, not the victories—Native American populations have higher rates of domestic abuse and opioid use;
These are the best exercises for your glutes—and there’s not a squat in sight
October 23, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC Squats are a sure-fire way to make your glutes burn. There’s no denying that. I mean, you can feel your muscles working every single time you lower down and raise back up. With that being said, dropping it low over and over again can get a little boring after a while, so it never hurts to switch things up. Some of the best exercises for glutes don’t include a single squat. If you’re dealing with a major case of squat fatigue (same!), there are plenty of other ways to give your booty just as great of a workout. Whether you’re into glute bridges or donkey kicks, these are some of the best exercises to do when you need a break from squats. The 8 best exercises for glutes that aren’t squats [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPM8icPu6H8] 1. GLUTE BRIDGE Lie on your back with your knees over your ankles and lower back firmly pressed into the mat. Lift your hips, keeping your core and glutes engaged, and pause at the top. Lower your hips down and kiss the ground before lifting back up again. Repeat. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtHxnWmMgzM] 2. Single-leg deadlift Standing on your right leg, slowly lift your left leg in the air behind you as you hinge forward. Keep a straight back and reach your hands toward the ground in front of you. Return to your starting position and repeat 10 to 12 times before switching to the opposite leg. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxP-j7nOlIY] 3. TABLE TOP WITH
20+ foods that will help you feel less like garbage on your period
October 22, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRT2deFsRz8] Looking for sweet, sweet PMS relief? Try these delicious foods. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably feeling hardcore cravings for carbs and chocolate in the days leading up to your period. But for true relief—both physically and mentally—from the most annoying period symptoms, registered dietitian and The Better Period Food Solution author Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, knows which foods are scientifically proven to help. “When you’re dealing with your menstrual cycle, certain remedies probably come to mind. Advil, Motrin, hot water bottles…You might not think food has anything to do with managing your cycle,” Beckerman says in the latest episode of You Versus Food. Spoiler alert: it definitely does. “Eating with your cycle in mind can help balance your hormones, ease period cramps, and help regulate your cycle,” she says. For example, Beckerman recommends loading up on foods rich in magnesium (like spinach and pumpkin seeds) in the week leading up to your period, a mineral which she says helps fight fatigue and cramping. Oh, and amazing news: dark chocolate has magnesium, too. As for what to eat on your period, Beckerman says it’s a good idea to add more iron-rich foods like lentils and tofu to your diet, since you’ll be a little lower in the nutrient during this time. Not getting enough can lead to feeling sluggish. These are just a few of the 28 (!) foods Beckerman says can help make your period more manageable and less…well,
Get ready for your Emerald Year, Capricorns—2020 is going to be the best year yet
October 22, 2019 at 09:00PM by CWC In 2019, the cosmos chose Sagittarius as its freedom-loving celestial favorite. Acclaimed astrologer Susan Miller predicted the archers would experience an interstellar year after successfully overcoming many obstacles. And with 2020 careening towards us like a comet, she has officially predicted the next sign to receive an astrological boost of the emerald year. Capricorns, prepare for the best days of your life. If your birthday lands between December 22 and January 19, you’ve never lacked ambition and 2020 is going to treat your life goals right. “You won’t know how good it is, but you’re making associations, you’re making new friends, you’re starting new projects, and you don’t know yet that they’re all going to come up in you garden—but they are,” says Miller. “You are going to wear the crown.” “You get everything you’ve wanted—it’s carte blanche when you enter your emerald year.” —Susan Miller, astrologer Starting December 2, Saggitarius will hand over the thrones to the sea goat for a full calendar year of health, wealth, and HBIC status. “You get everything you’ve wanted—it’s carte blanche when you enter your emerald year. You only get 12 months, but you only get this every 12 years. So you have to make it a big year! Go for what you want,” Miller adds. Astrologer Elisabeth Grace previously told Well+Good that Caps feel the happiest in pursuit of accomplishment. They love it when other people acknowledge wins. And for good reason! They’re damn good
CVS is the first drugstore to allow makeup swatching in the beauty aisles
October 22, 2019 at 08:13PM by CWC As I waltzed down the newly revamped beauty aisles of a CVS store in New York City’s Times Square this morning, I noticed something very different… something I have never seen before in the history of drugstore makeup and skin care: beauty product testers. I repeat: CVS is the first drugstore ever to allow makeup and skin-care product swatching in store, which pretty much changes the game in terms of your beauty shopping. Mega beauty retailers, like Sephora and Ulta, have had this feature as a staple in their stores forever, but it makes more sense when you think about how many of those exist compared to the massive number of drugstores across the country—it’s certainly an expense. Yet thousands if not millions of people are buying their beauty essentials at the drugstore—so it’s a really big thing to offer. “To encourage trial and discovery, we’re excited to have hygiene bars where customers can test and play with a variety of makeup and skin-care items,” says Maly Bernstein, vice president of beauty and personal care at CVS. “The hygiene bars can be found at several stations with mirrors and disposable applicators, and CVS Beauty Consultants will be on-hand to advise on products and ensure tester products are being used properly.” Just so you know, this is the right way to apply a red lip: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH8sxEKPjTI] As I said, this is huge. We all know the gems of makeup products and skin-care items you