Month: March 2016

I have always loved volumized hair. I come from a family of women with “big hair,” in fact. But my thick, heavy locks aren’t naturally able to hold volume at the root. No product did much to help this. Mousse made things sticky. Hairspray only matted my style down on top after, oh, about 10 minutes.

What’s a girl to do? Discover the magical power of dry shampoo, of course.

Once I found at least three affordable dry shampoos I was obsessed with—Batiste, Garnier, and Dove—everyone started asking me what my secret was. I’d just pull a travel bottle of the stuff from my purse and excitedly share its wonders. Last summer, on a humid July day, you could also find me touching up random strangers’ lifeless ‘dos in the bathroom of my local beer garden. It is that fabulous. It also might damaging hair…?!

There have been a lot of whispers surrounding the product for past month or so. Like that it causes hair to fall out. Or that it dulls your color. Or that it even clogs follicles and impedes the regrowth of hair. (Which all sounds pretty terrifying, actually.)

What’s the deal with dry shampoo?

According to dermatologist Angela Lamb of Mount Sinai Hospital, dry shampoo works sort of like this: “It is basically powder that absorbs oils and dirt,” she explains. “When you shake out the powder, the oil and dirt go with it.” Voila! Yes! This is why my hair gets an instant lift every time I shake, spritz, and massage that mist through my roots. Woo!

But is it dangerous? It is not, in fact, causing your hair to fall out or any of the scary stuff mentioned above. If you see an abundance of hair fall out at once, it’s probably because the dry shampoo’s slight tacky effect was holding strands against your scalp, so when you wash your hair, you might see some “extra” fall in the shower. This is not abnormal, actually, nor more hair than what you might have lost otherwise. You’re just dropping a bunch at once instead of losing it over a period of days.

The danger, says Dr. Lamb, is the hygiene issue. You can start to think that your almighty dry shampoo is a substitute for actual hair washing. You do not have SuperHair, she insists: “You can stretch shampoos and freshen your hair between washes—but you can try and stretch it too much, and then your hair just gets too dirty. It is also very drying.”

To have a healthy scalp (or any skin for that matter), you need to get the product, bacteria, and germs off your skin. Dry shampoo doesn’t do that. Real shampoo does. You’re going to have dirty, dull hair if you simply keep spraying stuff in it—even if it does remove oil.

What’s the bottom line?

You can use dry shampoo for a quick lift or to extend washes so that you’re not shampooing every day (if you tend accumulate shine at the roots). Lamb says to “use it conservatively” and wash your hair as you normally would. Every other day or every couple days is generally a good benchmark. “Generally, I recommend dry shampoo for people that exercise a lot or have oily hair,” she says.

At the end of the day, I feel better spritzing this stuff as a volumizer, and I’ll keep telling people how obsessed I am with dry shampoo. It is the secret weapon for volume! It’s just not the secret weapon for clean, healthy hair. Keep washing, kids.

Before I had kids, I would often hear stories of the dreaded “little league dads” or “dance moms” who would go over the edge when it came to their children and athletics. You know the type of parents I’m talking about: the ones who would be yelling at referees, pushing their kids to train for a sport far harder than any little kid should train, or simply forcing their kid to participate in an activity that the kid highly disliked, but the parent wanted them to do anyway.

I vowed I would never be one of those parents.

Then I became a mom and simultaneously discovered my love for running.

I loved running so much that of course I wanted to share it with everyone in my life…and my kids were no exception. As soon as my oldest son could toddle, I wanted to enter him in tot trots and start building his own collection of finishers medals. 

He, on the other hand, wasn’t as thrilled about the idea of running as I was. In fact, at his first official race, he protested the entire time. He screamed as we tried to pin his race bib on him and then tried to rip the bib off of his shirt. He cried as we lined him up with his fellow tots at the starting line, refused to move when the starting whistle blew, and then sat down in the field halfway through his 100-meter dash, declaring his race over.

The other kids seemed happy to run as fast as their little feet could take them from the start to the finish line, but my kid made it perfectly clear that he was not as big of a fan of running as his mother was.

At least, not yet.

I learned very quickly that afternoon that you simply cannot push your love of a sport onto your child. Since that fateful day, however, I have also learned that there are a number of things you can do to encourage your kids to have a happy, healthy relationship with running. And nine years later, I am the proud mom of two little runners who seem to love running as much as I do…on their own terms.

Here are my running mom tips:

1) Lead by example. Your kids are watching EVERYTHING you do. Setting a positive example of your love for running will give your kids a healthy outlook on the sport of running. They will view running as a normal, fun activity rather than some sort of punishment or insufferable weight loss method. Plus, seeing how much you enjoy running may encourage them to give the sport a try for themselves. After all, what little kid doesn’t want to emulate their parents?

2) Start them slow. Just like any new runners, kids need to start off with short distances so their little bodies can adapt to the stressors of running. Start with age-appropriate distances. Although running is a completely natural activity for kids (they do it on their own all the time), if you have any concerns please consult with your child’s pediatrician before taking them running.

3) Make it fun. As mentioned already, kids run every day, on their own. Just head to your local playground and you’ll see kids sprinting during a game of tag or simply running from one side of the playground to the other to see who can get to the swings first. With this in mind, you can introduce your kids to running longer distances by teaching them fun running games. Things like relay races or “animal tag” will encourage young runners while keeping and holding their attention.

4) Teach them about pacing. Little kids have two paces: lightning fast and walking. Once your child is interested in running longer distances (more than a minute or so, for most kids!) you will need to teach them about pacing. Let them know that starting slow many not feel as fun at first, but it will allow them to run farther before they get tired. This will make running for longer durations more enjoyable for your child.

5) Encourage—never discourage. Never make running a punishment, and never speak condescendingly to your kids about their running. Things like “come on, your sister can do it, you can too!” may seem encouraging to you, but might discourage your little runner from building a healthy relationship with running. Instead, encourage and celebrate their strengths, and be understanding of the days they simply may not feel like running.

6) Ensure they have the proper gear. You don’t need to buy your kid an entire new wardrobe from some designer athletic apparel line, but you do want to make sure they have comfortable athletic gear. Sweat-wicking, lightweight clothing just like you would wear can be bought at most major department and big box stores in little kid sizes. Provide comfortable sneakers that will help encourage the natural movement of their little feet.

7) Water and fuel: Make sure your kids are taking in enough extra calories and extra water to compensate for their caloric expenditure and sweat loss. Encourage them to “fuel” their bodies with these healthy foods and water!

And finally…

8) Be accepting of their desire to run…or lack thereof. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you encourage, some kids may have absolutely zero desire to run. And that is okay. Instead, encourage healthy movement and exercise through other physical activities or sports that pique their interest. Don’t give up hope; they may come around and enjoy running one day.

When we first start making travel plans we often put a great deal of thought into where exactly we want to go. We’ll spend hours researching destinations and looking for the best deals on airfare, accommodations, food, and activities once we get there. Unfortunately, we don’t always put the same amount of effort into learning about the health issues we might face while traveling. These challenges could potentially have a major impact on how much we enjoy our trip, not to mention our long-term health after we return home.
Generally speaking, the health risks tend to be quite low with domestic travel. But venture abroad and it becomes an entirely different story. Many international destinations can expose travelers to a wide variety of viruses and parasites, some of which can be extremely dangerous or even life threatening. That’s why it is important to understand exactly what you’re dealing with before you go and to prepare yourself as best you can.
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) can provide up-to-date information regarding health concerns for the destinations that you plan to visit. The two organizations not only list viruses that have historically existed in countries around the globe, but they also track current outbreaks—such as Ebola or Zika—that could be of concern as well.
Beyond that, however, the CDC and WHO are both great resources for travelers because they can tell you exactly which vaccinations and medications you’ll need when visiting a new country. They’ll also provide current travel alerts about which regions should be avoided altogether.
Before setting out on a trip, be sure to consult either one of these websites—or better yet talk to your doctor about which vaccinations are necessary for your planned destination. Getting immunized before you go will not only allow you to stay safe and healthy while on the road, but it will also prevent the spread of dangerous diseases to other regions.
Most doctors recommend that travelers be immunized against measles, mumps, tetanus, polio, diphtheria, rubella, and whooping cough no matter where they are going. For many of us, those are all vaccinations that we got as children, which means we generally are immunized against those threats. Some, like tetanus for example, require an occasional booster from time to time, however.
Of more concern for travelers are the viruses that they don’t encounter regularly, so they haven’t built up any sort of immunity to or been vaccinated against them. These include yellow fever, malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, and hepatitis. Each of these diseases can be extremely dangerous, but most of them can be prevented through the use of vaccines or medications.
Travel vaccinations can be expensive, and since they are nonessential and voluntary, they are often not covered by insurance. Because of this, many people choose not to spend their time or money getting the shots and medications that they need to keep them safe while on the road. Staying within your travel budget is important, of course, but not at the expense of your health or the health of others. If you get sick, you could end up spreading a virus to someone else, which then makes the cost of getting immunized seem inconsequential.
It is also important to note that some countries will not allow visitors to enter without showing proof that they have actually gotten immunized against certain diseases. When you get your travel shots you should be given a yellow immunization card that provides a record of the date and type of vaccinations that you’ve received. This is normally kept with your passport and shown to immigration control officers when entering a foreign country. Failure to show the proper records could mean that you won’t be allowed in and will be sent home on the next available flight out. That would be a sad way to end a trip that had taken so long to plan.
If it’s not abundantly clear by now, travel vaccinations are something we all need to take seriously. While they do add expense to the cost of a trip, they are also essential for staying healthy and helping to prevent the spread of dangerous viruses to other parts of the world. If you’re planning a trip to an exotic locale in the near future, be sure take some time to find out what health threats you could face there and get the proper medications and immunizations 4-6 weeks in advance. That way your body has time to adapt to the vaccine and you’ll be fully prepared by the time you set out.