Month: May 2018

Boxing Workouts: How To Start Throwing Punches For Fitness And Fun

Post author By HealthyWay Staff Writer
Post date May 31, 2018

Have you fallen into an exercise slump and can’t seem to get motivated? Don’t be discouraged—we’ve all been there. For something new, try introducing a boxing workout to your routine.
Boxing has grown in popularity over the last few years, with celebs like Gigi Hadid and Adriana Lima endorsing the sport as a great workout, and more and more gyms are offering beginner classes, making boxing accessible even for those who haven’t spent time around a ring. Meanwhile, folks are starting to realize that footwork around a bag and learning to punch (and kick!) safely and swiftly are great ways to relieve stress while also building muscle, stamina, and discipline.
There are tons of resources available for boxing beginners to get acquainted with the sport, and you don’t need to go to a boxing gym to learn the basics. We break down everything you need to know to get fit by throwing a few punches at the gym, or even in the comfort of your own home.

The Surprising Health Benefits of Boxing Workouts

You might think boxing is all about upper body strength, and if you box, you’re going to get giant, hulking arms. If you pursue boxing regularly, your arms will become stronger, but boxing is truly a whole-body workout.
“The health benefits of boxing are numerous—it’s a total body workout,” personal trainer and kickboxing instructor Monique “Moe” Adams tells HealthyWay. “You are engaging several muscle groups through every punch and kick you execute. Your core is engaged the entire time and you are working both upper and lower body for maximum calorie burn.”
Boxing is so much more than just throwing punches! Even beginner-level sessions will get your heart rate going. Boxing is a great cardio option “because your heart [has to] work harder at pumping blood around your body,” fitness trainer Miriam Amselem tells HealthyWay.
Boxing workouts have the power to strengthen your cardiovascular system, improve coordination, alleviate stress, and build muscle—all while burning some serious calories. What’s better than that?

Boxing Exercise Fundamentals: The Jab

Throwing a punch is a lot more complicated than you might think. You’re not just tossing your fist into the ether in front of you, hoping to make contact. A punch, or jab, as the pros call it, involves very specific setup and execution.
“The number one mental tip I tell my students is to first picture their target,” says Adams. “Imagine yourself delivering the jab with the maximum power and be ready to do some major damage.”
After you’re mentally set, it’s time to prepare your body to execute on the move.
“Feet have to be a bit outside of hips and hands have to be in front of the face, as if blocking a punch,” says Amselem. “Engage your core by pulling your belly button into your spine to get your entire torso ready.”
Guarding your face by keeping your arms up is key to proper form. Amselem says that before you move your arm, “you have to pivot your foot and bring your hip around in the same direction, so your shoulder will be right on top of your hip.”
Finally, Adams says to “extend your jab 90 percent, aim for your target’s nose, and let all the power come from your body.” Of course, you probably won’t have a human target, so imagining striking your bag at nose height is the goal.
Also, don’t forget to breathe! Your breath plays an important role during any exercise—and boxing is no exception. Think of matching your breaths to your motion; slow movements require slow, deep breaths, and fast movements require short, quick breaths. When you set your body and stance, inhale slowly through your nose. Then, when you’re ready to punch, exhale quickly in short bursts as you execute the perfect jab.
It sounds complicated, but after you run through the motions a couple times, throwing a jab will become second nature!

Warm-Up Exercises for Your Boxing Workout

Before you begin your boxing session, you should always prepare yourself with a proper warm-up routine.
“Your warm-up should include dynamic and rhythmic movements that serve as a dress rehearsal for what you are about to do,” says Adams. You want your blood flowing and your muscles moving before getting into any serious physical exertion.
Amselem suggests two different warm-up sets to prepare for a good boxing workout. Note that the American Heart Association recommends a warm-up of 5 to 10 minutes before any exercise and recommends intense workouts like fitness boxing begin with a warm-up that’s on the longer end of that spectrum. Of you do both of these warm-up sets, cycling through each exercise for a minute apiece, you’ll be in great shape to begin your boxing workout:

Warm-up I: Lower Body

Jumping jacks, lunges, jump rope, squats—rotating through each movement for one minute each

Warm-up II: Upper Body

Shoulder raises, bicep curls (with light weights), push ups—rotating through each movement for one minute each
Adams suggests a handful of good warm-up moves including step touches (side to side), reaches (both over the head and across the body), squats, shoulder rolls, and knee strikes, all of which can be used to spice up your pre-boxing routine.
Adams notes that any side-to-side motion will help prepare your body for your boxing workout combinations.

Boxing Workout Combinations for Beginners (and Beyond)

Once your body is warmed up, you can get into the workout. You can start boxing with or without a punching bag. In fact, even the pros practice shadow boxing, which involves sparring with an imaginary opponent rather than hopping in the ring with another person or unleashing on a bag. That said, having a stopwatch or your phone for a timer is a necessity.
For a solid beginner workout, Adams suggests the following timed combinations: Three rounds, lasting one to three minutes each, with a 30 to 45 second break in between. Note that in certain combinations, you’ll begin with a right lead, meaning your right leg and right arm will be forward. A left lead, on the other hand, involves your left leg and left arm being forward.

Combination I:

Begin with a right lead
Triple jab/cross 25 times
Jab/cross/hook/uppercut 25 times
Take a 30 to 45 second break
Repeat the entire combination on the left lead

Combination II—The Triple Jab Cross:

3 right jabs followed by 1 left cross for a 4-count combo

Combination III—The Jab/Cross/Hook/Uppercut:

Right jab/left cross/right hook/left uppercut for another 4-count combo

Amselem usually has her clients throw combinations of single arm jab, uppercut, and straight punch for three minutes, plus front kicks, followed by a 60 second “break” during which they practice lunges, planks, or squats.
“[This workout] is a calorie and fat torcher which they all love when it’s over and love even more when they see the results,” says Amselem.
Once you get comfortable with these moves, try working out with a heavy bag. With boxing’s growing popularity, you can probably find one at your local gym if you don’t have the room or the desire to bring one home. When you use a heavy bag, you introduce more resistance into your practice, which ultimately helps you build more muscle.

Cool-Down Routines for Boxing Workouts

Cooling down after a difficult workout is just as important as warming up. The cool-down process brings your heartbeat and breathing rate down slowly, which helps prevent dizziness. It also helps prevent post-workout soreness.
“Cool down should include static stretching for flexibility gains while incorporating deep breathing—bringing your heart rate down and relaxing the body,” says Adams. “Following a boxing workout, stretch your shoulders, biceps, triceps, chest, and back. If your workout included kicks, stretch out your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.”

How to Get the Most Out of Your Boxing Workout Classes

While it’s great to be able to learn and practice something in the comfort of your own home, changing up the setting and putting your skills to the test in a class is also beneficial, so don’t be scared of signing up for a boxing class!
When you’re ready to try out a class, it’s important to start with the right attitude.
“Be ready to have some fun,” says Adams. “Grab a towel and plenty of water. Remember, this is a new activity for you, so give yourself permission to make mistakes. Any new fitness format you try for the first time will have a learning curve.”
It’s always a good idea to stick with combinations you’re comfortable with at first, and slowly bring new moves into your practice. You don’t want to go too hard right away or develop incorrect form or bad habits. Remember: A good boxing workout begins with the fundamentals.
Want to learn more about boxing classes? Check out Senior Editor Taylor’s reflections on her first experience at TITLE, the importance of hand and wrist wrapping, and why short and sweet might be the way to go the first time you hop in the ring.

Tags search

Life x Culture Lifestyle

Ladies Get Paid, A Group Working To Close The Gender Wage Gap, Got Sued

Post author By Anna Cherry
Post date May 31, 2018

Still No Pay Equity for Women

Claire Wasserman founded Ladies Get Paid in the summer of 2016 with the mission of helping to close the persistent gender wage gap. She created the group, which provides resources for women to excel in their careers, negotiate salaries and pay raises, and ask for what they’re worth, after a freelance art director she knew discovered that she wasn’t making as much money as her male counterparts but didn’t know how much to charge for her work.
Less than a year and a half later, Ladies Get Paid has grown to more than 20,000 members, coming from all 50 states and 60 countries. They connect in person and online through “town hall” open forums, Meetups, conferences, and a private Slack group organized by industry and location.
But the young, growing organization may have to shut down.

HealthyWay — Courtesy of Ladies Get Paid

United States of Aggrieved Dudes

Ladies Get Paid events were advertised as being for cis and trans women and non-binary people only, in an attempt to create “a space where we could be vulnerable and share our workplace challenges, free of judgment or intimidation.”
Enter Dudes Who Want to Prove a Point. Two men who say they were turned away from events, together with an attorney who has made a career of taking down women-first events and organizations, sued Ladies Get Paid, Claire, and six of the group’s event organizers, alleging discrimination under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The attorney was formerly listed as secretary of the National Coalition for Men (NCFM), a men’s rights group founded in 1977. While NCFM self-identifies as a “gender inclusive…charitable corporation,” a few minutes spent on their website—which casually references the “men’s liberation movement”—suggests that they are more spiritually aligned with the kind of tool who responds to your cordial rejections with, “But you had sex with [literally any other man]. Why not with me?”
A November 2017 post offering “a few quick thoughts on the current sexual abuse hysteria” tries to argue that, while “all male sexuality is potentially criminal nowadays,” women have achieved perfect freedom because we are allowed to wear leggings and “blatantly sexual makeup.” The author then goes on to imply, confoundingly, that a woman who wore a revealing dress to an awards show in the 1990s is “hypocritical” for decrying sexual abuse. (Ironically, a few months later, this woman would explain that the dress was actually a silent scream after a rape she had hidden from the public. The fashion choice was “a political statement”—a middle finger before the days of subtweets.)
The conundrum of the gender pay gap, like all social issues, will not easily be solved. But Ladies Get Paid and other women’s empowerment groups that approach these issues with intelligence and compassion and provide resources—professional networking, education, emotional support, confidence-building—are the grass roots of progress. (Unless, that is, they’re continually trod on by men who appear to hate women.)
In order to keep existing, Ladies Get Paid has turned to crowdfunding to pay their legal fees and fund more community services. We reached out to Claire to talk about the lawsuits, disillusionment, and moving forward with the organization she loves.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You’ve mentioned in a couple of your interviews that you had this eye-opening experience at Cannes Lions Festival in 2017. [Claire also worked as a marketer and an independent film producer.]
The thing that happened at Cannes was—a big reason why I was disappointed—you know it’s this amazing festival with like the industry’s top, top people. So whether you run a brand or an agency, it was going to be the best of the best. I was there with Working Not Working [where she worked as director of marketing], and I was excited to be able to meet people, but also that this is going to be a great business opportunity. We were looking for clients.
And the first night I was there I walk into this party and I noticed it was mostly white men, because, again, if you’re sending the heads of these companies, the heads of them tend to be white men. And the first thing that anybody says to me—this older man comes up to me and he just goes, “Hi! Whose wife are you?” You know what I mean? So innocent. And it was like, “Oh, not only are there not many women here—like, this is how it’s going to be.”
And it is always, like, the “innocent comment.” It’s so deeply ingrained that it’s problematic.
Yeah. It was a week of just, every night, fending off these guys who were really gross, objectifying me. I’d go to parties where they’d hire models and it’s—it was just gross.
They would hire models to just walk around?
There was one party that did that. It is a brand—I will not say their name—but, you know, a brand that has since gotten in a lot of trouble during the #MeToo stuff that’s happened. It was seven days, seven nights of that, so I felt really demoralized.
I remember having this experience where a bunch of women—we were all in the ladies’ room and we were all, whether we knew it consciously or not, we were all kind of hiding. Because it was so—it was like danger zone out there. [One well-known male singer] was talking about, like, finding women to f***. You know what I mean? It was just constant. So it was only in the ladies’ room—
Wait, he was out there doing what?
I don’t remember exactly what he said—something about he was looking for somebody to have sex with. I was just like, I can’t even. I can’t even engage. I was like, I wish you were the only person I heard that from this week. And everyone’s laughing, and, you know, having some of the quote nice guys be like, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” And it’s just like, “No! That’s not the point of this.”
But yeah, I mean being in the ladies room, it was like a safe haven. And we’d be like, “Alright, you go now.” It’s like you put on lipstick and were going out for battle. [laughs] So that was a turning point for me.
I think in my entire career there had been things like that happening but I had brushed past it because I’m moving so fast, I don’t want to, you know, point fingers at anybody else. A lot of these guys who would do inappropriate things, I liked them anyway. So it really took this experience to kind of snap me out of all of that and go, “Hold on. There is something going on in the gender dynamics in our workplaces that is just exaggerated here.”

The spirit of the Ladies Get Paid community—does it feel markedly different from one event to another?
Good question. So I actually traveled the country last year. I hosted town halls, like the first one I did called “Women and Money.” I think I’ve done them now in like 17 cities. The deal is, whenever we open a new chapter, the committee will organize events under the brand of Ladies Get Paid. I go out and I do the first town hall with them. And so, in doing that, it’s been really interesting to see how the women across the country want to talk about money. Because technically, it’s the same subject, but of course it can mean a lot of different things to people. And one thing that just strikes me is that, actually, everybody wants to talk about the same thing.
We all have universal fears, struggles, whatever—some cities want to focus on a certain part of the conversation more than others. I would say what’s different are the ways that these women express themselves. Some of these women are like vocalizing, right? They’re clapping, nodding “uh-huh.” They’ll stand up and shout things out. And then in other states they’re like laughing politely or they take a lot of notes but don’t want to speak up. So the subject is the same; the way they express it is different.
Are there any personal stories that particularly moved you? Success stories? Anything that stands out?
God, there are so many. I mean I get a ton of emails every day. The email that I get after all of these events tends to be, “Wow, I thought I was the only one.” And they’re not. Everybody who comes just walks away realizing there’s like a hundred other women there who are all vocalizing an experience this woman had and had previously thought she was crazy for having it. So that’s been, by far, the pattern of feedback that I get.
It’s very interesting, specifically the “I thought I was crazy,” because the gaslighting of—you know, the whole experience of womanhood. So after all of the amazing advocacy that you guys have done for women, you’ve gotten sued for gender discrimination…by some men.
Yeah.
Okay, so who are they? They’re able to get away with this because of a civil rights act that they’re taking advantage of?
Yeah, so these guys, they are all—they may not say that they are—but they [seem to be] members of the National Coalition for Men. The lawyer has personally been the lawyer in hundreds of cases all under this civil rights act. [He] sued the Oakland A’s for giving out hats to women [for] Mother’s Day. It’s sort of anything and everything.
The way that our legal system is, I mean, the only people who can go to court are people who can afford to go to court. We literally don’t have the money to do it. And we’re not a nonprofit so we didn’t get pro bono counsel. And with a civil rights case, if you lose, you actually have to pay the legal fees of the other side. Given that, this guy—it seems to be all that he does—why would he not drag this out? So this could have been very financially risky for us. And so even if we felt, you know, “We don’t want to settle! We believe we’re right! We think maybe we could win!” It’s like, it doesn’t matter, you just have to settle, because we’re totally broke anyway.
That was why we decided to settle. It still took seven months. Because they were not just suing Ladies Get Paid and me, but they were suing six women who have to organize our events—we call them “ambassadors.” So we covered them. It was—it was—I cannot wait until this is over. It wasn’t just financially draining. It was a huge emotional upheaval for us. We lost so much productivity.

Right. It’s a huge blow.
And it still will be. After the campaign, it’s not like you just snap your fingers and now everything’s okay. This is still going to be hanging on us for some time.
But, you know, obviously, as horrible as this is, it would be nothing compared to how horrible I would feel if I had to shut Ladies Get Paid down.
They served you on the day of the Women’s March, so, Jan. 21, 2017.
When I came back home. I got sued in San Diego in October. I didn’t get the notice of being sued for L.A. until December. I did not get served for anything until January. So, keep in mind, that’s a lot of months of feeling like, “What’s going on?” And the six ambassadors, they actually served them at an event that they were doing, in front of everybody.
What?
Yep. And they served one of our ambassadors as she was literally walking on stage to moderate.
How does that happen?
Well, you can serve anybody anywhere. It was mortifying and scary. He wouldn’t leave the lobby—it was at a hotel. They called me really upset. And I hadn’t even been served yet, so I’m just like, “Wow, I am the reason for this lawsuit and everybody else is getting served and I’m not.”
I wasn’t served by a person, the envelope was just on my doorstep. And we just knew it. It was this big envelope. We’re like, “I think that might be it.” We’re just looking at this going, “Wow. Out of all the days, it took them this long, and it’s this day?” And funnily enough, we settled on Valentine’s Day. So, you know, we have a lot of symbolism in the days we’ve chosen in this lawsuit. [laughs]
They were waging emotional warfare.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, this isn’t just a lawsuit. This is an ideology. They fundamentally disagree with what we do. He didn’t come to the event to try to get in; the lawyer says he was trying to prove a point.
So I’m like, what is this? Prove a point? There’s no discussion here about what we can do together. Your point is that you want to cripple a company.
But we’ve changed our policy.
When did that happen? Because I saw that, you know, men who were obviously trying to do this—make a statement—came, they were let in, and then they left because they didn’t actually want to come.
We changed our policy the minute I got sued, which was in October, and we told everybody, “Everybody should let men in.” Like, “Better do it.” We called all of our friends who ran similar organizations to ours.
And then, I can’t say it was them—but of course it was, because we know what they look like. But two “unidentified men” came to our town hall in L.A. They asked, “Can I come in?” They were told yes. And they said, “Okay.” And they just walked away. The problem, though, is, since they didn’t register, we can’t say, “Oh it’s definitely those guys, because we know their names.”
So it’s just shitty, because, like, I would love to say that in the press, that it was them, but rather it was like, “There were two men that came—” So the two men who walked away, we told them they could come in, [and they] clearly didn’t want to.
Right. Oh, man. So, once you decided to talk about all of this happening, you said you’ve been intimidated by them?
Yeah, he—the lawyer—reached out to my lawyer and said that one of the journalists I spoke to called him and mentioned something like, I had referenced the settlement as being expensive, and he reached out to my lawyer accusing me of breach of confidentiality, though that isn’t the case. In our agreement, I simply cannot state the number that I settled for. But the fact that I even said that the settlement cost anything, in his opinion, that was breaching confidentiality. My lawyer shut him down, and we’ve moved on.

What’s been most surprising to you about all of this?
I don’t know, my loss of innocence? [laughs] I didn’t know anything about men’s rights groups, or, you know, incels—do you know what that is?
The incels?
Yeah.
I know about the Red Pillers, the MGTOW—
Yeah, this is like involuntary celibates.
Ah, yes.
Then there’s another subcommunity of men who are voluntarily celibate, or hate women, I don’t remember.
I think it’s Men Going Their Own Way, which, for short, is MGTOW. It’s supposedly this—it’s just a rebranding of the Red Pillers.
I didn’t know about any of those things—and now I do. So what surprised me is how awful humanity might be. I have been so naive.
It’s a rude awakening. I’ve spent a lot of time in those threads, you know, and you just are like, “Wow. They really hate us!”
What are you doing spending time in those threads? [laughs] Why would you do that to yourself?
I know! Self-care. Gotta pull myself out.
Right?
So what do you need to move forward?
I mean at this point it’s just spreading the word. Giving to the crowdfunding campaign. Then, hopefully we can get back to doing what we wanted—you know, actually running this company. I miss it so much. I miss coming up with a curriculum and not talking about these guys.
We agree—f*** those guys. Let’s pay some ladies instead.
If you want to get involved, you can contribute to the crowdfunding campaign here, find Ladies Get Paid events, or join their online community.
https://youtu.be/uGHo3i6r7H0?t=41s

Tags organic

Life x Culture Lifestyle

Bullet Journal 101: How To Use This Cult Fave Planner For Your Mental Health

Post author By Sian Ferguson
Post date May 31, 2018

Bullet journals, also known as BuJos, are all over social media, and plenty of people—from life coaches and motivational speakers to Instagram influencers—swear by them. Bullet journaling is a great tool for productivity, and it can also be an excellent way to manage your mental and physical health.
As someone who loves diaries, lists, and planning, I was a little hesitant to get on the BuJo bandwagon. Why, I thought, should I invest my time in getting used to a new system? And won’t a pre-made diary work better than a notebook where I have to manually create my own structure and systems?
But after trying a bullet journal for a few weeks, I was hooked. I totally get why people love it so much.
“Bullet journaling can increase a sense of mastery over life since tasks are logged in addition to increasing mental health by capturing one’s thoughts/feelings,” says Wyatt Fisher, PsyD, a licensed psychologist, marriage counselor, and the founder of a couples retreat.
“Traditional journaling has been shown to improve mental health because it provides a format to regularly process through one’s thoughts and feelings. As the old adage goes, ‘better out than in’,” Fisher says. Traditional journaling can require a lot of time and effort, but bullet journaling is quick and easy. Fisher says that this means that people are more likely to stick with it. “It allows people to capture anything from to-do items to thoughts and feelings all in one spot. Because everything is short and abbreviated, it’s simple to do and easy to maintain.”
Desiree Wiercyski, a life coach for ambitious and career-focused women, regularly uses bullet journals to help her clients organize their lives and reach their goals. “The flexibility of bullet journaling is the biggest benefit because it’s an organizational habit that can be what a person needs, and it can shift and grow with that person over time,” Wiercyski says.
If you’re interested in trying out a bullet journal to stay organized and improve your mental health, read on.

What is a bullet journal?

The concept of a bullet journal comes from Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer. On the official bullet journal website, he’s provided some in-depth information on how to get started. But the beauty of a bullet journal is that you can take a lot of these elements and tweak them to work for you.
Bullet journals combine elements of planners, diaries, journals, and to-do lists in one notebook. In other words, you can write about your feelings and actions, plan your day, and write down reminders all in one place.
In brief, here are the bullet journal basics you need to know:
Index: Bullet journals usually contain page numbers and an index, which is like a table of contents. This will help you find important notes quickly.

Spread: A spread is a page or two designated for a specific purpose. You might have daily spreads, monthly spreads, or weekly spreads where you track events or items on your to-do list. You might also have spreads for tracking habits, marking off books you’d like to read, or listing self-care methods.

Future log: This is a particular spread that contains a year at a glance (or six months at a glance). You use future logs to note important upcoming events (like your best friend’s birthday, the date you need to hand in your thesis, or vacation dates) or to note important things as they happen (like servicing the car, turning the compost, or filing taxes).

Monthly log: This is a month-at-a-glance spread. This is great for noting due dates, birthday celebrations, and recurring tasks.

Daily log: This is a day-to-day spread. If you don’t need an entire page for a day, you might want to divide two pages into six sections, with the last section split in two, to create a weekly spread.

A post shared by Haley ⚓︎ bullet journal (@journautical) on Mar 24, 2018 at 10:57am PDT

Another crucial part of bullet journaling is the key, otherwise known as “rapid logging,” where certain symbols can annotate events, notes, or ideas.
The symbols suggested on the official bullet journal website are as follows:
[dot] – a task
X – a completed task
> – a migrated task (that is, a task you re-scheduled for today)
< – a scheduled task
O – an event
– – a note
* – a priority
! – inspiration (an inspiring quote or an “a-ha” moment)
[eye] – explore (an idea to look into)

A post shared by ✨notes inspo✨ (@notetakingg) on Dec 29, 2017 at 8:03am PST

These symbols are great because instead of writing “start filing taxes,” and then next to it “Didn’t have enough time! Will do it later!” you can simply write “> start filing taxes,” and migrate the task to another day. Feel free to develop your own symbols to suit your needs, too; I use a little triangle to indicate when work is due because it’s something I have to note often.
Although there is an official method of bullet journaling, you can adjust the method to make your own. You don’t have to use every element in your own bullet journal. Personally, I seldom use page numbers or an index because I don’t have any trouble finding the pages and notes I’m looking for.
The important part is that your method works for you; if you don’t find your system useful or enjoyable, you’re likely to abandon it.

Why is bullet journaling so popular?

Different kinds of planners can be useful, and each of them has its own benefits and drawbacks. Different people have preferences for different planners, and some might even use multiple kinds at once, especially if they’re managing multiple projects.
But bullet journaling is a new way to plan and organize your life, and people love it for several distinct reasons:

It’s not digital.

According to Carroll, part of the reason that bullet journals work is because they’re analog. Instead of keeping a bunch of to-do lists and appointments on your phone or laptop, you write it in your bullet journal.
In a world where we rely on technology for nearly everything, it’s refreshing to use pen and paper once in a while. Research suggests that writing by hand is great for improving cognitive functions and creativity.
Another draw for bullet journaling is that you get to write without being constantly distracted by notifications. Plus, it’s great to give your eyes and thumbs a break from your screen and keypad!

It’s flexible.

I used to love the standard planners I had since high school. They always had the same format, and they were easy to use. But I disliked the fact that I couldn’t see my week-at-a-glance since it was a page-a-day diary. I struggled with this structure for years.
With bullet journaling, you create your own structure. You design your own monthly logs and weekly spreads. If something doesn’t work for you in May, you can change it in June.

A post shared by Haley ⚓︎ bullet journal (@journautical) on Mar 15, 2018 at 12:20pm PDT

Bullet journaling is also flexible in that you can use it for any purpose in any way. “The best thing about bullet journaling is it’s completely flexible and can be whatever you want it to be,” Wiercyski says. “For example, to keep track of expenses, it can be as basic as assigning one page for debits and spending throughout the day and another page for deposits. Another person may like every transaction on one page and using different colors to represent debits and deposits. Bullet journaling is one of those few organizational practices where there’s no right or wrong way so long as you do it.”

You can be as minimalist or as creative as you’d like.

Some bullet-journal users go all out, using watercolors, stickers, washi tape, and more to turn their bullet journals into a scrapbook of sorts. Others keep it simple: They use very little color and don’t decorate at all.
Neither way is wrong. Some people like bullet journaling to be simple, and others like turning it into a creative pursuit. You can approach it however you’d like.
It doesn’t have to be Instagram-worthy to work for you. Don’t get too stressed about untidy handwriting, mistakes, or color schemes. Focus on developing a shorthand and getting in the habit of writing things out quickly.

You can start with very little.

You can buy an official bullet journal notebook if you’d like, and many enthusiasts seem to have endless amounts of accessories to use to decorate their bullet journals. Your bullet journal can be simple or complex—it’s totally up to you.
For our bullet journal essentials, see the end of this article!

How exactly can I use bullet journaling to improve my life?

Now that you understand the basics of bullet journaling, you might wonder what exactly you’ll put in it. Other than a future log, monthly log, and daily log, you can use the pages of your bullet journal to create a number of different spreads for tracking what’s important to you.
To be clear: If you just want to use your bullet journal as a simple to-do list, you totally can. However, there are many ways you can use it to improve your mental health, work on your goals, and cultivate healthy patterns of behavior. Here are some ideas:

Use weekly trackers to track your habits.

Weekly trackers, or habit trackers, are fantastic for anyone who’s hoping to cultivate a habit. And let’s face it—most of us fit in that category. We often hear about the benefits of meditating, drinking a lot of water, and reading every day, but it’s hard to actually integrate those habits in your life and stick to them.
In comes the habit tracker. You can take advantage of the grid-like structure of your bullet journal to draw a little table on your weekly spread. There are many ways to draw it, but I prefer to list the days of the week on the y-axis and the habits I’m working to cultivate on the x-axis. Whenever I commit to a goal or habit on a specific day, I color the block in. I use a weekly habit tracker instead of a monthly one so that I can feel as if I’m starting fresh each week. This reminds and motivates you to cultivate the habit.

A post shared by Kamryn (@greyzonepages) on Apr 17, 2018 at 1:09pm PDT

Fisher suggests a scoring system if you’re trying to cultivate certain attitudes, which can work alongside a habit tracker. “You can log personal growth areas, such as how you did for the day from 1-10 being patient with [your] children, tackling dreaded tasks, focusing on thankfulness, putting others first, and so on,” he says.
Your habit tracker isn’t just helpful for cultivating habits—it’s also useful for tracking how your habits affect you. “I worked with a client recently who was frustrated she wasn’t making progress on a book she’s writing, even though she was carving out time,” says Wiercyski. “What she quickly noticed after a week of tracking her writing goals as well as a handful of other pieces, she made less progress the days she didn’t practice mindfulness skills. So now, she has a regular practice of meditating before writing and is seeing the progress she wants.”

Use your bullet journal to break negative patterns.

Just as a bullet journal can help you cultivate good habits, it can also help you break negative ones. Writing things out—from your feelings to your plans—is a great way to cultivate self-awareness.
This self-awareness, Wiercyski says, is essential when it comes to dealing with negative thought or behavioral patterns. “Often I work with clients who are hung up with a certain behavior or habit that they just can’t seem to break. When this is the case, chances are the habit is serving a deeper need and a bullet journal system can bring the to light.”
Wiercyski says that she helps these clients by working on a list of alternative things they can do instead of engaging in their habits. “For example, I recently worked with a client who was trying to break the habit of mindlessly snacking in the evening,” she says. “So instead of snacking, the first thing she would do would be to color for 10 to 15 minutes.” After this, if the client still wanted to snack, she’d write about how she felt, what she liked about coloring, and how she could meet her emotional needs without turning to food.

Use a mood tracker to trace your triggers.

Just as it can help you break negative patterns of behavior, a bullet journal can help you figure out what’s at the bottom of your bad moods. “Taking the time to label your mood then asking the simple question, ‘What’s making me feel like this?’ can bring so much awareness and lift us out of a funk,” says Wiercyski.
You can use this in conjunction with your habit tracker to see what’s causing you to feel good or bad. For example, if you notice that you’ve been feeling fatigued and grumpy, you might look at your habit tracker and realize it’s because you’ve been getting in very little sleep or haven’t been spending enough time in the sunshine.

A post shared by Fiona 🌺 Mind Body Journal (@mindbodyjournal) on Nov 8, 2017 at 6:02am PST

Wiercyski says that she worked with a client who used a mood tracker. Her client realized that she felt down the days after she went out drinking with her friends. “Now she’s on a journey of learning what she wants her relationship with alcohol to look like,” Wiercyski explains. “That’s the beauty of using a bullet journal to its fullest potential—it shows you how things are intertwined and the unexpected pieces that may be tripping you up on reaching your goals.”

Use it to improve your relationships.

As a marriage counselor, Fisher believes that bullet journaling can also be used to improve your romantic relationships. “It could be used to log daily appreciation for their spouse to cultivate an attitude of gratitude,” Fisher notes. By writing down the reasons that you appreciate your partner and habitually thanking them for their support, you can cultivate a sense of appreciation in yourself while helping your partner feel valued.
Fisher also suggests that you use a bullet journal to log things like dates or quality time spent together, sex, and more. Having a log of your experiences together can help you pinpoint what’s working or what might be triggering an issue. You might even include a spread for fun date night ideas.

Use it as a gratitude journal.

Gratitude journaling is a fantastic tool for your mental health and personal development. Research shows that regularly practicing gratitude is excellent for your emotional and physical well-being.

A post shared by Holly Loves Planning (@hollylovesplanning) on Apr 5, 2018 at 8:54am PDT

When you set up your weekly spread, include a little block where you can write about your achievements or things you’re grateful for. You could also create a list on a random page in your bullet journal and use it to write down everything that fills you with gratitude. Whenever you’re feeling down, you can page back to that list.

Use your bullet journal to get creative.

“Because bullet journal lends itself as a creative outlet, it can also be used as a mindfulness tool. Taking the time to make things look nice can be very centering,” says Wiercyski.
We all heard about the benefits of coloring a few years ago when the adult coloring book craze was at its peak. Writing out your feelings is also great, as it can help you process events. Even writing fiction or writing nonsense stream-of-consciousness style can be a great way to release some stress. Combining these things—putting your feelings down in words while decorating them with a fun new pen—is many BuJo users’ favorite part of their bullet journals.
Whether you’d like to doodle or write stream-of-consciousness style for a few moments, you can do it with a bullet journal. Keep a few pages at the back of your book aside for a creative outlet if you need extra space. You can try integrating drawings with your spreads if you’d rather get creative more regularly. I love choosing themes each week and drawing little doodles all over my weekly spread; I’ve done themes like houseplants, animals, crystals and geodes, flowers, space, the beach, and more.
Remember that your doodles don’t have to be beautiful. Art doesn’t have to be good to be good for you—it’s supposed to make you feel relaxed, not self-conscious!

A post shared by Manon (@dutch_dots) on May 16, 2018 at 7:56am PDT

How can I start using a bullet journal?

The most important thing is just to start! But if you’re wondering which tools you’ll need, here are HealthyWay’s favorite picks:

Notebook

We recommend using a notebook with a dotted or ruled grid-like print. This makes it easier to divide pages up equally as you can easily draw straight vertical and horizontal lines.
If you’d rather start with a simple lined notebook, those work fine too.

Pen

You’ll want a pen that doesn’t bleed onto the next page and that writes smoothly. The world of pens is a surprisingly complicated one, but some recommendations are Sharpie Art Pens (they’re pens, not permanent markers, so they don’t bleed through or have a strong smell), Sakura Microns (these come in a variety of thicknesses), and Uchida of America’s LePen.

All the Extras

Once you’ve got the bullet journal basics, the creative itch might hit you. Then you can start looking into…
Markers and highlighters: We love the Tombow Dual Brush Pens that are perfect for hand lettering and illustrations.
Washi tape: These rolls are ideal for covering up mistakes, decorating pages, and taping in smaller pieces of paper; we especially like this vintage paper style!
Stickers: No planner or bullet journal is complete without stickers. We’re suckers for ban.do sticker books; this one has more than 700 stickers!

Tags Commerce, search

Conscious Beauty Lifestyle

What Are Clogged Pores? Here's How To Get Rid Of Them For Good

Post author By Christina Heiser
Post date May 31, 2018

If you’ve noticed tiny black specks scattered across your skin or you’ve seen an uptick in white bumps popping up, you’re probably wondering what, exactly, is happening. You could be dealing with clogged pores.
Both blackheads and whiteheads occur when gunk builds up in the itty-bitty openings on the surface of your skin called pores.
If these marks are cramping your style, know that there are quite a few different effective methods of unclogging pores. But it all starts with understanding why clogged pores happen in the first place.

Clogged Pores 101: Understanding Your Pores

“Pores is just a very basic term to describe small openings in the skin,” says Ronnie Klein, MD, board-certified dermatologist at Connecticut Dermatology Group and co-founder of Pure Bioderm. There are two types of pores: oil pores and sweat pores, but they both work the same way. Oil and sweat reach your pores from their respective glands below the skin’s surface and are released onto the skin, explains Klein.
Oil pores (more commonly known as hair follicles) exist all over your skin, except for your palms and the soles of your feet, says Klein. Their size is determined by genetics, says Holly Cutler, medical esthetician at FACE Skincare~Medical~Wellness in Michigan—so if you have large pores, thank Mom and Dad for that. Sweat pores also exist all over your skin, but they’re super tiny and not visible to the naked eye the way oil pores are, says Klein.
Both types of pores can become clogged, though. So, what do clogged pores look like? It depends.
When oil pores become clogged, they manifest as either blackheads or whiteheads. “Blackheads and whiteheads are in the same family,” says Klein. A clogged hair follicle (aka, an oil pore) is called a comedone, and when the comedone is open—that is, when the top layer of your skin, your epidermis, is not covering it—it changes color and turns black when it comes into contact with oxygen according to Cutler.
When the comedone is closed, it becomes filled with bacteria and exists beneath your epidermis. “Air isn’t able to enter the follicle,” says Cutler. “The bacteria inside of it doesn’t undergo a chemical reaction, so it stays white in color.” Technically, blackheads and whiteheads are both mild forms of acne.
Meanwhile, when sweat pores become clogged, they appear as tiny white bumps known as milia. These bumps are not the same as whiteheads, however. “Milia looks like a whitehead, but it’s actually more of a cyst,” says Klein, which means they require professional treatment.

What causes clogged pores?

Knowing that your pores can get clogged is one thing, but understanding why is another entirely. Some of the common causes of clogged pores are completely within your control, but others aren’t.

1. You have a predisposition to clogged pores.

Cutler says clogged pores are sometimes the result of genetics. Yep, there are just some people who are likelier to get clogged pores than others. On top of that, Klein says genetics are at work even when it comes to whether you develop blackheads or whiteheads.

2. You have a buildup of dead skin cells.

Your skin is constantly shedding dead skin cells and bringing new ones to the surface, but sometimes the dead cells stick to the skin and pile up. Dead skin cell buildup can also cause clogged pores according to Cutler.

3. You have a surge in hormones.

Excess oil production (and as result, clogged pores) may be due to a surge in hormones, says Cutler. There are certain times—for example, when you go through puberty, when you’re on your period, or when you’re pregnant (let’s call them the three Ps)—during which an uptick in hormones stimulates your sebaceous glands to pump out more oil.
When it comes to your period in particular, a study published in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology reported that monthly hormone fluctuations during your menstrual cycle are likely to contribute to acne flare-ups, with 85 percent of women saying that their breakouts get worse leading up to their periods. Plus, a study published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care examined how pregnancy affects skin, and researchers found that increased oil production in the third trimester leads to acne.

4. You don’t cleanse enough.

Cutler says when you don’t wash your face enough, you allow dead skin cells, dirt, makeup, and anything else on top of your skin to build up, leading to clogged pores. Klein explains that it’s particularly crucial to rinse off post exercise: “Not showering and washing [after] a workout can cause inflammation and clogged pores,” she says.

5. Or, you cleanse too much.

While washing your face is important, you don’t need to go overboard. “A lot of people with acne-prone skin think they need to scrub skin and never moisturize,” says Klein, “but the drier your skin is, the more oil you will produce.” And you know what happens when your sebaceous glands go into overdrive: clogged pores.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends cleansing twice a day (as well as washing your face after heavy sweating).

6. You wear pore-clogging lotions and makeup.

Some beauty products contain ingredients that can cause clogged pores, says Cutler. She says some of the biggest offenders are coconut oil, sodium lauryl sulfate, lanolin, cetyl alcohol, cetyl acetate, and cocoa butter. If you’re noticing clogged pores, check your products for these ingredients.

7. You touch your face all the time.

Think about all the dirt and germs that are on your hands. When you touch your face, you’re transferring whatever’s on your fingers to your face. That gunk can leave you with clogged pores and make your acne worse according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

What are the best ways to fix clogged pores?

Nixing clogged pores—and preventing new ones from forming in the future—is possible with the right skin care routine.

1. Wash your face twice a day.

Since oil, makeup, and dead skin cells can clog your pores when they’re sitting on top of your skin, get into the habit of cleansing morning and night. If you find yourself with blackheads or whiteheads caused by clogged pores regularly, Klein suggests using a cleanser with salicylic acid, a beta hydroxy acid. “A salicylic acid wash is one of the cornerstones of acne treatments,” says Klein. Salicylic acid is a compound found in plants that encourages exfoliation and has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties according to the National Institutes of Health.
You can find salicylic acid derived from willow bark extract in Alba Botanica Acnedote Deep Pore Wash. Cutler notes that you can get a deeper clean by pairing a salicylic acid cleanser with a tool, like the Clarisonic Mia 2 ($169), but she also notes that washing your face with a tool like this every day could be overkill.

2. Cleanse after working out, too.

Headed to the gym before or after work? You don’t have to rely on whatever generic facial cleanser is in the locker room. Remember: Sweat buildup leads to clogged pores, and Klein says you should always wash your face after you’re done at the gym. An easy way to refresh sweaty skin when you’re on the go is with a micellar water, such as Pacifica Cactus Water Micellar Cleansing Tonic.

3. Try an at-home peel.

One of the best ways to say sayonara to pore-clogging dead skin cell buildup is by exfoliating once or twice a week, says Cutler. At-home peels use acids to chemically break down buildup—no scrubbing necessary. “Glycolic paired with salicylic is really great for clogged pores,” says Cutler. “This combo works very effectively to loosen up blackheads.”
A study published in the journal Clinical Therapeutics found that salicylic acid pads effectively reduce acne, while a study published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery found that glycolic acid peels also had a positive effect on curbing breakouts. Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial is a once-a-week chemical exfoliator that features a combination of alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic and lactic) and beta hydroxy acid (salicylic) to blast through dead skin cell buildup, leaving you with clearer pores and brighter skin.

4. Exfoliate with a scrub.

Mechanical exfoliation happens when you rub your skin with a scrub, brush, or other exfoliating tool (like the Clarisonic Mia 2) to physically remove the buildup, and it’s a good option if you have clogged pores. Cutler recommends looking for a scrub that also contains an acid for a one-two punch against clogged pores. One option we love: Tata Harper Resurfacing Cleanser, which is formulated with salicylic acid to chemically exfoliate and apricot seed powder to manually bust through the gunk. While this exfoliating cleanser is gentle enough to use every day, keep in mind that over-scrubbing skin is drying according to Klein.

5. Slather on a clay mask.

There’s a good reason why clay masks are super trendy. Clay absorbs oil and impurities in pores, says Cutler. Wildcare Bee Rosy Clay Mask sops up oil and also eases inflammation, making it a win-win for people with acne-prone skin who deal with clogged pores frequently.

6. Whip up a charcoal mask at home.

One of Cutler’s favorite DIY treatments for clogged pores is a charcoal clay mask. “Charcoal is so popular right now,” says Cutler, adding that like clay, charcoal absorbs pore-clogging impurities.
Mix together 1 Tbsp. activated charcoal powder, ½ Tbps. bentonite clay, and ¼ Tbps. water, apply the mask to your face, and leave it on for five minutes before rinsing off. Leaving this mask on for more than five minutes could be drying, says Cutler, so watch the clock.

7. Spot treat with benzoyl peroxide.

Another gold standard in getting rid of clogged pores is benzoyl peroxide, an antibacterial ingredient, says Klein. For a study published in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, participants applied a 5.3 percent benzoyl peroxide foam to their faces, chests, upper backs, and shoulders twice a day for a month and experienced significantly clearer skin.
Klein says benzoyl peroxide is drying, so don’t use it every day, don’t use it in conjunction with other strong acne-fighting ingredients, and be vigilant about moisturizing. Kate Somerville Anti Bac Clearing Lotion is formulated with benzoyl peroxide as well as ingredients that prevent excessive dryness.

8. Add a retinoid to your routine.

Retinoid is a derivative of vitamin A, and it has the ability to minimize the size of sebaceous glands and curb the excess oil production that can lead to clogged pores, says Klein. A study published in the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta calls retinoids (whether taken orally or applied topically) “the most effective and first choice for acne treatment.”
While retinoids used to be available by prescription only, there is now an OTC version: Differin Gel. Retinoids leave you sensitive to the sun, so only use them at night (and follow up with dedicated SPF in the morning), says Klein. They’re also drying, so start by only using a pea-sized amount of retinoid two or three nights a week and gradually work your way up to nightly use, Klein adds.
One note: The FDA warns that oral retinoids (like Accutane) come with a host of serious side effects, including the risk of birth defects if you’re pregnant. Because of this, any female patient who’s prescribed an oral retinoid by their doctor needs to enroll in iPledge, a mandatory risk management program. While on an oral retinoid, you’ll have to use two forms of birth control to prevent pregnancy.

9. Make moisturizing a priority.

You might be sensing a theme here: The majority of remedies for clogged pores are drying. That means moisturizing is a must. But don’t just reach for any lotion. Use one that’s oil-free, says Klein, since this won’t clog your pores further. Juice Beauty SPF 30 Oil-Free Moisturizer fits the bill, offering physical sun protection with zinc oxide and lightweight hydration with aloe and hyaluronic acid.

10. Switch to non-comedogenic makeup.

Check your makeup labels for the term non-comedogenic, says Klein, because this means they should be free of pore-clogging ingredients. However, Cutler points out that this isn’t a fail-safe remedy for clogged pores. She explains that there’s no agency regulating whether or not products are actually non-comedogenic, so a brand could feasibly say that their products are non-comedogenic without that actually being the case. Unfortunately, the only way to find out if something is truly non-comedogenic is to test it out and see how your skin reacts.

11. Visit a professional.

If you suspect you have milia, the only way to get rid of this type of clogged pore is with the help of a dermatologist, says Klein. Per a study published in the journal Oncology Letters, milia can be removed with a professional extracting tool.
A professional, whether that’s a derm or esthetician, may have in-office treatment options that can alleviate blackheads and whiteheads, too. Cutler has seen results when using Dermalinfusion on patients. This treatment exfoliates dead skin cells, extracts dirt from pores, and infuses skin with serums all via a handheld tool with an exfoliating diamond tip.
Whatever option you choose to fix your clogged pores, consistency is key according to both experts we spoke to. So, while dealing with clogged pores and the acne they bring isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, it’s important to carve out time to address your clogged pores. Cheers to clearer skin ahead!

Shop Featured Products:

Tags Commerce, search

Mindful Parenting Motherhood

5 Reasons Your Child Isn't Listening To You (And How To Fix It)

Post author By Mary Sauer
Post date May 30, 2018

Some days, I feel like I’m talking to the wall.
I’ve got really sweet kids who seem to have a genuine interest in doing what is right. They’re still kids, though, and all three of them have trouble listening on a daily basis.
Repeating myself is exhausting, and it’s easy to find myself angry or even hurt when I can’t get their attention. I still don’t completely understand why their thoughts scatter just as we’re trying to safely cross a parking lot or get out the door for the day, but knowing it’s actually normal has helped me keep my frustration at bay.
Yep, sorry to tell you, mamas, but when your kids have trouble listening or even push back against direction, that isn’t just typical—it’s developmentally appropriate. Selective hearing is a huge part of growing up.

Here’s Exactly Why Your Kid Doesn’t Listen

First things first, we’ve got to be honest about how humans tend to behave. All humans, no matter their age, have a tendency to retaliate when they’re being pushed to behave or think a certain way. This often shows up in kids: They resist if they’re not on board with the directions they’re being given.
And, as much as we parents might find ourselves wishing our kids would just grow up already, children mature and develop at their own pace. For instance, until a child turns 3, it is totally normal to only be able to follow two-step directions. It isn’t until a child is between 4 and 5 years old that they are able to understand directions that include multiple steps.
Although it is usually true that having a hard time listening is all a part of being a kid, there are a few signs that something bigger is going on that you may want to address. Parents of kids who don’t meet their developmental milestones—specifically those who have more extreme listening and comprehension difficulties—might want them to be evaluated for an auditory processing disorder.

Five Ways You Might Be Making It Worse

Mistake #1: Saying Too Much

Kids, especially younger kids, need clear and concise directions. Saying too much might overwhelm them or confuse them, so keep it short and sweet when you are trying to get your point across.

Mistake #2: Expecting Too Much

Remember those milestones we touched on above? Expecting your child to handle more than what’s developmentally appropriate only creates frustration for the parent and the child. Keep your expectations realistic, stick with small tasks, and help your little one listen with reminders if needed.

Mistake #3: Expecting Obedience, Not Cooperation

We all want our kids to obey, but blind obedience isn’t the ultimate goal. We want to raise kids who can think for themselves. Instead of asking your kid to “just do as I say,” offer explanations when possible and provide them with intentionally selected choices so they can maintain their sense of independence.

Mistake #4: Getting Emotional

When kids get amped up, they simply can’t think straight. It helps when parents can stay calm, so take a break if you feel your anger running away with you. In his book, No Drama Discipline, Dan Siegel, MD, suggests using connection (like physical affection) to help kids calm down before offering further instructions.

Mistake #5: Ignoring Distractions

It’s hard to focus when you’re distracted! Keep this in mind when talking to your kids. Help them focus by adjusting their environment or even taking them to a quiet location before you try to talk with them about something important.
Remember these principles and slowly begin to weave them into your everyday life as a parent. When things don’t go well, you might get frustrated. But no parent is perfect, and that’s okay! Just be sure to model humility by apologizing before you start fresh.

Tags organic

Health x Body Wellbeing

Less Noticeable Signs That Could Mean It's Time To See The Dermatologist

Post author By Michael Taylor
Post date May 30, 2018

While dermatologists provide a vital and well-recognized medical resource, many of us have too limited a view on the full range of their expertise.
Dermatologists are most associated with treating acne and skin cancer, but they can also treat and identify a host of other medical issues.

They’re also who we turn to when we wish to combat signs of aging with a variety of procedures and treatments to leave our skin more supple and taut and keep us looking our best. More importantly, however, they serve as the first line of defense in the battle against skin cancer, often picking up on crucial warning signs that could prove fatal if left undetected.
And for those suffering from painful and chronic skin conditions like psoriasis or eczema, they can offer much-needed relief through a variety of treatments.

But this is merely a portion of the important services a dermatologist can provide. They can also help identify other serious medical conditions, offering a variety of treatment methods to improve our overall health.
[pullquote align=”center”]“Skin and its various presentations can often offer us a unique insight into overall health.”
—Joel Schlessinger, MD[/pullquote]
So let’s look at several symptoms, what they could mean, and how a dermatologist can help. As always, knowledge is power, and a trained professional can help alleviate anxiety by providing a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.

Rashes and Bumps

An unsightly and uncomfortable rash can persist for a multitude of reasons, and board-certified dermatologist Joel Schlessinger, MD, says it is always important to find out the root cause.
“A rash could be caused by a new medication or it could be an indicator of a serious internal infection,” he states. “If a person’s skin is showing evidence of a significant internal problem, it is rarely the only symptom they are experiencing. Asking questions to gauge a patient’s overall health is crucial in diagnosing another condition.”

Rashes can also be the first signs of an autoimmune disorder. For instance, a butterfly-shaped rash on the face may signify that a patient is suffering from lupus. It’s important to note that lupus can also cause rashes on other areas of the body, as well as lesions that can erupt after sun exposure.
If a dermatologist suspects a patient has lupus, they’ll conduct a skin biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. Given the wide-ranging health impacts lupus can cause, a dermatologist will also refer patients to primary care physicians and specialists to offer a full course of therapy.

As far as dealing with the rash itself, dermatologists can help reduce skin inflammation with corticosteroids (either by ointment, pill, or injections) and provide recommendations for sun protection and skincare products.
Facial rashes marked by a bright red appearance, red bumps (and sometimes eye problems or even enlarged nose) may mark the presence of another condition known as rosacea.

“ma’am why are you blushing so much?”
me: “I have rosacea”

— shelby reddy (@shelburttt) May 27, 2018

Often affecting middle-aged women (although it can occur in any age group), rosacea is also hallmarked by a tenderness to the touch. Dermatologists can help treat it with a variety of methods, including topical ointments such as brimonidine, a gel which helps reduce redness, or azelaic acid and metronidazole.
For more extreme symptoms, antibiotics like doxycycline can help reduce bumps and inflammation, and for the most severe cases, the oral medication isotretinoin has proven effective.
In addition, a dermatologist can also address a variety of factors that can trigger rosacea (including, but not limited to, climate, stress, and diet) to help reduce recurrences.

Scaly Skin

“Scaly skin could mean diabetes,” Schlessinger says. “The patches of discoloration on skin that can sometimes accompany diabetes, for example, can occasionally be mistaken for dark spots caused by sun damage.”
He adds that these rough patches can often appear as “velvety-dark skin with bumps on the neck and underarms,” which “can signify the beginnings of diabetes or a potential concern for it in the future.”

Schlessinger notes that early detection is key to “observe and act upon as there is usually time to change sugar intake before [type 2] diabetes occurs.” The next stop would be a trip to the family physician for further diabetes diagnosis.
Other non-skin cancer causes for scaly skin could be eczema, psoriasis, ringworm, or hyperthyroidism to name but a few. Because of this, Schlessinger says a proper diagnosis is key: “It’s important to note that many skin conditions can mimic others, and appearance alone is rarely indicative of the exact problem at hand.”

Itchiness

We’ve all had annoying itches from time to time, be it a bug bite, a reaction to medication or chemicals, or an allergic reaction to food or the environment. But Schlessinger says itchy skin could also note another medical issue: vitamin D deficiency.

“It is not at all uncommon for me to see a patient who itches all over because of a low vitamin D level,” he states, saying the phenoments is often seasonal, and “happens more frequently in the winter and can lead to many symptoms, ranging from low energy to hair loss.”
He adds that a lack of vitamin D can also be observed via bumps on the back and chest. The good news is that vitamin D deficiency is easy to treat—your doctor may suggest supplements or dietary changes. Limited time in direct sunlight can also prove beneficial.

Good for you Beth! I’m with you, #Psoriasis is a nightmare, so itchy especially in the heat. Vitamin D is so good for your skin, and there surely can’t be anything nicer than a paddle in the sea on a hot day! Ahhh! ☺💦☀😎

— New Macdonalds Farm (@MatthewAndLou) May 20, 2018

Like scaly skin or rashes, it’s important to point out that itchiness can be attributed to other conditions, including dermatitis, psoriasis, and eczema. But having low levels of vitamin D is often linked with those skin issues as well, which makes it important to regulate. It can even be a symptom of diabetes as well.
But taking too much vitamin D may actually cause itching, according to a 2011 study. And a separate 2013 study by the Brazilian Society of Dermatology states that while vitamin D used to treat atopic dermatitis shows optimistic results, “future studies should investigate the optimal levels of vitamin D necessary to maintain cutaneous health.”

Hair Loss

When one has hair or nail issues, a dermatologist’s care may not immediately come to mind, but it’s important to note that both are made of the protein keratin and therefore fall under the dermatological umbrella in terms of treatment.
And they can be helpful in diagnosing the cause of hair loss, which, in addition to men, affects women for a number of reasons.

“Hair thinning and hair problems can be devastating especially for women,” Tess Mauricio, MD, fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, says. “…When evaluating patients with hair problems, we take a full medical history and examine the scalp, skin, and even nails!”
She adds that there are various causes for women’s hair loss, including hormonal issues and pregnancy; and that “recent illness or emotional stress can cause hair shedding and hair thinning and a condition called telogen effluvium.”

As far as treating hair loss, Mauricio says there are a variety of methods, from the use of Minoxidil to “low level lasers, oral supplements and platelet rich plasma can help.” Stress relief and hormone replacement therapies can also prove beneficial.

Nail Changes

In addition to being associated with hair loss, Schlessinger says fingernails should also be monitored to reveal other health conditions: “Nails’ appearance can be a sign of various conditions and is important to recognize. Yellow nails, for example, can signify a bronchial infection or the beginning of psoriasis (even without any other skin changes).”

“Clubbing, where the nail curves over the edge and the pad of the finger enlarges or swells, can be a sign of heart or lung disease,” he says. “Lines with a slight indentation can indicate a shock to the system, such as poor nutrition or a form of nail shock from chemotherapy treatments.”
In addition to the aforementioned causes, the appearance of your fingernails can identify a host of other conditions. Pale nails for example, are a sign of anemia, while white nails can signify hepatitis. These are a just a few examples—your dermatologist can identify the proper cause.

And sometimes a yellowish nail signifies a fungal infection of the nail itself. Dermatologists can treat that issue with antifungals and antibiotics, along with self care regimens, including warm compresses and hot water soaks.

Be kind to the skin you’re in.

It’s important when reviewing these symptoms to remember that just because you’re exhibiting any symptoms on this list, you may not have any of the conditions we’ve listed. Everyone’s skin is different, and some are more sensitive and reactive than others. “Skin and its various presentations can often offer us a unique insight into overall health,” Schlessinger states.
Not only that, but skin changes over time—and as we age, we can all expect the occasional odd blemish, or bump. They’re often not serious (like benign cysts or seborrheic keratosis), and most are easily treatable.
But if you’re concerned, or just curious about a skin condition you’re currently experiencing, it’s best to save yourself the stress of self-diagnosing your symptoms on WebMD and get a professional opinion instead.

webmd says i have either the common flu or throat cancer

— isabella ♥️ (@isaaabellaferre) May 27, 2018

And while we’ve stated our intent of this piece was to focus on non-skin cancer related issues, we can’t stress the importance of regular skin checks by your doctor. If you’re looking for info on possible skin cancer symptoms that all women should know about, our recent article can help.

Just remember that keeping your skin in good shape has more than superficial benefits. They say it’s the inside that counts, and our skin can tell us a lot about our entire body. By taking care of our outer appearance, we can improve our overall health as well.

Tags social

Health x Body Wellbeing

Why Toxic Shock Should Not Be Taken Lightly

Post author By Mary Sauer
Post date May 30, 2018

At 24 years old, model Lauren Wasser faced an unimaginable nightmare.
After an infection wreaked havoc on her body, causing multiple organ failure, she learned she would need to have her right leg amputated. This infection almost took her life when it triggered a scary condition known as toxic shock syndrome.
Over five years later, Wasser is speaking publicly about her experience. She’s educating others about toxic shock syndrome by talking about her daily pain and the decision to amputate her second leg.

Wasser’s story is significant, brave, and valuable not only because she survived the ordeal, but also because it has brought attention to a serious condition that hasn’t been in the spotlight lately.
For many adult women, toxic shock syndrome is something they haven’t heard much about for some time. Seeing this condition in the headlines again likely takes us back to our preteen years, when we first unfolded the educational pamphlet in our first box of tampons.

For some, it seems almost like a myth. We’ve all heard about it—maybe our mothers or aunts or health teachers warned us of the risk. However, because the condition is so rare, few people actually know someone who has experienced this devastating medical emergency.
It isn’t a myth, of course. Toxic shock syndrome is a life-threatening condition, and it should not be taken lightly.

What is toxic shock syndrome?

Toxic shock syndrome begins with a bacterial infection. This infection is most commonly caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, or staph. Less commonly, toxic shock syndrome can be caused by the group A streptococcus, or strep, bacteria. When there is an overgrowth of these bacteria, they release toxins that can cause “an immediate, exaggerated immune response,” per The Washington Post. This response can lead to “shock and massive tissue destruction, and possibly even death.”
The public largely associates toxic shock syndrome with the use of tampons. This is true in Wasser’s case—tampons were blamed for causing the infection and eventually toxic shock syndrome. This resulted in litigation between Wasser and tampon producer Kotex.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, tampons were a major cause of toxic shock syndrome. Manufacturers were producing highly-absorbent, synthetic tampons, and this led to a spike in deaths among women. One of the biggest culprits was a tampon designed by Procter & Gamble known as Rely, which expanded after placement and turned out to be incredibly dangerous.
However, tampons are no longer widely blamed for toxic shock syndrome, says Amesh Adalja, MD, a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. In fact, only half of the reported cases of toxic shock syndrome are associated with tampons.

The most common cause of this condition is a staph infection, regardless of whether the infection was caused by a feminine hygiene product. Any staph infection contracted after a surgery or inside a wound puts women, men, and children at risk for developing toxic shock syndrome.
Toxic shock syndrome can also be caused by the aforementioned group A strep bacteria. Some women may already have this bacteria, sometimes a misdiagnosed cause of vaginitis, without realizing it. Women who have had cesarean sections or other gynecological procedures are also at risk, according to Courtney Martin, DO, attending physician in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. Additionally, pregnant women in their third trimester are also at risk of developing group A strep-related toxic shock syndrome, as are their infants.

“Group A strep is an important cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, as well as infant morbidity and mortality,” she says.
Group A strep-related toxic shock syndrome is rare but devastating. During the third trimester, toxic shock syndrome caused by group A strep can be fatal for both mother and child, according to Martin.

What are the symptoms of toxic shock syndrome?

The symptoms of toxic shock syndrome may begin as any other infection according to Adalja, who points to fever and chills as common symptoms. Other symptoms can include nausea, abdominal pain, achy muscles, confusion, seizures, and headaches. You may also develop redness around your eyes or a rash on your hands and feet, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Some people feel like they have the flu—general weakness, fatigue, fevers, chills,” says Martin. “In the gynecologic world, this could present like the flu with severe pelvic pain, uterine cramping, bad-smelling vaginal discharge, et cetera.”

Toxic shock syndrome can quickly turn a typical infection into a health emergency. As the toxin starts to make its way through the body, multiple organ failure can result.
“What ends up happening that distinguishes toxic shock syndrome from other infections is that it really starts to involve multiple organ systems and causes them to fail,” Adalja explains. “You may have kidney failure, you may have low blood pressure.”

Adalja gives the hypothetical example of a patient who has surgery and contracts a wound infection. The symptoms begin as localized pain, redness, and drainage. Then, usually rapidly, the patient takes a turn for the worse.
“As the infection progresses and the toxin builds up, it will start to cause all of these other symptoms in other organ systems,” he says.

Treating Toxic Shock Syndrome

It is important that treatment of toxic shock syndrome is rapid, addressing the source of the toxin as quickly as possible to minimize the damage to the body. Delayed treatment of toxic shock syndrome can result in renal and liver failure. Untreated toxic shock syndrome can be fatal.
The course of treatment depends on the source of the infection, but all treatments have the same goals: to find the source of the infection and to eliminate it as quickly as possible.

“The general rule with any infectious diseases is that you have to control the source,” says Adalja. “Obviously, if there is a retained tampon, you have to take it out.”
If the source of the infection is a wound, treatment may include another surgery. Surgeons will clean the infected wound, doing whatever it takes to rid the body of the bacteria releasing the toxin.
Additionally, patients with toxic shock syndrome are typically treated with antibiotics. Antibody therapy, intended to trigger an immune response in the body by attaching antibodies made in a laboratory to the cells of the toxin, is sometimes used in combination with antibiotics, Adalja says.

Because of the severity of toxic shock syndrome and its widespread devastation in the body, patients are usually treated in the intensive care unit, says Adalja. This allows doctors to not only attack the toxic shock syndrome but also provide supportive care targeted at affected systems and organs.

“Suppose the toxic shock syndrome has caused respiratory failure, you might need a mechanical ventilator,” explains Adalja. “You’re going to need intravenous fluids.”

Preventing Toxic Shock Syndrome

In many cases, prevention of this scary medical condition is possible. Learning to prevent toxic shock syndrome depends on an understanding of the specific risks associated with the condition.

Preventing toxic shock syndrome caused by menstrual products requires avoiding highly absorbent products and avoiding extended use, according to Adalja. WebMD advises women to wash their hands before inserting or removing tampons, to change their tampons every four to six hours (or more frequently, depending on flow), to only use tampons during periods, and to store tampons in cool, dry places. Women should also wear pads on light flow days.

Women in the third trimester and newly postpartum mothers need to know the symptoms and watch carefully for them, says Martin.
“Make sure to have close follow-ups with your OB-GYN during your pregnancy and especially after delivery,” she says, emphasizing prompt medical attention. “Waiting even hours can cost a life. If you have any abnormal symptoms after you deliver, you must call your OB or go to labor and delivery.”

Prevention of toxic shock syndrome related to a wound infection begins with proper wound care. If you have a wound, you should carefully comply with doctor recommendations and watch carefully for symptoms. If you notice redness or hotness surrounding your wound, drainage, or you develop a fever, follow up with your doctor promptly. Waiting for symptoms to worsen could be incredibly dangerous or deadly.

Healthy Living, Without Fear

Toxic shock syndrome is a scary condition that can rob someone of their health—and possibly end their life. In Wasser’s case, it took both her legs. That being said, it is not common enough to justify living in fear of the condition.

“Although it gets a lot of headlines, it’s somewhat rare,” says Adalja. “It’s important to remember that the incidence has dropped over time.”
This drop is largely associated with changes to the way tampons are manufactured, something that was legislated after the rise in toxic shock syndrome among women in the 1980s. This means that women can choose to use tampons without fear and that women who are already using tampons don’t need to ditch them altogether.

Instead, women can be empowered to make confident choices about their menstrual health. When women understand the risk factors communicated by medical professionals and advocated by women like Wasser, they can take steps to prevent this frightening condition. When you are diligent about using tampons for short periods of time, you can rest easy knowing you are living a healthy life.

Tags social

Fresh Fashion Lifestyle

6 Trends We Never Thought We'd See Again (And How To Rock Them In 2018)

Post author By Lauren Bondi
Post date May 30, 2018

The year may be 2018, but a glance at current fashion almost suggests otherwise. Love ’em or hate ’em, old trends are new again. Though we usually advocate for donating what you no longer use, it’s time to raid those bags of old clothes you’ve been hiding in your attic.
Fortunately for those of us who would rather keep our high school fashion faux pas in the past, there are plenty of new ways to style these old trends. On the other hand, if you’re loving this blast from the past, get excited.
We’ve picked out the cutest pieces from brands that are eco-friendly and socially responsible; sustainability is the trendiest way to take it back to the ’80s and ’90s.

Stirrup Pants (and Leggings!)

These pants were first introduced in the 1920s as a crucial addition to horse-riding attire and were later embraced by Olympic skiers. It was enough of a shock when the Jane Fonda-inspired fitness craze of the ’80s brought them back in a major way.
Though they were thrown into a corner and long forgotten, stirrup pants are officially making their comeback. From the likes of fashion blogger Pernille Teisbaek to the runway at Balenciaga, we’ve seen the style steadily pick up speed since late 2016.
The modern version of stirrups are edgy and chic; this style is one you’ll be itching to have in your wardrobe.
Wondering how to style the trend you probably rocked in preschool?
Try these full-length Show Off leggings from Alo ($98). The stirrup strap is pure ’80s fun, but the mesh brings it up to date. For something a little more work-appropriate, try & Other Stories’ trouser-style stirrups ($85). (Pro tip: This time the strap goes over your heels.)

Giant Logo Tees

We’re taking it back to the halcyon days of the ’90s when you could wear obnoxiously branded gear without being labeled a sell-out. From Calvin Klein to Tommy Hilfiger, giant logos were everywhere—and, somehow, people hadn’t gotten sick of them yet. They went into hiding for a while, but the ragged tops we grew up wearing are now considered the perfect balance of vintage and chic for this year’s look.
[related article_ids=1006771]
Take it back a couple decades by grabbing a vintage adidas shirt off eBay. Or make it a little more au courant with Outdoor Voices’ neon take on the trend ($35). From the gym to girls’ night out, you truly can’t go wrong.
We’re excited to see how more major brands decide to play around with their logos. Big and bold, baby.

Vintage Denim

Ready for a chance to pull out those mom jeans and escape your routine pair of painted-on skinnies? This vintage wave has its perks. Crafted in every possible cut, rise, and fit, these retro-looking jeans are flattering on every body type.
That’s right, we’re welcoming back no-stretch, 100-percent-cotton denim. What’s more timeless than the tried and true Original Levi 501s? Shorts, jeans, overalls, jackets…it’s open season. From wardrobes boasting boho chic styling to those that are perfectly prim, there’s an option for every gal.
A super eco-friendly option is Everlane’s modern boyfriend jean ($68), which is made of Japanese denim at a factory in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. Everlane partners with ethical factories around the world, and you can read more about the factory where these jeans were made on Everlane’s website. We love it in the light blue wash paired with a crisp blazer, like this one ($175) from Grana, a socially responsible favorite.

Wide-Leg Trousers

They’ve been saying skinnies are dead for years, but we haven’t seen the evidence. That said, wide legs are managing to hang on for yet another year, and we love the way we can play with new silhouettes in 2018: cropped, high-waisted, or even paper bag-esque.
Whether you’re tucked in an office or meandering the farmers market, pair Reformation’s Saylor pant ($178) with a tucked-in breezy blouse for a summer outfit that’s sure to turn heads.

Embroidered Everything

Most commonly worn as formal wear during the ’60s and ’70s, embroidery has since been left for our grandmothers’ closets. Well, until this year. Even Louis Vuitton spruced up their silk coats with meticulous needlework. What’s not to love? That level of attention to detail has us wanting to reach for our wallets.
Flower power goes comfy with Amour Vert’s Marie sweatshirt ($88) that’s perfect for gloomy days. When the occasion to be formal arises, embroidered dresses like this open-back maxi from British eco-fave Needle & Thread ($293) have us (im)patiently waiting for summer to roll around.

Hoop Earrings

Here’s a trend we can all get behind. Although hoop earrings never fully went out of style, 2018 is promising their return to center stage. Popular throughout the decades, this design is one of the oldest pieces of jewelry dating back to even the earliest civilizations.
We can assure you that no matter what your style is, there’s a hoop made just for you. For a sophisticated twist, pick up the triple hoop earrings from ethical fashion pioneer Soko ($60). If you’re more into silver, the Legacy hoops by ABLE ($64) were made by hand in Nashville. We’re loving them paired with a low bun and a bold lip.

Tags Commerce, organic

Conscious Beauty Lifestyle

What Does Toner Do? All Your Questions About Toner, Answered

Post author By Kelly Burch
Post date May 30, 2018

Each morning and evening you cleanse your face and apply a moisturizer (right?). In the quest for clean, even, and firm skin, those steps have long been thought of as the essentials. But now, thanks to the popularity of the 10-step Korean skincare routine and more skincare companies at Sephora than we know what to do with, skincare junkies are finding more and more products we consider essential, like toner. Beauty experts extol the virtues of toner, but how many of us actually know what it does?
Learning about a new beauty product can be overwhelming, particularly if you’ve already got a skincare routine that you love. Plus, who has the time to understand a new product when you’re scrambling just to find a few minutes to yourself in the morning and evening to wash your face? But set your doubts aside: Once you understand what toner does, you’ll want to incorporate it into your routine.
We spoke to beauty experts and skincare scientists to answer all of your questions about facial toner. We got the answers on who should use it, when it should be applied, and that essential question: What does toner do?
Here’s everything you need to know about this crucial boost to your skincare routine.

What does toner do?

According to Clara Song of Catherine Jinn, a Korean skincare line that aims to bring together Eastern and Western approaches to skincare, facial toner is meant to cleanse your face and prepare your skin for the application of the serums and creams that follow in your skincare routine.
Toner should be applied after you wash your face to remove any leftover debris or dirt from the skin, giving you the perfect clean canvas to apply the rest of your skincare essentials.
Song says many people think they can skip facial toner, but using it really helps enhance a skincare routine.
“It’s easy to think cleaning the skin with a cleanser is enough, but this added step of toner can be an important step in keeping the skin clean without damaging it,” she says.
According to Charlotte Cho, esthetician and founder of Soko Glam and The Klog, a good toner should leave your skin feeling clean and hydrated. After you apply toner, your skin should feel soft and supple, she writes at The Klog, not tight or dry.

What is in facial toner?

Traditionally, toners were made from astringent ingredients that were meant to cause the skin to contract or tighten according to David Pollock, a chemist who has worked on many skincare products and consults in the beauty industry. Most toners were made using an alcohol or witch hazel base, which sometimes stung when they were applied to skin. These products gave toner a bad reputation as a product that would leave your skin stinging, red, or tight: not exactly what you want as part of your beauty routine.
Modern toners, however, are very different.
“Quality toner usually doesn’t contain ingredients like alcohol, which dry out and can even strip the skin of its nutrients,” Song tells HealthyWay.
Rather than assaulting your skin, modern toners are packed with antioxidants, nutrition, and hydrating materials that leave your skin feeling great, according to Rhonda Q. Klein, MD, a dermatologist practicing with the Connecticut Dermatology Group and a former assistant professor of dermatology at Yale University.
“A toner is a fast-penetrating liquid that removes dead skin cells off the surface of the skin leaving plump refreshed skin,” she tells us. “They are primers for the rest of your serums and moisturizers.”
Today, toners are formulated to fit a number of skincare needs from delivering powerful hydration to shrinking your pores and even reducing acne, Klein says.

What does toner do to balance pH?

In the past, facial toner was used to balance the pH level of your skin after it was cleansed.
In case you need a quick refresher on Chemistry 101: pH indicates how alkaline or acidic something is. It’s measured on a scale of 1 to 14, with water—which is neither acidic or alkaline—falling right in the middle with a measurement of 7. Anything with a higher pH is considered alkaline, while anything with a lower pH is considered acidic.
What does all this science have to do with skincare? Well, your skin is naturally acidic with an average pH of 4.7 according to a 2006 study published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science. The acidity of your skin helps it it stay healthy and keeps bacteria at bay.
“pH balance is important because if it becomes unbalanced, the skin weakens and is more susceptible to bacteria and infections,” Song explains.
So, what does toner do to balance pH? In the past, most cleansers were very alkaline according to Pollock. Because cleaners were alkaline, toner was promoted as a way to restore the proper (acidic) pH of your skin. However, with advancements in the formulation of cleansers, it’s become less necessary to use a toner purely to reset the pH level of skin.
“Multi-purpose cleansers started to do more and be more closely pH-balanced for the skin,” Pollock says. “For the past 15 or 20 years, I have had very few clients interested in launching any type of toner.”

Where does toner fit into Korean skincare?

If toners had gone out of fashion, why are so many people talking about what toner does in 2018? The answer: Korean skincare.
“With today’s K-beauty invasion, toners are coming back into popularity,” says Pollock.
Whereas Americans tend to emphasize makeup products that can make your skin look fantastic, a Korean skincare routine emphasizes having skin that looks healthy, even, and glowing without additional products. Women who follow Korean beauty regimens aim to achieve this using a 10-step skincare routine that involves—you guessed it—facial toner.
According to Cho, Koreans embrace toner as a way to get the most out of the rest of their skincare routine. She uses the analogy of a sponge: If the sponge is completely dried out, it won’t absorb much of the liquid it comes into contact with. However, if it’s slightly damp, it will absorb liquid much more quickly.
Your skin works the same way, she explains. If it is dried out after cleansing, you won’t get as much out of the serums and creams that you put on afterward. Toner, she says, provides the hydration and nutrients that leave your skin ready to take all it can from the rest of the products in your beauty routine.

What does toner do for people with oily skin? Should everyone be using it?

With all this talk of hydration, you might wonder if you can still benefit from using toner if you have oily skin. Good news: You absolutely can.
Cho points out that hydration has to do with the amount of water in your skin, not the amount of oil. Although having skin that feels dry might make you feel like you’ve temporarily defeated your oily skin, it’s not actually addressing the problem. In fact, Cho says that almost every client she sees could benefit from more hydration, whether their skin type presents as dry or oily.
Modern toners are formulated to address a variety of skin issues, so the key is finding one that works for you.
With the right product, Klein says anyone can benefit from using a toner. “If you feel that your skin care regimen is lacking and that your skin is not optimized, adding on a toner is the perfect primer for the rest of your skin care routine,” she says.
Here are toners that the pros recommend for specific skin types:

If you have oily skin, try Fresh Umbrian Clay Purifying Facial Toner ($35).
- This toner gives you the same hydrated but clean feeling that you would experience after wearing a clay mask, without the time investment.
If you have dry skin, try Galactomyces Alcohol-Free Toner ($16).
- This toner has a secret weapon: fermented ingredients that will leave your skin looking smooth and balanced. Korean skincare enthusiasts often use products with fermented ingredients, and this toner is a great way to get started.
If you have combination skin, try Son & Park Beauty Water ($30).
- This toner is designed to cleanse without drying, making it perfect for people who experienced localized breakouts. With lavender and rosewater, it will soothe your skin and leave you feeling energized.
If you have sensitive skin, try Kenzoki Fresh Lotus Water ($29).
- This misting toner is the perfect choice for women who want something gentle. You’ll feel refreshed and clean no matter when you apply it.
If you’re feeling puffy, red, or dry, try Darphin Intral Toner With Chamomile ($54).
- No one likes when their face feels inflamed. The chamomile will calm irritation and is ideal for a variety of skin types.

Shop Featured Products:

When considering a toner, Klein recommends taking a quick look at the ingredients to determine whether the toner will fit your needs. For instance, rosewater is hydrating and clarifying, while chamomile is calming and soothing. People who are dealing with acne might benefit from an alcohol-based toner, but most everyone else should stick to a water-based formulation, she says.
There are also some ingredients to avoid, depending on your skin type.
“If you have dry or sensitive skin, avoid alcohol, retinols, glycolic, or benzoyl peroxide toners,” Klein says. “If you are oily or acne-prone, avoid toners with vitamin E and other essential oils.”

How do I incorporate toner into my beauty routine?

Toner should be either the second or third step in your skincare routine.
In most cases, you should apply your facial toner directly after cleansing in the morning and the evening.
“You want to tone within one minute of washing your face so that the nutrients are absorbed best,” Klein says.
The only time you should wait to apply your toner is if you are exfoliating after cleansing. Apply your toner after that step; otherwise, it will be washed away when you wash off your exfoliator.
Some people prefer to apply the toner directly using their hands, but if you do that, you want to make sure that your hands are very clean. If not, you run the risk of introducing more debris onto your skin.
“Our hands are not clean either, so rubbing them on our face sort of defeats the purpose of cleaning it,” Song says. She recommends using a cotton pad to gently wipe or pat the skin with toner, without aggressively rubbing it in.
There are many gentle options for toners, so if you find that your skin is irritated, try switching products. If it still feel like too much, try using toner just once a day. Song recommends using it at night in this case, to be sure that your face is especially clean after a long day in order to prevent issues.
“Not having properly cleansed skin can lead to acne and breakouts,” she says.

Can I make a DIY facial toner?

The products listed above are a great way to get started with incorporating facial toner into your beauty routine. However, if you want to try a DIY toner, that’s possible as well.
Witch hazel is readily available and can be applied to the skin directly or diluted with water to make a witch hazel toner.
If you’re looking for a toner that is a bit more gentle, Pollock recommends steeping rose petals in water and adding a bit of glycerin, a natural, non-toxic hydrating compound made from vegetable fat that can boost your collagen levels. You can find glycerin at your local drug store.
Another popular DIY option is creating a green tea toner, which Klein recommends. This is super easy: Brew a cup of green tea, letting it steep for three to five minutes. After the liquid has cooled, you can apply it directly to your face. Be sure to store any DIY toners in airtight containers in the fridge when they’re not in use.
You might have heard of using lemon to make your own DIY toner, but experts don’t recommend this. Lemon is very acidic and can disrupt the pH balance of your skin. Plus, it can leave you exposed to sunburn.
You may not have grown up using facial toner as part of your beauty routine, but adjusting your skincare regimen to fit toner in can be a simple step toward healthier skin.
[related article_ids=1001303]

Tags Commerce, search

Mom x Body Motherhood

The Signs Of Miscarriage Women May (Or May Not) Notice

Post author By Jeanne Sager
Post date May 29, 2018

The day Bobbi Daniels learned she’d had a miscarriage, she felt like she’d failed. “After seeing my baby’s heartbeat three days before, I laid on a table as the tech searched and searched for a viable baby,” the mom from Camden County, New Jersey tells HealthyWay. “I had lost my baby, had failed another [IVF] cycle, and was $35,000 deep into the process.”
Daniels was seven weeks pregnant at the time, carrying a little boy she’d conceived thanks to in vitro fertilization (IVF) after doctors said she had just a 10 percent chance of ever getting pregnant without intervention. Noah is the name she’d given the boy.
Miscarriage is difficult. It’s confusing. It’s heartbreaking.
It’s not, however, a failure on the part of a mom-to-be. In fact, doctors say the signs of miscarriage can be so similar to your period that some women who miscarry in the very early stages of pregnancy never even know they were pregnant—let alone that they’ve miscarried.
Daniels, on the other hand, had a confirmed pregnancy. She knew she had been pregnant, and she knew she had lost the baby she and her husband were so excited to welcome into their family.
“I knew in my heart I had lost Noah,” she recalls. “The morning I was going for my scan and found out I had lost Noah, I was going through the list of podcasts to listen to. It sounds ridiculous, but for a quick second I had the thought ‘I don’t want to start a new podcast because I’ll never be able to listen to it if I lost this baby.’ After I had the scan, the doctor recommended a D&C to make sure everything was cleaned out and to speed the process up of bleeding.” (A D&C, or dilation and curettage, is the surgical procedure of clearing out the contents of the uterus.)
“There are no words to explain the pain of walking into a hospital still carrying your child [and] to leave hours later with no baby,” Daniels says. “The nurse had me take a pregnancy test because she didn’t realize what procedure I was there to have done. The torture of watching that stick have two lines, knowing my baby was gone, literally made my chest hurt.”
It’s an experience Daniels will always carry with her, even now that she has a little girl who she calls her rainbow baby, a term used by moms who give birth after a pregnancy loss. And she’s far from alone.
A miscarriage is defined as a pregnancy loss before the 20th week of pregnancy, and miscarriage rates are hard for experts to accurately estimate. Doctors can only judge miscarriage rates by pregnancies that have been confirmed, and those figures are high. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, early pregnancy loss occurs in as much as 10 percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies. Some 80 percent of those cases occur, as Daniels’ did, in the first trimester.
In fact, the majority of miscarriages will occur right between six and eight weeks, says Sherry Ross, MD, an OB-GYN and women’s health expert at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

Signs of Miscarriage

Although the result of a miscarriage—the end of a pregnancy—is the same in all cases, the signs can vary widely from woman to woman.

Late Period

Women who don’t know they’re pregnant often miss the symptoms of miscarriage, says G. Thomas Ruiz, MD, an OB-GYN at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. These women, who have what’s termed a “chemical pregnancy,” will typically endure a miscarriage within a week of the embryo’s implantation in the uterus. If they’d undergone blood tests, Ruiz says, doctors would be able to see a spike in the hormone hCG, but after a miscarriage, that “rapidly goes to zero.” Then the body starts to bleed, expelling the fertilized egg from the uterus, which most women assume is their period showing up just a week or two behind schedule.
Bright Red Bleeding and Uterine Cramping

If you have had your pregnancy confirmed, bleeding and cramps will be more likely to serve as a warning sign of miscarriage, Ruiz says. After all, a woman who is pregnant knows she should not be expecting her period, as the menstrual cycle goes into hibernation during pregnancy.
“If a woman is having heavy bleeding that is not stopping and/or if she is experiencing severe abdominal pain, she should go to an emergency room immediately,” Ruiz says.
Even if the bleeding is not heavy and the pain not intense, it’s still important for a woman to call her doctor. They can determine whether it’s time to run to the ER, head to their office, or go to a medical facility for testing.
Bleeding could indicate miscarriage, but it could also indicate an ectopic (or tubal) pregnancy, Ruiz explains. That means the fertilized egg has attached itself someplace other than inside the uterus, typically in the fallopian tube.
“As a tubal pregnancy progresses, the [fallopian] tube can dilate and rupture, which will cause severe abdominal pain and a surgical abdomen, which is a medical emergency,” he notes, so the tests are necessary to prevent further complications.
For women whose pregnancies have entered the second trimester, testing may also determine if bleeding is being caused by a cervical insufficiency, says Renée Volny Darko, DO, an OB-GYN and founder and CEO of Pre-med Strategies, Inc. Although it sounds like a bit of a slam at a woman’s body, a diagnosis of cervical insufficiency is not a judgment from your doctor. Instead it means that the cervix has dilated too early, which is endangering the pregnancy.
In that case, “interventions like a cerclage, which essentially ties the cervix closed, can be used to help keep the pregnancy,” Darko says, although she’s quick to add that cerclages are not always successful.
No Signs at All

Some miscarriages may simply occur without a sign. A mom may walk into her doctor’s office as Daniels did, ready for standard testing, only to find out that the baby has no heartbeat.
“The process of conception and human development is intricate and often imperfect,” Darko says. “But miscarriages might have no symptoms at all. A miscarriage can be diagnosed on a routine ultrasound where the pregnancy is found not to have developed beyond a sac or the fetus has no heartbeat.”
For moms like Daniels, that can be the most devastating of all.
“I sat there holding the prayer card to my belly, which was the St. Anthony prayer of miracles,” Daniels recalls of the 15-minute scan when she got the news. “As she asked me to hold my breath, and I watched her face, I knew my baby had died. I cried so hard that no sound could even escape my body. Tears soaked the bed. The nurse whispered ‘I’m sorry hon, I don’t see a heartbeat, get dressed and meet me outside.’”
Daniels recalls her life flashing before her eyes in those moments. “I didn’t just lose a 7-week baby. I lost the first day of kindergarten, my baby reaching for my hand calling me Mommy, a round belly everyone was going to rub and fuss over, a tired baby I rock to sleep who was comforted by my voice, birthday parties, late night feedings, a lifetime of memories,” she says.
Her doctors were able to tell her that she could try again, and her little girl, born in April 2018, is the result of her second pregnancy.
Trying again is not on every woman’s mind. Grief and recovery can take all forms, but Darko says moms who do want to try again are typically given the all clear very soon after a miscarriage, depending on the cause of the pregnancy loss and when it happened.
“After most first trimester miscarriages, there is really no need to wait to conceive again,” Darko notes. “After a second trimester miscarriage, a woman should be evaluated to see if the reason for the miscarriage can be corrected before conceiving again.”
So what are the reasons a woman might have a miscarriage?

Why Miscarriage Happens

Because so many women miscarry before they even know they are pregnant, experts don’t know what causes all miscarriages. They term pregnancies in two camps: normal and abnormal. Again, it’s important to note that these terms are medical in nature. “Abnormal” does not refer to a mom herself.
“Normal” pregnancies last beyond 10 weeks, Ruiz says, while abnormal pregnancies make up the bulk of miscarriages.
So what causes miscarriage? Here are some of the most common causes, according to the experts:

Genetic Abnormalities

No parent wants to hear that their baby is abnormal, but again, this is a medical term rather than a judgment from the doctor. In some 60 percent of miscarriages, pregnancy loss will occur seemingly randomly, but it’s due to a genetic abnormality, Ross says. The fertilized egg is unable to continue development, causing the process of pregnancy to end.
Turner syndrome, also known as 45,X or 45,X0, is one of the leading genetic abnormalities linked to miscarriage, Ruiz explains. The condition, in which a female embryo is partly or completely missing an X chromosome, has been tied to about 15 percent of miscarriages.
Women in their late thirties and early forties are more likely than others to have miscarriages due to genetic abnormalities, Ross notes, and it can be tied to a mom’s eggs. Because we’re born with all the eggs we will ever have, the older a woman is, the older her eggs are too. “What is well known in the medical world is fertility declines progressively with age,” Ross says. “The aging of eggs is a well-known biological phenomenon referred to as our ‘biological clock.’ If you are 45 years old and trying to conceive, you will have a greater than 80 percent chance of having a miscarriage, compared to a woman under 30 years old who will have a less than 20 percent chance of having one.”
Infection

Simply getting sick during a pregnancy is not a guarantee that a woman will miscarry (although it’s always important to contact your doctor if you are coming down with something). But certain common infections—from the flu to sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis and herpes—have been linked to a higher incidence of miscarriage. To stay ahead of these conditions, your OB-GYN may screen for STIs at one of your early appointments, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends pregnant women receive a flu vaccine for their own protection as well as their baby’s.
Abnormal Uterine Cavity

The uterus is where an embryo implants and then resides, developing until birth. But for some women, problems with the uterus can lead to miscarriage, Ruiz says. Dubbed an “abnormal uterine cavity,” one of the most common is a uterine septum, an upside down, triangular piece of tissue that can divide the uterus in half. “if the embryo implants on the septum, there is high risk for a miscarriage,” Ruiz says.
Asherman Syndrome

Scarring of the uterine cavity is another issue that can cause miscarriage. Called Asherman syndrome, the condition is rare and typically occurs after an infection or a woman undergoes a D&C, Ruiz explains. Because the condition affects the endometrium, or the wall of the uterus, it can make even getting pregnant difficult to begin with. “The embryo needs a nice endometrium to implant well,” Ruiz adds.
Medications

If your pharmacist asks you whether you’re pregnant when you’re filling your prescription, they’re not just being nosy. Studies have linked miscarriage risks to everything from certain antibiotics to anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals.
Cervical Incompetence/Cervical Insufficiency

The cervix is a narrow passage that separates the uterus—where an embryo develops—and the vagina. When it’s time for a baby to be born, the cervix will begin to dilate, allowing a baby the space to move out of the uterus and into the birth canal to come into the world. But in some instances the cervix begins to dilate too soon—sometimes as much as three to four months before the fetus is ready for birth.
More commonly linked to miscarriage in the second trimester, an “insufficient” or “incompetent” cervix is one that begins to dilate too early in the pregnancy. This condition is associated with weakness in the cervical muscles, and Ruiz says it can be related to a previous D&C or biopsy of the cervix (such as one done by an OB-GYN when abnormal tissue is found that might indicate a cancer or pre-cancer). It can also happen to women who’ve had multiple previous births. And although there are several risk factors connected to the condition, it can also happen out of nowhere with no foreseeable cause.

Minimizing Miscarriage Risk

There is never a guarantee, Darko says, as pregnancy loss is a part of life, albeit a difficult one for parents-to-be.
The best defense, however, is a good offense. If you’re planning to try to conceive, Darko says to meet with your doctor. Discuss your risk factors and any medications you might need to change or conditions you might need treated.
“Seeing a doctor to optimize your health before getting pregnant can be the difference between a good and bad outcome,” she notes.
And while one or several miscarriages can be heartbreaking and discouraging, the majority of women do get the all-clear to try again from their doctors, and for many of them, it can be successful.
For Daniels, another cycle of IVF and another pregnancy helped bring her little girl into the world. “The road that led me to her was the most difficult, trying time in my life,” she says. But, she adds, “Noah will always be a part of me, he is me, and because of him I continue so he continues. His sister will grow to always know the love I have for her and her brother.”

Tags search