And surprise, surprise: Blackheads aren’t limited to your nose or forehead. Just like other types of acne, you can get blackheads on other parts of your body—which is why acne body wash is a thing. But before you start picking at your skin (and please don’t because that can make an annoying situation worse), let’s have a chat about what blackheads are and how you can make them go buh-bye....
I know this story well because it was mine. I was brushed off by Western medicine because symptoms like headaches, constipation, and stomach pain are difficult to diagnose and after a while, they said, “There is nothing you can do.” So, I said, “Hell no,” rolled up my denim sleeves, and did it myself. I used myself as a guinea pig to test every strategy to heal my digestive disorders....
About five years ago I met someone we’ll call Josh via Tinder. He was charismatic and smart, and I was new to New York and desperate for something stable. As our relationship progressed, red flags sprung up, but I was too manipulated by his charm. He became extremely unreliable and would gaslight me into thinking I was just being overly emotional during our fights—even though he did extreme things like kicking me out of his apartment late at night and even cheated on me....
Here’s what romance is really all about, plus how to be a more romantic partner in your relationship. The word romantic stems from the Latin word Romanus or Romanicus, which literally meant “Roman” or “from Rome.” Throughout the Middle Ages, the old French adopted the word romanz, meaning “of the Roman vernacular,” to describe both a specific type of Latin speech as well as the literature written in that vernacular style—which generally featured tales of knights, chivalry, and passion....
Take it from Rachael Narins, the author of Cast-Iron Cooking, who has collected dozens of vintage cast-iron pans over her tenure as a chef. “Treat it well and your great-grandkids will use it,” Narins tells mbg. Follow this step-by-step routine to keep the coating on yours in good shape after every use: A seasoned pan will look glossy, shiny, and smooth, like well-conditioned leather. Unlike traditional cast iron, enameled pans and Dutch ovens will also be fine in the dishwasher, though they don’t stand up quite as well in heat and should be kept off the grill....
I repeated this resolution all the time in conversations (“I’m focused on being happy this year”) and let it guide many a decision. Ultimately, it led me to a new home, a new career, and much more that I never expected or even dreamed was possible. As wild and risky as it often felt to make the choices that would bring me joy, doing so ended up bringing me to what was, in many ways, the most successful year I’d ever had....
Focusing on targeting the hamstrings (or glutes depending on how you do it) the single-leg RDL is accessible to all fitness and strength levels, easily modified by keeping both feet on the ground or increasing your weights. Below, fitness trainer BB Arrington, CPT, provides her top tips for nailing this move for a more balanced base of strength—plus, better stability. One last tip: “Remember to focus on the hinge of the hips instead of how low you can get the weight to the floor—let your hinge determine the depth of the exercise,” she adds....
You may find that you feel connected to a power animal, or you could feel close to many members of the animal kingdom. Your animal guide(s) hold a particular quality that could help you navigate life with a bit more ease, faith, and confidence. Not sure what animal best represents you, or what messages it’s trying to send you? Here are some resources to help you find out. Many Indigenous people request that non-Indigenous folks do not replicate their traditional animal imagery from totem poles and pictographs out of respect for their culture....
The TL;DR? The more diverse your diet is, the more diverse your gut microbiome will be. Try to switch up the types of foods you eat weekly. Cruciferous vegetables2 like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, specifically, have unique compounds called glucosinolates that are metabolized by bacteria and promote the growth and balance of good bacteria in your gut. Pay attention to volume (eating more plants in general), as well as the variety (again, eating different types of plants regularly)....
It’s easy to lose hope in this upside-down world full of poverty, war, and pain. Love, under these conditions, can seem pointless—even weak. But it’s just the opposite. Love can be difficult. But if you ask me, it’s our greatest purpose. Here are five ways I try to keep faith when it seems impossible: Faith is the decision to love when it seems impossible. And if you’re anything like me, you sometimes wake up with the weight of the world on your shoulders....
Once you have placed your last crystal—known as the master crystal—in the center of the grid, you are ready to connect and activate your grid. Use a clear quartz to metaphorically “connect the dots”, starting from the outside and working your way in, passing over every crystal on the way.
The real mental shift came about a month or two before I met my current boyfriend of three years. Getting the hang of this whole “being alone” thing, I started to move outside my comfort zone. I went after things I had never had the confidence to follow through on. I started going to small indie performances by bands I loved (that my friends weren’t into); I took a bus to Maine and went skydiving as my birthday present to myself; I even joined a running group to train for my first half marathon....
For the most part, people genuinely want to help. They don’t want to see you suffering. And because they don’t want to see you suffering, they offer advice, clichéd proverbs, pep talks, or distractions. Many are uncomfortable with pain and sadness and haven’t been taught how to respond truly compassionately to other people’s suffering. The list included here contains all-too-common responses someone might give in the face of someone’s suffering or conflict....
Of course, skin covers the whole of our bodies—and yet, we rarely give the rest of our skin the attention it so deserves. Except in the shower. The shower is when you are able to connect with your skin from the neck down in a fundamental way. But are you taking your “healthiest” shower? And on that note, what does a better-for-skin shower even look like? And its flora does a lot for us: helps us deal with skin infections by crowding out pathogens with good bacteria, acts as a vital part of our skin barrier, protects us from environmental damage by limiting exposure to allergens and oxidative stress, and even communicates with our internal immune system1, new research shows....
Contrary to (gendered) popular belief, it’s not true that men are always down and ready for sex. While foreplay is often seen as a crucial element for women to fully enjoy intimacy, that sort of thoughtful seduction is rarely applied to men and how their partners can also make them feel special, sexy, and wanted. No matter the genders involved, turning each other on is essential to prime intimacy with the emotional readiness needed to access deeper, feverish states of desire....
Regardless of how obviously or subtly your cravings are harassing you, you can bet that hormonal imbalance is fueling them. Chronic levels of stress cause increased cortisol levels in your body, which shut down your digestive system in favor of survival. In this survival state, your body thinks food is scarce, and it will do whatever it takes to keep you alive. This causes the body to store extra fat around your middle and tricks you into overeating because your brain thinks that it might not get another meal....
While leave-in conditioners may sound self-explanatory, there’s certainly a method to reap all of their wonderful benefits. To follow, hair experts explain exactly what to do—and what to avoid—when it comes to leave-in conditioner. Let’s get into it. These products are used to restore hydration, increase shine, aid the detangling process, and even provide other benefits such as heat and UV protection, Stollmeyer says. Think of it like a hair mask that’s formulated to be left in....
And in the case of this month’s last quarter moon, it will fall in Libra, a sign all about balance, peace, and justice. Meanwhile, the sun is moving through its last leg of Capricorn season already, and Mercury is retrograde (until January 18) in Capricorn as well. Luckily, Mars is finally out of its retrograde period—and in the sign of Gemini—forming a harmonious trine with the moon in fellow air sign Libra....
According to a 2013 study, 74 percent of Americans suffer from some form of digestive issue. What makes dandelion root tea healing for our digestive fire is the bitter taste that stimulates gastric juices to improve bile flow. Like my beloved coffee, dandelion tea has a similar diuretic effect on the body4. While I knew I wanted to make the shift from my delicious warm cup of coffee in the morning to this superfood tea, would I have to sacrifice taste?...
“Erikson suggests that in early adulthood, we encounter the psychosocial crisis of intimacy versus isolation,” psychologist Karin Anderson Abrell, Ph.D., explains to mbg. “We navigate ways we’ll express and receive intimacy with friends, family members, and romantic partners.” During this stage, she adds, we determine our preferences and norms, which will influence the dynamics of all our relationships. “Some of us will desire deep intimacy, while others will feel more comfortable with greater emotional distance in relationships....
