Healthy hair secrets

Nurture your scalp with our troubleshooting guide—and you’ll be rewarded with strong, luscious locks.

By CAROL STRALEY

Beautiful hair is possible. You may not believe that when your head itches too often, you regularly find flakes on your shoulders, or your hair is dull and thinning, but it’s true. The secret is to start with your scalp—if it’s healthy your hair will be, too.

Since the scalp is often overlooked, most of us don’t know how to care for it. To help, we created this guide for every type (dry, thinning, fl aky, and oily). Once you determine your problem, follow our tips and try our effective home remedies—and enjoy healthier, silkier hair.

dry scalp
Problem: Dry, moisture-sapped skin surrounding hair follicles.

Symptoms: Tight-feeling or itchy scalp when the humidity drops; small flakes of dry skin that land on the shoulders.

Massage Rx: Mix 10 drops of a moisturizing pure essential oil such as lavender or sandalwood with 1 ounce of sweet almond or jojoba oil. For sensitive scalps, use straight jojoba oil, says Marc Zollicoffer, Aveda global spa educator. Massage for 5 minutes before showering.

“To nourish a dry scalp, take an omega-3 fatty acid supplement
like fish oil.” —Holly Lucille, N.D., R.N., a naturopathic physician
at Healing From Within Health Care in Los Angeles, Calif.
DIY exfoliating recipe: Try one of these recipes from Mario Russo, owner of Salon Mario Russo in Boston, Mass., and Stowe, Vt.

FOR NORMAL TO COARSE HAIR:
1. After shampooing, massage 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the scalp, and onto your hair from roots to ends.
2. Wrap head with plastic wrap or a damp towel heated in the microwave to trap the oil and let it soak in. Wait at least 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the length of your hair.
3. Rinse out thoroughly and follow with conditioner.
4. Repeat once a week if hair is coarse; once a month is sufficient if hair is normal.

FOR FINE HAIR:
1. Heat ½ cup of apple cider vinegar.
2. Let it cool a bit, but while it’s still warm, gently massage it into your scalp. The acid in apple cider vinegar helps restore the scalp’s pH balance.
3. Cover your head with a towel or shower cap.
4. After 30 to 40 minutes, rinse with plain water.

Products to try: Before shampooing, use a pre-wash treatment such as AUROMÈRE PRE-SHAMPOO CONDITIONER ($9; herbspro.com), formulated according to Ayurveda, India’s ancient healing tradition. Then, try a soothing shampoo and conditioner combo like NATURE’S GATE TEA TREE & BLUE CYPRESS SOOTHING SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER FOR FLAKY, DRY SCALP ($8 each; natures-gate.com) or AVEENO NOURISH+ SOOTHE SHAMPOO with lavender and peppermint ($6.50; at drugstores). Once a week, hydrate hair and scalp with a treatment like AUBREY ORGANICS BLUE GREEN ALGAE HAIR RESCUE CONDITIONING MASK ($14; aubrey-organics.com).

Choose Red or Black Colored Grapes

Grapes

Scientific Name: Vitus spp.

Biological Background: Grape is a pulpy, smooth-skinned berry, growing in clusters on vines. Grape was domesticated before 5,000 B.C. and is one of the oldest cultivated fruits.

Nutritional Information: Ten seedless grapes (50 g) provide 35 calories, 0.3 g protein, 8.9 g carbohydrate, 1.0 g fiber, 105 mg potassium, 5.4 mg vitamin C, 0.05 mg thiamin, 0.03 mg riboflavin, and 0.15 mg niacin.

Pharmacological Activity: Grape is a rich storehouse of antioxidant and anticancer compounds, including flavonoids (anthocyanin), quercetin, and resveratol (red grape skin). Grapes can inhibit blood-platelet clumping and consequently blood clot formation, and boost good type HDL cholesterol. Red grapes are antibacterial and antiviral. It has strong activity against cancers.

Eating Tips: Choose red or black colored grape instead of white or green one and eat with grape skin on to get the most health benefits.

What is Menstruation?

Normal Menstruation and Menstrual Disorders

Menstrual Girls to Women Monthly Bleeding Menses PMS Premenstrual Syndrome

Menstruation is the cyclic occurrence of uterine bleeding that occurs near the end of puberty in girls. Typically, first periods occur around age 12 or 13. However, some girls begin having periods as young as 8 or 9 years old, while others may be as old as 15 or 16. If menarche does not occur by the time a girl reaches the age of 16, she should see her doctor for evaluation. Menstruation usually begins about 2 1/2 years after girls begin developing breasts, and growing pubic and underarm hair.

Once menstruation begins, it continues until menopause occurs around the age of 50 when monthly menstrual cycles end. Surgical menopause occurs following removal of the ovaries during hysterectomy. Menstruation also temporarily stops during pregnancy. Hormonal contraceptives also stop normal menstruation and can safely be used to stop periods indefinitely or until pregnancy is desired. If menstruation fails to occur for any other reason, amenorrhea occurs. Amenorrhea is a menstrual cycle disorder.

For the most part, the menstrual cycle occurs predictably and without problems. However, when things don’t go right -– when you experience heavy or excessive bleeding, when your period doesn’t occur when expected, when you have physical or emotional symptoms during the weeks before you menstruation, or when you experience painful periods or other symptoms –- you may have a menstrual cycle disorder.

Abnormal uterine bleeding is a common menstrual cycle disorder that includes several types of abnormal bleeding patterns, including amenorrhea. Other menstrual cycle disorders include dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome or PMS, premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD, and uterine fibroid tumors. Other factors that may affect normal menstruation include stress, illness, exercise, diet and nutrition, and work, family, and relationship issues.

Green Living

Revitalize your home

Clear out clutter and bad energy! Usher in health, prosperity & joy with our easy Feng Shui decorating tips.

By ELIZABETH BARKER

If you are looking to re-energize your health, finances, or love life, start by redecorating your home. According to the Chinese art of feng shui, the qi, or life force, of your house feeds your energy and affects your wellness. And when it’s blocked—by clutter or poor placement of furniture, for example—you may be thwarted in your attempts to improve your relationships or professional pursuits, says Joey Yap, author of Joey Yap’s Pure Feng Shui (Cico, 2008). “People come to me wanting more prosperity, creativity, and romance,” says Jayme Barrett, author of Feng Shui Your Life (Sterling, 2003).

A rejuvenating, nurturing home environment is one in which the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water are in balance. You can achieve this without major renovations; simply follow our guide to begin transforming your home today.

feng shui your LIVING ROOM
Clear clutter. Cull your bookshelves often. “Keep only the books that inspire you,” says Barrett. “Holding onto everything just depletes your energy.” Leaving space on your shelves can also open you up to new ideas. And make sure your floors are clear; if they’re cluttered, they’ll drag the room’s energy downward.
Decorate mindfully. “Surround yourself with objects that symbolize your passions—this acknowledges and energizes what makes you special,” says Barrett. Choose lively décor that’s important to you—like mementos from travel, says Barrett.
Experiment with color. Whether you paint a wall or add accents like throw pillows, blankets, and vases, use color to balance the room. Orange helps energize; blue can soothe; purple and gold help attract wealth; green can bring better health; and red stimulates passion and prosperity, says Ariel Joseph Towne, a feng shui consultant based in Los Angeles.
Rearrange the seats. Ideally, the sofa should be up against a solid wall, which gives a sense of stability, says Towne. “Another option is to set up a table with plants behind the sofa,” suggests Barrett. Or arrange your seating in a circle or square shape to encourage conversation and community. Make your living room even more inviting by positioning some furniture to face the entrance.
Avoid recessed lighting. An abundance of natural light helps brighten your spirits. Artificial lighting can also lift your energy, as long as it’s directed toward the ceiling. “Recessed or overhead lighting generates downward, oppressive energy,” says Barrett. “Try wall sconces instead.

►SHE TRIED IT! Deborah Shadovitz, a Macintosh consultant in Los Angeles, had a hard time confi ning her work to her home office. “My books and papers encroached on other spaces, but decluttering seemed so daunting,” she says. In the living room, Shadovitz decided to arrange her chairs in a circle, which encouraged guests to sit and socialize. Once her living room became a destination for entertainment, Shadovitz was inspired to organize her home. “Without the clutter, my house feels so fresh and welcoming.”

Weight Loss:

Fat Burning Exercises

Ignite Your Fat-Burning Furnace

Muscle building videos and a world-class plan to supercharge your metabolism

Switching to a circuit-training routine burns fat by picking up the pace of your workouts. You'll elevate your heart rate and burn more calories by not resting between exercises. Want to speed up your metabolism even more? Try what trainer Vern Gambetta calls "circuit plus," in which you splice aerobic exercise into a circuit of resistance-training moves. Gambetta, who's the former director of athletic development for the New York Mets, says you'll burn calories even more rapidly this way because the tag team of aerobic and anaerobic exercise increases the challenge to your heart, lungs, and muscles.

The Workout

This routine conditions all your major muscle groups, with an emphasis on the lower body, which contains more than 50 percent of your body's muscle mass. Instead of resting between sets, do 30 to 45 seconds of cardio, such as jumping rope, running on a treadmill, or riding a stationary bike.

Don't be concerned if you can't use as much weight as you regularly lift. Without rest, your muscles will fatigue faster than usual, but that doesn't mean you're getting weaker. In fact, when you switch back to a plan that's more focused on building size and strength, you'll see faster gains than ever, because every muscle will be in peak physical condition.

Because this is a full-body plan, start by performing the workout twice a week and work up to three times a week, with at least a day for recovery between workouts.

Week 1

Create your routine by . . . Picking 1 move from each section (A, B, C, and D)

Sets of each exercise: 3

Your total workout should be . . . 12 sets

Repetitions per set: 12–15

Speed of each repetition: 1 second up, 3 seconds down

Rest between sets: None

Do this workout . . . Twice a week

Week 2

Create your routine by . . . Performing the 4 moves you didn't do in week 1

Sets of each exercise: 3

Your total workout should be . . . 12 sets

Repetitions per set: 12–15

Speed of each repetition: 1 second up, 3 seconds down

Rest between sets: None

Do this workout . . . Twice a week

Week 3

Create your routine by . . . Doing both moves in section A, then in B, C, and D

Sets of each exercise: 2

Your total workout should be . . . 16 sets

Repetitions per set: 12–15

Speed of each repetition: 1 second up, 3 seconds down

Rest between sets: None

Do this workout . . . 2 or 3 times a week

Week 4

Create your routine by . . . Doing both moves in section A, then in B, C, and D

Sets of each exercise: 2

Your total workout should be . . . 16 sets

Repetitions per set: 15–20

Speed of each repetition: 1 second up, 3 seconds down

Rest between sets: None

Do this workout . . . 2 or 3 times a week

6 Sex Mistakes You're Making

1. Sex is a Race
Break it: Explore her. Focus on her thighs and lower belly. Make a mental circle 2 inches around the outside of her vagina, and don't cross the line while you kiss, lick, and caress, says Gloria Brame, Ph.D., author of Different Loving. You'll ignite her nerve endings and bring her close to her red zone. It makes sex about discovery, not some destination. "Goal-oriented sex isn't sexy," Brame says.

2. Same Time, Same Place
Break it: Relive the past. Take her to the garage and reclaim the space you long ago ceded: Seduce her in the backseat of the car. It feels a little public, it's steeped in testosterone, and there's a throwback, high-school quality to it. Make it a quickie, which has its place in the sexual diet; having lots of sex begets more sex, because you stay connected, says Laura Berman, Ph.D., director of the Berman Center in Chicago.

3. Predictable Foreplay
Break it: Work out together. Think of it as fat-burning foreplay. It will raise her dopamine levels, easing her anxieties. "She'll feel the sex is about her and not some random need she has to accommodate," says Pepper Schwartz, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at Washington University. Bonus: Your post-run sweat has androstadienone, a testosterone derivative that spikes her arousal when she smells it.

4. Lopsided First Moves
Break it: Tie her hands. It's now up to her to figure out how to remove your shirt, tie, cuff links, and pants. You'll share a few laughs and marvel at her ingenuity. Whether you tie her up or she binds you, the game will break your predictable, first-move habits. The bonus: "It acts as an automatic foreplay extender," says Berman.

5. TV, Then Sex
Break it: Read to her. It doesn't have to be erotica. It's an intimate activity that makes her focus on your voice. The deeper, the better. Low voices are a sign of high testosterone, which ups her attraction to you, according to a Scottish study. Read lying in bed with your head up, to dip an octave; it forces you to push air with your diaphragm instead of your lungs.

6. Habitual Hand Holding
Break it: Caress her neck. Sure, holding hands can work as an aphrodisiac: It shows her you're devoted and proud to tell the world. But after a while, its poignancy wanes. A stepped-up PDA will deepen her connection to you, so she'll be more willing to really give herself to you in the bedroom, says Schwartz.

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/have_better_sex/index.php#ixzz0HhrEuwFX&D

Sun-smart advice

Protect your skin this summer with our expert-backed tips.

The basic rules of skin cancer prevention never change: apply with a broad-spectrum sunscreen (it blocks both UVA and UVB rays) daily, check for suspicious moles every three months (see skincancer.org for a list of warning signs), and go for annual screenings with a dermatologist. Newer research also suggests maintaining a healthy weight, staying fit, and eating a variety of antioxidant-rich foods, like colorful fruits and veggies. Here, three experts weigh in with tips for extra skincare protection:

Be alert for skin cancer if you’re at risk for breast or ovarian cancer.
Large genetic studies have found that people with the BRCA2 gene mutation, which ups your risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, are two and a half times more likely to develop melanoma.
TIP: If a close relative (parent, grandparent, or sibling) has had breast or ovarian cancer or melanoma, see a dermatologist every six months to a year and practice safe sun strategies.
—Lynn Schuchter, M.D., oncologist, Abramson Cancer Center, the University of Pennsylvania

Check your whole body, even under your toenails.
Basal and squamous cell carcinoma, the two most common types of skin cancer, tend to form on the head, face, neck, hands, and arms, which get the greatest sun exposure. Melanoma most often occurs in places where you’ve been sunburned, but it can show up anywhere on the body, including under fingernails and toenails. (This is especially true for dark-skinned people, including African Americans.)
TIP: Don’t ignore any part of your body when looking for suspicious moles or spots, and do not hesitate to see a dermatologist or doctor if you have any concerns, even if you have a darker skin tone. Although dark-skinned people have lower rates of skin cancer, they’re also more likely to die from the condition since they tend to delay medical care and only discover a problem once the skin cancer has progressed.
—Vilma Cokkinides, Ph.D., program director, Risk Factor Surveillance, American Cancer Society

Wear sunscreen if you sit by a window or in a car for extended periods.
Standard windows block UVB rays, but UVA light wafts in freely. TIP: Avoid sitting by window glass for more than an hour a day whether it’s sunny or not. If you do, wear sunscreen and a long-sleeved top to protect your arms and shoulders. Consider replacing the clear glass windows of your car with reflective glass, which blocks more than 75 percent of UV rays.
—Henry W. Lim, M.D., F.A.A.D., vice president, the American Academy of Dermatology