24 Hacks to Make 2016 Your Best Hair Year Ever

Image: Courtesy of POPSUGAR Photography / Benjamin Stone

The Chinese zodiac may say 2016 is the year of the monkey, but we think it’s the year of the hare—well, the year of the hair, that is. (Sorry, couldn’t help ourselves.)

We all have something we’ve been trying far too long to fix with our manes—such as frizz, a tedious morning blow-dry routine, or locks that won’t hold curls.

Make 2016 the year this all changes: the year you “hack” your mane. To help you do so, we’ve rounded up our favorite tips and tricks—a range that is guaranteed to cover even the most problematic hair issues. The struggle may be real—but, at least this year, the hair struggle doesn’t have to be.

Style your hair the night before

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Girls with especially thick and/or long hair have been doing this for years—but any style or cut can benefit from this time-saving hack. Whether you’re sleeping in braids, a texturizing product, or even on straightened locks, styling the night before saves you the morning hassle. Plus the next-day look is always better.

Extend your blowout with dry shampoo

Image: Courtesy of A Beautiful Mess

One of the best parts about a blowout is that you can make it last a few days after the actual treatment—aka, skip the hassle of washing and styling your own hair. Win, win. One of the best ways to extend the blowout without letting your hair turn greasy is to apply dry shampoo to the roots, around the ears, and at the nape of the neck. Then massage it in, brush it down, or blast it with a blow-dryer. Poof. Your hair is perfect again.

Eliminate dandruff with lemon juice

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One of the most embarrassing hair problems is undeniably the culprit behind white flakes left behind on collars and scarves: dandruff. For a homeopathic and DIY solution to this common issue, use a combination of lemon juice, olive oil, and water to lift the flakes and moisturize the scalp underneath.

Clean hair with baking soda

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If there’s product and residue left even after shampooing, a DIY water-and-baking-soda paste can easily strip even the worst buildup. The best part? There’s a good chance you already have this product in your house.

Leave an inch border between your hairline and your moisturizer

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If your roots tend to get greasy after a blowout, it may be your moisturizer that’s doing the harm. By applying moisturizer up to the hairline, some is likely to travel to your roots—instead, leave an inch border between this product and your blown-out hair to ensure that your style lasts longer.

DIY coconut oil hair mask

Image: Courtesy of POPSUGAR Photography / Lizzie Fuhr

The religion of 2015 was coconut oil, and there’s no surprise that this moisturizing product makes a great DIY hair mask. To get the best benefits, smooth it over your hair before bed and leave in (after wrapping it up to spare your sheets) while you sleep, and then wash out in the morning.

Twist wet hair to enhance curls

Image: Courtesy of POPSUGAR Photography / Benjamin Stone

Wavy hair can often be difficult to define and coax fuller curls from, but it’s possible courtesy of the twisting method. By turning strands into twists while still wet—even before blotting dry—it helps curls take shape.

Lighten dark hair with chamomile tea

Image: Courtesy of POPSUGAR Photography / Anna Monette Roberts

While lemon juice is often used to create natural highlights by reacting to sunlight, chamomile tea is a great way to brighten dark hair in the non-Summer months. By steeping the tea, pouring over your mane, and leaving overnight, superdark strands can achieve a golden glow.

Reduce frizz with a dryer sheet

Image: Courtesy of POPSUGAR Photography / Benjamin Stone

Since frizz is a form of hair static, it makes sense that this laundry product also works on our strands—even if it does sound a bit odd. Grab one sheet, and rub it over your head to solve this common problem on the run.

Curl your hair with socks

Image: Courtesy of My Style Vita

Yes, you read that right—all you need to achieve salon-worthy mermaid waves are a few pairs of socks. Check out the tutorial from Nicole Sykes to learn this supersimple and convenient trick for waking up with a ready-to-go style.

Apply conditioner to fine hair with a comb

Image: Courtesy of POPSUGAR Photography / Benjamin Stone

For women with fine, long hair, finding ways to detangle can be tricky. One of the easiest ways to ensure your tresses don’t dry in a rat’s nest is simply by applying conditioner with a long-tooth comb in the shower.

For 12 more great hair hacks, visit popsugar.com.

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Blood Test Might Predict When Antibiotics Won’t Help

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Researchers say they’re closer to developing a blood test that distinguishes between viral and bacterial respiratory infections. This would help doctors predict when antibiotics will and will not work.

Such a test, done right in the doctor’s office, might also help curb overuse of antibiotics — a practice that has led to drug-resistant bacteria, experts suggest.

When diagnosing respiratory infections — such as colds, pneumonia and bronchitis — it helps to know whether the illness is caused by a virus or bacteria, explained study lead author Dr. Ephraim Tsalik. He is assistant professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C.

“Antibiotics treat bacteria, but they do not treat viruses. That’s why distinguishing between these various causes of illness is very important to get the right treatment to the right patient, and to offer a prognosis for how the patient is likely to do,” Tsalik said.

Respiratory infections are one of the most common reasons for doctor visits. And about three-quarters of patients get bacteria-fighting antibiotics even though most have viral infections, Tsalik said. “Viruses, for the most part, get better on their own,” he said.

Patients sometimes demand antibiotics even if the illness appears to be a virus, and doctors sometimes prescribe them in order to be “better safe than sorry,” he explained. Both cases can expose patients unnecessarily to potential side effects, Tsalik said.

Equally concerning is that unnecessary use of antibiotics raises the risk that bacteria will figure out how to resist the medications, Tsalik said. Awareness has grown worldwide in recent years over bacterial germs that are no longer easily killed off with antibiotics.

A quick and affordable test could provide important information about sick patients, said Dr. Dominik Mertz, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at Canada’s McMaster University. Mertz wasn’t involved in the new research.

While the new test isn’t ready yet, Mertz said, “it might be a new approach that could eventually get there. The test results could be used to reassure yourself as a physician as well as the patient.”

In the current study, Tsalik and colleagues developed a test to distinguish viruses from bacterial infections by analyzing the workings of genes in the blood. The investigators tried the test out on 273 people with respiratory infections and 44 healthy people.

Overall, the test was accurate 87 percent of the time in distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections, and infections caused by something else. This is better than the 78 percent accuracy rate of an existing test that analyzes inflammation linked to illness, the researchers said.

“Even with that imperfect test, other studies showed that using it can reduce antibiotic use by about 40 to 50 percent compared to no testing at all,” Tsalik said.

The new test works by detecting how genes “turn off and on in a particular pattern” in response to bacteria, a virus or another cause, he said. Tsalik added that it’s unique because of its speed and simplicity. There are no details yet about price, but he said researchers want to make it affordable.

What’s next? Tsalik said researchers want to evaluate the test using people of various ages and ethnicities. They are also exploring whether similar tests can detect other types of bacterial and viral infections and fungal infections.

The study is published in the Jan. 20 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

More information

Duke Medicine has more about viral and bacterial infections.

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3 NutriBullet Recipes That Aren’t Smoothies

The NutriBullet may be the most useful “As Seen on TV” product for healthy foodies that’s ever been created. So if you’ve been using yours only for blending up your morning smoothie, you’ve been missing out. The powerful little machine can also help you whip up healthy meals and desserts.

These Nutribullet recipes were developed using a NutriBullet Pro 900 ($130; amazon.com). Be sure to check the manual for the model you have for specific operating instructions.

Breakfast

Take a break from oatmeal and enjoy this gluten-free, protein- and super-fiber-rich bowl of goodness. We topped it with sliced banana and bee pollen, but it would also be delicious with berries, chopped nuts, more chopped pear or apple, a drizzle of maple syrup or some chia or hemp seeds.

Photo: Beth Lipton

Buckwheat Porridge

Serves: About 3

½ cup buckwheat groats

½ cup raw almonds

1 pear, cored, chopped

1 Tbsp. raw honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Pinch of salt

1. Place groats and almonds in 2 separate bowls. Cover with cool water. Cover bowls and refrigerate both for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Drain groats and almonds; rinse with cool water. Transfer both to a NutriBullet. Add remaining ingredients and blend, following manufacturer instructions. Remove cup and shake between blending to distribute ingredients evenly.
3. Divide among 3 or 4 bowls, top with desired toppings and serve, or cover and refrigerate to serve later.

Per serving: 296 Calories, 13g Fat (1g Sat.), 0mg Chol., 7g Fiber, 9g Pro., 41g Carb., 53mg Sod., 2mg Iron, 73mg Calcium

RELATED: 10 Best Foods to Eat for Breakfast

Lunch or dinner

Your NutriBullet does double duty here, making the cashew cream and then blending the soup (and you don’t even have to rinse the cup in between). You’ll have extra cashew cream left over; use it as a base for a non-dairy “creamy” salad dressing or sauce later in the week.

Photo: Beth Lipton

Dairy Free “Creamy” Tomato Soup

Serves: About 6

2 cups raw cashews

4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil, plus more for drizzling

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. harissa (a Mediterranean chili paste; use up to 2 tsp. if you like more heat)

1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes

1 Tbsp. lime juice

1. Place cashews in a large bowl. Cover with cool water, cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots and celery, sprinkle lightly with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, sauté 1 minute. Add harissa, tomatoes with juices, lime juice and 1 cup water; stir. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low again and simmer to allow flavors to blend, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let soup cool.
3. While soup cools, drain cashews; rinse with cool water. Transfer to NutriBullet and add 1 ½ cups cool water. Puree to a paste, following manufacturer’s instructions and shaking cup in-between blending to distribute ingredients evenly. Transfer 1 cup cashew cream to a large bowl; cover and refrigerate remaining cashew cream (reserve it for another use). Do not rinse NutriBullet cup.
4. Working in batches, puree soup, adding to bowl with cashew cream as you go. When all of the soup is pureed and thoroughly mixed into the cashew cream, taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Rewarm gently in a pan over medium-low heat to serve right away, or cover and refrigerate to serve later. Drizzle with additional olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper before serving, if desired.

Per serving: 201 Calories, 14g Fat (2g Sat.), 0mg Chol., 3g Fiber, 4g Pro., 16g Carb., 421mg Sod., 2mg Iron, 49mg Calcium

RELATED: How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup With Spinach

Dessert

A nutritious, rich, chocolately ice cream that’s free of dairy and refined sugar but still feels luscious and indulgent? Yes, please! You can eat this for breakfast; we won’t judge.

Photo: Beth Lipton

Chocolate-Raspberry “Ice Cream”

Serves: 2

1 cup frozen raspberries (preferably organic)

2 bananas, sliced and frozen

¼ cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup coconut milk

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

Pinch of salt

Cacao nibs, for serving, optional

Place all ingredients (except cacao nibs) in NutriBullet and pulse for a few seconds to blend. Shake cup and repeat until ingredients are well combined and mixture resembles ice cream. Do not overblend or mixture will soften too much, into more of a milkshake consistency (unless you want a shake!). Divide among 2 bowls and serve, sprinkled with cacao nibs, if desired, or cover and freeze to serve later.

Per serving: 396 Calories, 18g Fat (14g Sat.), 0mg Chol., 14g Fiber, 10g Pro., 55g Carb., 107mg Sod., 3mg Iron, 34mg Calcium

 

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Teens Who Tan Indoors May Be More Likely to Smoke, Drink, Use Drugs: Study

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — New survey results suggest that teenagers who go to tanning salons are more likely to smoke, drink and use illegal drugs and steroids.

The findings, from Colorado, don’t prove that indoor tanning prompts risky choices about drugs, alcohol and steroids. But the results do suggest that teens who tan indoors might be prone to do other potentially dangerous things, the researchers said.

“This makes them an especially vulnerable group,” said Dr. Eleni Linos, an assistant professor of dermatology with the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Teen use of tanning beds is an important issue because they pose more danger to younger people, noted Linos, who was not involved in the study.

“Those who use tanning beds before age 25 have almost double the risk of malignant melanoma and a 70 percent higher risk of non-melanoma skin cancer,” she said.

Even a few hours at a tanning salon can be dangerous. “Every time you tan, you increase your risk of getting skin cancer, including melanoma,” Linos said. “Indoor tanning also causes premature skin aging, like wrinkles and age spots, and changes your skin texture.”

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban on indoor tanning for those under the age of 18 in response to those health concerns. The public has 90 days to comment on the proposal.

In the new study, a team led by University of Colorado researchers examined the answers of over 12,000 Colorado high school students who responded to a survey.

After adjusting the survey responses so they would better reflect the students as a whole, the researchers found that 7 percent of the respondents said they’d tanned indoors at least once in the past year. Females were about as twice as likely as males to say they used tanning salons.

Two-thirds of those who’d tanned said they’d used marijuana in their lives, compared to 35 percent of the other students. Twenty-one percent of the indoor tanners said they’d used steroids compared to less than 2 percent of the others; 10 percent said they’d smoked cigarettes daily over the last month compared to less than 2 percent of other others.

Females who tanned indoors were especially likely to use Ecstasy and abuse prescription drugs, while males seemed to be especially drawn to steroids and heroin, said study co-author Dr. Robert Dellavalle, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Colorado.

Gery Guy Jr., a health economist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the study provides more evidence linking tanning at salons and other risky behaviors. He has worked on previous research that connected tanning to heavy drinking, use of illegal drugs and steroids and unhealthy weight-loss choices.

What’s going on? “It’s a short step for a teen involved with one risky health behavior to try another,” Guy said. Teens at risk may suffer from low esteem or depression, he said. They may also be worried about how they look, he said, and this could drive them to do risky things.

As for prevention, Guy said parents are key because studies show their attitudes about tanning affect those of their kids.

“Research suggests that girls who initiate tanning with their mothers tend to begin tanning at an earlier age, and are more likely to become regular, habitual tanners than girls who initially tanned alone or with a friend,” he said.

The research letter on the findings appears in the Jan. 20 issue of JAMA Dermatology.

More information

For more about the dangers of indoor tanning, try the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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New Approach Might Boost HIV Testing Rates

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Telling people they’ll be screened for HIV unless they decline to be tested — an approach known as “opt-out” testing — could significantly increase the number of patients who agree to be tested, new research suggests.

Other approaches to HIV screening, such as leaving it up to patients to specifically ask to be tested, could have the opposite effect, researchers said.

“Our study provides evidence that small changes in wording can significantly affect patients’ behavior and thus our understanding of their preferences and is crucial to providing patient centered care,” wrote study leader Juan Carlos Montoy, from the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.

The study, which involved 4,800 patients seen in the emergency room, is the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate consent for HIV testing. None of the patients involved had ever tested positive for the virus.

The researchers divided the patients into three groups based on different approaches to offering HIV testing. The first group received an “opt-in” approach, which let them know that testing was available but they had to specifically request the test. The second group received an “active choice” approach and were directly asked if they wanted to be tested for the virus. The third group received the “opt-out” approach. These people were tested for HIV unless they specifically asked not to be screened.

The study found 38 percent of the patients in the “opt-in” group agreed to be tested for HIV. Meanwhile, 51 percent of those in the “active choice” group and 66 percent in the “opt-out” group accepted the HIV test, the study authors said.

The study results were published Jan. 19 in the BMJ.

Although patients may prefer to be asked directly if they want to be tested, the study authors concluded that the “opt-out” approach could increase the number of patients actually tested for the virus. They noted this is particularly true for those at intermediate and high-risk for HIV infection. These patients, the study showed, were more likely to accept testing than those in low-risk groups. The effects of the “active choice” approach to testing however, didn’t vary by level of risk behavior.

The researchers concluded that more research is needed to assess the effects of the various approaches to HIV screening.

Around the world, 37 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. About 46 percent of those infected with the virus remain undiagnosed. HIV testing is critical to controlling the epidemic. “Opt-out” testing has been endorsed in the United States. Europe is also moving toward this approach to testing, the researchers said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on HIV testing.

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Why Learning a Second Language Is Easier for Some

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — New research helps explain why learning a second language is easier for some adults than others.

Language learning success or failure has to do with differences in the strength of connections between certain areas of the brain, according to the study published Jan. 20 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Even when you’re resting and not doing any specific tasks, the different regions of your brain are communicating with each other, the Canadian researchers explained.

The strength of these connections varies between people, and previous research has linked these differences to variations in language ability.

In this study, researchers at McGill University in Montreal scanned the brains of 15 adult English speakers before they began an intensive 12-week French course. The participants’ language abilities were tested in speaking and reading tests before and after the course.

Those with greater improvement in speaking French by the end of the course had stronger connections between the left anterior insula/frontal operculum — which plays a role in verbal fluency — and the left superior temporal gyrus, an important part of the language network, the researchers found.

Participants with greater improvement in reading speed had stronger connections between the visual word form area and a different region of the left superior temporal gyrus language area, the study authors said.

“These findings have implications for predicting language learning success and failure,” study co-leader Xiaoqian Chai said in a news release from the Society for Neuroscience.

According to Arturo Hernandez, a neuroscientist at the University of Houston, “The most interesting part of this finding is that the connectivity between the different areas was observed before learning,” he said in the news release.

“This shows that some individuals may have a particular neuronal activity pattern that may lend itself to better learning of a second language,” added Hernandez, who studies second-language learning and was not involved in the new study.

But Chai said that the findings don’t mean that brain wiring is the only factor that affects a person’s ability to learn a second language, because the brain can be shaped by learning and experience.

The study is “a first step to understanding individual differences in second language learning,” and “might help us to develop better methods for helping people to learn better,” Chai concluded.

More information

Learn more about how the brain works at Harvard Medical School’s Whole Brain Atlas.

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Sham Acupuncture Equals Real Acupuncture for Hot Flashes: Study

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Sham acupuncture is as effective as real acupuncture in treating hot flashes in women, and the placebo effect likely plays a role in both, according to a new Australian study.

In real acupuncture, thin needles are inserted into the skin at specific points. Sham acupuncture uses blunt-tipped needles that don’t penetrate the skin.

The study included 327 Australian women older than 40 who had at least seven moderate hot flashes a day. Half received 10 sessions of real acupuncture over eight weeks and the other half received the same number of sessions of sham acupuncture.

By the end of the treatment period, women in both groups had a 40 percent reduction in the severity and frequency of their hot flashes. The benefits were still evident six months after treatment, the University of Melbourne researchers found.

There are a number of possible explanations for the improvement in both groups, including the placebo effect, the benefits of going to a clinic to discuss symptoms, and the fact that hot flashes tend to improve on their own over time, according to study leader Dr. Carolyn Ee, a general practitioner trained in Chinese medicine.

“This was a large and rigorous study and we are confident there is no additional benefit from inserting needles compared with stimulation from pressuring the blunt needles without skin penetration for hot flushes [flashes],” she said in a university news release.

“If women want to consider having acupuncture for hot flushes, they should know that although previous studies show it is better than doing nothing, our study demonstrates that needling does not appear to make a difference,” Ee added.

Women considering acupuncture for hot flashes should also discuss other treatment options with their doctor, she advised.

Previous research suggests acupuncture helps treat a number of conditions, including chronic pain, menstrual pain, tension headaches, hay fever and chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting.

The study findings were published online Jan. 19 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

More information

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has more about acupuncture.

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Eating Fish—Even Tuna—During Pregnancy Linked To Better Brain Health: Study

Photo: Getty Images

In a surprising new study, some of the very fish pregnant women are discouraged by some health groups from eating may be the ones associated with the most protective effects on fetal brain development.

The observational study, funded by the government of Spain and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, looked at approximately 2,000 pregnant mothers across Spain. During pregnancy, the women reported their fish intake via food questionnaires that categorized intake by types of fish. Most of the women ate some fish during pregnancy; the average amount was three servings a week. During birth, blood from the women’s umbilical cords was assessed for levels of mercury, a contaminant linked to neurotoxic effects, and DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid. After birth, the women’s children were tested on scales for cognitive development and a scale measuring symptoms indicative of autistic spectrum disorder, both when they were 14 months old and five years old.

RELATED: Eating Fish May Lower Your Risk For Depression

Eating more servings of seafood a week was associated with increases in cognitive scores and decreases in symptoms of autistic spectrum in the children. Eating 600 grams of total fish per week—about three to four servings—was linked to a 2.8 point increase in IQ score. Unexpectedly, the protective effect was particularly strong for large fatty fish like tuna, which have some of the highest levels of DHA—and mercury—among fish types.

The umbilical cord blood test revealed higher amounts of mercury and DHA for people who ate more large fatty fish, but researchers didn’t see negative associations with mercury and the child’s neurodevelopment. “It seems that our mercury indicator is telling more about fish consumption, and the positive effect of fish consumption, than the neurotoxic effects of mercury,” says study co-author Jordi Julvez, research fellow at the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Barcelona. The benefits tapered off when fish consumption was higher than 600 grams.

How much fish is safe for pregnant women—and what kind—is hotly debated. While the European Food Safety Authority recognizes a benefit to one to four servings of fish per week for mothers-to-be, it recommends limiting fish high in mercury. In the United States, last year’s draft recommendations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)revised their stance on eating fish during pregnancy. Previously, they’d cautioned women not to eat too much of it. In the new guidelines, they encouraged women to eat more of it—but only 2-3 servings a week—and to choose the types lower in mercury and limit their consumption of big predatory fish, such as tuna, which have more mercury.

RELATED: This Popular Supplement May Spur Weight Loss

The study was observational, so it wasn’t designed to determine a cause. But Julvez speculates that DHA omega-3s during pregnancy are the key—especially since other biomarkers for fish intake that they looked at, like vitamin B, didn’t explain the association. DHA is important in building neurons and cell membranes, he says. And pregnancy seems the most effective time for children to reap the benefits on brain development. “In that specific moment, a large amount of DHA is needed when the brain is growing,” Julvez says.

More research is needed, especially on the role of mercury and whether the positive brain effects last past age 5. But for now, the results suggest that current American recommendations may be too stringent, Julvez and his co-authors write. “Overall, the present results suggest no adverse associations of high seafood consumption in pregnancy with offspring neurodevelopment,” they write—and that high seafood consumption may even bring some brain benefits.

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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Your Fitness Inspiration on Instagram Has Stomach Rolls, Too