The 5 Best Chocolates to Give Your Healthy Valentine

Whether you see Valentine’s Day as a perfect excuse to shower your sweetheart with love, think it’s the worst kind of fake holiday, or fall somewhere in between, there’s one thing we can all agree upon: February 14 means chocolate.

Here at Health, we are big fans of chocolate, especially dark. Its health benefits are numerous and well documented, and it’s a proven mood- and brain-booster.

Of course, some varieties are better than others. There are types made without refined sugar, darker varieties with more antioxidants and less sugar overall, and others with superfoods mixed in. With so many on the market, we did some, ahem, intensive research to bring you some of the best-for-you and tastiest ones. (You’re welcome!)

So treat your sweetheart, friend, sister, or yourself (or all of the above); it’s all good.

(Remember, as with our recent story on dairy-free ice creams, these are still treats, so be mindful of portions.)

Lulu’s Love Truffles ($8 for a box with 3 truffles; amazon.com)

These truffles are perfect for Valentine’s Day for obvious reasons—their name, for one, but also because they’re heart-shaped and there’s a heart on the box. But there are plenty of other reasons to love them, too. They’re organic, vegan, soy- and gluten-free, made with lower-glycemic coconut sugar, have just five ingredients (all recognizable), and they’re even Fair Trade. Needless to say, they’re also delicious. Dark chocolate (78% cacao) enrobes a silky filling made with sprouted hazelnuts, and just a touch of fleur de sel makes them absolutely tantalizing. Did we mention that you can eat all three for only 255 calories?

Photo: Amazon.com

 

Heavenly Organics Honey Patties ($24 for 40; amazon.com)

Look no further for an indulgent treat for your honey (sorry). These little cups, filled with organic raw honey, are made with 100% cacao, are Fair Trade, non-GMO certified, and come in amazing flavors like mint, ginger, pomegranate, and almond (there’s also a plain one if you like your chocolate and honey straight up). Portion control is not an issue here, as each individually wrapped patty is so satisfying (and light, at around 50 calories).

Photo: Heavenlyorganics.com

Taza Chocolate Coconut Besos ($6 for a 2.5-oz. bar; amazon.com)

Aside from being adorable that it’s named “besos” (“kisses” in Spanish), this non-GMO, Direct Trade Certified, gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free bar is made with Taza’s signature rich stone-ground chocolate (70% cacao in this bar), and studded with super-trendy coconut. Other great options: Taza’s Sea Salt & Almond or Cacao Nib Crunch, both made with 80% cacao.

Photo: Amazon.com

Theo Organic Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups ($17 for 6 2-cup packs; amazon.com)

The classic combo gets an upgrade in these luscious cups, which are not only gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free, 71% fair trade and made with ingredients you can pronounce, they’re also heart-shaped (awww!). Plus, you can eat both cups and still come in at 210 calories.

Photo: Courtesy of Theo

Green & Black’s Organic Dark Miniature Bars Collection ($30 for 12 mini bars; amazon.com)

If you’ve ever stood in front of a Green & Black’s display and agonized over the choices—Hazelnut and Currant? No, Ginger. No, Cherry—today is your lucky day. This box has 6 different flavors, 2 mini bars of each, so you don’t have to decide. Plus, they’re all organic, Fair Trade and made with just a few simple ingredients (and they’re all delicious, of course).

Photo: Amazon.com

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/20FVSXN

Is Fat From Another Area of Body Safe for Breast Reconstruction?

MONDAY, Feb. 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Using women’s own fat cells to enhance breast reconstruction following cancer surgery doesn’t increase the risk they will experience a recurrence of their disease or develop a new cancer, research suggests.

The procedure is known as lipofilling. Fat is taken from the belly or another part of the body and injected into the breast to enhance appearance, the researchers explained.

According to the report in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, this technique can be safely used during breast reconstruction following a partial or total mastectomy.

“Our controlled study shows that, used as part of breast reconstruction, lipofilling is a safe procedure that does not increase the risk of recurrent or new breast cancers,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Steven Kronowitz, of Kronowitz Plastic Surgery in Houston, said in a journal news release.

The study included more than 1,000 women who had lipofilling after cancer-related breast surgery. About one-third of these women had a high genetic risk for breast cancer and underwent a risk-reducing mastectomy.

Rates of new or recurrent breast cancers in these women were compared against a similar group of women who had cancer-related breast reconstructions without lipofilling. Women who’d had lipofilling after a mastectomy due to cancer were followed for about five years, the study said.

Overall, cancer recurrence rates were similar among the women who had lipofilling and those who didn’t. This was true for cancers that recurred in the breast or surrounding tissue as well as recurring systemic cancers that affect other parts of the body, the study authors said.

None of the women who had a preventive mastectomy developed breast cancer, the findings showed.

There was a slightly higher risk of cancer recurrence for women on hormone therapy who had lipofilling during breast reconstruction, the investigators found.

Plastic surgeons are increasingly using lipofilling as part of breast reconstruction surgery. But the researchers said many doctors remain concerned that the procedure may affect women’s risk for new or recurring breast cancer.

“Our results provide new evidence that lipofilling, used as part of breast reconstruction, is a safe procedure that does not increase the risk of recurrent or new breast cancer after mastectomy,” Kronowitz said.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about breast reconstruction.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1nYvOpv

Brain Cells in Mice May Reveal Clues to Your Sighs

MONDAY, Feb. 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Scientists working with mice say that they’ve pinpointed brain cells that control sighing.

In lab experiments, the researchers found that two tiny clusters of neurons in the brain stem trigger sighs.

“Sighing appears to be regulated by the fewest number of neurons we have seen linked to a fundamental human behavior,” said study researcher Jack Feldman, a professor of neurobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“One of the holy grails in neuroscience is figuring out how the brain controls behavior. Our finding gives us insights into mechanisms that may underlie much more complex behaviors,” Feldman, a member of the UCLA Brain Research Institute, said in a university news release.

The findings provide new insight into the network of brain stem cells responsible for breathing rhythm, added researcher Mark Krasnow, a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif.

“Unlike a pacemaker that regulates only how fast we breathe, the brain’s breathing center also controls the type of breath we take,” he said in the news release.

“It’s made up of small numbers of different kinds of neurons. Each functions like a button that turns on a different type of breath. One button programs regular breaths, another sighs, and the others could be for yawns, sniffs, coughs and maybe even laughs and cries,” Krasnow explained.

Sighing is a vital reflex function that helps preserve lung function, the researchers noted. On average, a person sighs every five minutes, or about 12 times an hour.

“A sigh is a deep breath, but not a voluntary deep breath. It starts out as a normal breath, but before you exhale, you take a second breath on top of it,” Feldman said.

Being able to trigger sighing would benefit people who cannot breathe deeply on their own, and limiting this reflex could benefit people with anxiety disorders and other mental health conditions in which sighing becomes debilitating, the researchers said.

Whether this is in the realm of possibility isn’t known. Also, results of animal experiments often aren’t replicated in work with humans.

While this study pinpointed the brain location where sighing is controlled, the link between emotions and sighing remains a mystery.

“There is certainly a component of sighing that relates to an emotional state. When you are stressed, for example, you sigh more,” Feldman said. “It may be that neurons in the brain areas that process emotion are triggering the release of the [sigh-triggering chemicals] — but we don’t know that.”

The study was published online Feb. 8 in the journal Nature.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more on breathing.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1nYvO9h

Study Links Concussion to Higher Risk of Later Suicide

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Feb. 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Average people who suffer a concussion may be three times more likely to commit suicide years after their brain injury, a new Canadian study suggests.

Further, the long-term risk of suicide appears to increase even more if the head injury occurs during a weekend, researchers found.

Based on these results, loved ones and physicians should keep a close eye on anyone who’s had a concussion, even if the head injury happened years ago, said senior author Dr. Donald Redelmeier, senior core scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and a physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto.

“Nobody commits suicide in the immediate weeks or the immediate months after the concussion,” Redelmeier said, noting that suicide tended to occur on average nearly six years following the head injury.

It’s important to note, however, that this study only showed an association between concussion and suicide; it did not prove a cause-and-effect link.

Most research on long-term effects of concussion has involved military veterans and professional athletes, Redelmeier said. But he and his colleagues wanted to investigate whether garden-variety concussions cause any lasting problems for the general population.

They combed medical records to find every adult diagnosed with a concussion anywhere in Ontario during a two-decade period. The researchers looked for people who had concussions, but didn’t need surgery and didn’t need to be hospitalized, Redelmeier said. They came up with more than 235,000 people who’d had a concussion. From this group, 677 committed suicide.

Concussion patients wound up committing suicide at a rate of 31 per 100,000 people annually, researchers found. That’s more than triple the average Canadian suicide rate of nine per 100,000 people each year, Redelmeier said

Findings from the study were published Feb. 8 in the CMAJ.

People who got a concussion on the weekends fared even worse, with four times the average suicide rate, the researchers said.

The increased risk remained even after researchers accounted for people with a prior history of psychiatric problems.

“That’s an important finding in and of itself,” said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and former sideline physician for the New York Jets football team. “Just having concussion increases suicide risk in patients without a psychiatric history. All primary care physicians and pediatricians need to be aware of this study.”

Weekend concussions probably have longer-lasting effects because they receive less medical attention, the experts suggested.

Concussions during weekdays typically occur on the job, where “we often have a more regimented type of follow-up,” Glatter said.

“People are referred to the emergency department after such injuries because they are job-related and they will be compensated for follow-up care,” he said.

On the other hand, weekend concussions often are related to recreation or sports activities, Glatter and Redelmeier said. People are more inclined to shake off those head injuries and not get proper care.

“If you want to get back up and back in the game, no one will stop you, and some of your teammates or your coaches might even encourage that,” Redelmeier said.

There are several theories why concussions might be related to increased suicide risk, the experts said.

Repeated concussions are thought to cause lasting injuries to the brain that affect brain chemistry, increasing the risk of mood disorders that can lead to suicide, Glatter said.

These findings show that concussions may have an impact on long-term brain health, Redelmeier added.

“A concussion doesn’t do anybody any good,” Redelmeier said. “It can injure hundreds and hundreds of neurons inside the skull, every one of which might be important for something.”

However, a concussion also might be a sign that a person already has a mood disorder that makes them more apt to be careless, impulsive and, in the end, suicide-prone, Redelmeier noted. In that case, a concussion might be an indication of an underlying mood disorder, not a direct risk factor for suicide.

Dr. Uzma Samadani, a neurosurgeon at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, said the study reinforces the need for better detection and treatment of concussions.

More and varied tests need to be developed for concussion, just as there are different tests to gauge the severity of a heart attack, Samadani said.

“We have no way of defining it, detecting it, diagnosing it at present that is universally accepted,” she said. “That is a travesty. We are obviously not doing enough.”

In the meantime, loved ones should not be shy about watching for warning signs of suicide and urging past concussion victims to get help if needed, said Dr. Vani Rao, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of the brain injury program at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

Warning signs might include depression, substance abuse, feelings of hopelessness, talk of suicidal impulses, extreme mood swings or withdrawal, according to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

“Family members should be educated about the risk of suicide in people with traumatic brain injury, and if they see a change in behavior or change in mood they should be taught to ask questions and get help for their loved ones,” Rao said.

Also, concussion patients should make the head injury a part of their medical record, the same as medication allergies or prior surgeries, Redelmeier added.

“Don’t forget about it,” he said. “If you had a serious concussion 15 years ago, it’s worth reminding people of that.”

More information

For more information on suicide, visit the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1nYvO9b

Many in Hospice Don’t Get Medical Visit in Last 2 Days of Life: Study

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Feb. 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — In the last two days before dying, many hospice patients cared for at home or in a nursing home were not seen by a doctor, nurse or social worker, a new study finds.

The researchers found that one in eight Medicare patients didn’t get such visits, especially if they were black, dying on a Sunday or were in a nursing home.

The study, funded by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, led the agency to change its hospice care payment policy for 2016, according to study lead author Dr. Joan Teno. She is a professor of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The agency, as of Jan. 1, now has a new payment structure for hospice patients, adding a “service intensity add-on payment” in the last seven days of life for up to four hours a day for visits by a registered nurse or medical social worker.

Teno said her study only looked at the last two days of life “because symptoms escalate and pain worsens for patients who are cared for by families, and families need to be educated about how to care for the patient. Also families need support not only in the task of being the hands-on primary caregiver, but also bearing witness to the death of a loved one.”

Teno said that Medicare had previously paid a single rate per patient regardless of the number of visits by professional staff, mainly a registered nurse or social worker, on any day.

The researchers looked at doctor visits, too. But most visits are from registered nurses and medical social workers, Teno said. These two members of the hospice team are the ones who have control over the care plan, she explained.

“They can make changes to ensure that the dying patient is comfortable and to provide education to the family on how to care for the patient in the last days of life,” she said.

Teno added that she hopes these policy changes will “improve end-of-life care for many hospice patients who are dying across this country.”

The report was published online Feb. 8 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dr. Alexi Wright, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said that hospices are underfunded.

It’s the one area in medicine that is a per-diem service paid for by a fixed daily rate that must cover medications, equipment and clinical caregivers’ salaries at a cost that’s less than a single dose of chemotherapy, she said.

“Families are often overwhelmed when losing a loved one and haunted by their final moments,” Wright said. “This is too important a time to shortchange patients and their families. As this study shows, hospice payment reform is long overdue.”

For the study, the researchers used information from Medicare to collect data on more than 660,000 patients receiving basic hospice care. Teno’s team found that during the last two days of life, just over 12 percent of the patients were not seen by professional staff.

Visits varied by state, the researchers found. In Alaska and Washington, for example, nearly 20 percent of dying patients were not seen by professional staff, whereas in Wisconsin only about 4 percent of patients had no visits during the last two days of life.

When Teno and colleagues looked at more than 3,400 hospices, they found that 8 percent provided no visits during the last two days of life and less than 1 percent provided visits to all patients during the last two days of life.

In addition, black patients were less likely to have visits from professional staff in the last two days of life, compared with white patients, the findings showed. And hospice patients in nursing homes were almost two times less likely to be visited by professional staff than those dying at home.

Also, about one in five patients who died on a Sunday did not have a visit from professional staff in the last two days of life, Teno said.

Smaller hospice programs (those with 90 deaths or less during the one-year study period) and programs in nursing homes were less likely to provide visits in the last two days of life, Teno said. These findings did not differ whether the hospice was a nonprofit or for-profit program, she said.

Dr. Eric Widera, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and coauthor of an accompanying journal editorial, said that when choosing a hospice, people should be sure the program will meet their needs.

“It’s important to look at the services they can actually deliver and how long the program has been in existence,” he said. Widera also advises asking people who have used the hospice about their experience.

“Hospice has been shown to improve the way people die,” Widera said. “It improves symptoms, pain, the quality of care, satisfaction for patients and families, but not all hospices are built the same, so before you sign up for a hospice, it’s wise to ask these questions.”

More information

For more on end-of-life care, visit the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1mnYuGO

Move of the Week: Swan Dive

If you’re tired of planks and crunches, you need to try the swan dive. It works your abs in a prone position, which is an awesome way to target your back, as well as your entire core. Here, Kristin McGee, Health’s contributing fitness editor, guides you through the move.

RELATED: 4 Exercises for Flat Abs and Trim Hips

Here’s how to do it: Lie on your stomach, stretch your arms overhead, and point your toes. Inhale and lift your legs and chest as high as you can as you circle your arms to the sides and behind you. Hold for a count, then return to starting position. Do 6-8 reps.

Trainer tip: While you hold for a count, imagine your legs being pulled out and back away from your hips. 

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1mnYuGJ

Fitbit’s Super Bowl Ad Is Just the Inspiration You Need Today

This year’s Super Bowl ads offered, as usual, a little bit of everything. From the funny (Drake spoofing his own bizarre Hotline Bling video while shilling for T-Mobile) to the less-so (Steve Harvey spoofing his Miss Universe mixup to also hawk T-Mobile).

Our favorite was Fitbit’s “Dualities,” touting the new Blaze smart watch ($200, amazon.com). In the straightforward clip, set to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s jaunty Little Demon, a host of fit-looking folks perform a series of everyday moves, each smash-cut to the same person doing the functional equivalent in the gym. (A guy standing from a train station bench suddenly executes a perfect barbell squat; a woman hoisting her carry-on bag into a overhead bin swings a kettlebell).

RELATED: 9 Best Fitness Trackers

The spot is fast, intuitive and requires no dialogue to convey its point that life is a continuum of motion from real life to gym life, and Fitbit’s trackers erase the seam between the two. The pithy slogan: “Get Fit. In Style.” After a few hours on the couch, that’s exactly what the ad made us want to do.

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1SbN5rG

PSA Testing Differs Among Primary Care Doctors, Urologists

MONDAY, Feb. 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Urologists are far more likely than primary care doctors to do prostate cancer screenings known as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, a new study reports.

For the test, a blood sample is taken and sent to a laboratory to check for levels of a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland.

PSA testing declined overall after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in 2011 recommended against routinely screening all men. But the new research finds the falloff was sharper among primary care doctors than urologists.

Between 2010 and 2012, PSA testing decreased from about 36 percent to 16 percent at primary care physician visits but only from about 39 percent to 34 percent at urologist visits, the researchers found.

This discrepancy may reflect different perceptions of the benefits of the test among doctors, the authors said in the study published online Feb. 8 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The greater decline in PSA testing among primary care doctors could also stem from conflicting prostate cancer screening guidelines and differences in patients’ demographics or expectations, the study authors suggested.

“Moving forward, this finding emphasizes the need to continue interdisciplinary dialogue to achieve a broader consensus on prostate cancer screening,” the researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston concluded.

The research team, led by Dr. Quoc-Dien Trinh, used the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to examine PSA testing one year before and one year after the task force recommendations were issued.

The study involved nearly 1,200 preventive office visits made by men aged 50 to 74 who were not diagnosed with cancer or any other prostate condition. Primary care doctors were seen in 1,100 of these visits. The others were examined by a urologist, a doctor who specializes in the urinary tract.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on the PSA test.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KBaK2f

White House Seeks $1.8 Billion to Fight Zika Virus

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Feb. 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) — The Obama administration is seeking $1.8 billion in emergency funds from Congress to combat the threat of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the White House announced Monday.

The funding will allow an expansion of mosquito control programs, speed development of a vaccine, develop diagnostic tests and improve support for low-income pregnant women, the Associated Press reported.

In an interview on CBS Monday morning, President Obama said, “What we now know is that there appears to be some significant risk for pregnant women and women who are thinking about having a baby.”

The White House move followed a World Health Organization (WHO) emergency declaration last week that the Zika virus was now a global health threat, based on the suspicion that the virus may be to blame for thousands of birth defects in Brazil in the past year.

Though a cause-and-effect link has not been proven, many public health experts fear the virus causes microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with permanent brain damage and very small heads.

The U.S. action also followed a new advisory from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that pregnant women with a male sexual partner who has traveled to, or lives in, an area affected by active Zika virus transmission should refrain from sex or use condoms until the pregnancy is over.

The CDC said the precaution is in place “until we know more” about the dangers of sexual transmission of the virus.

The Feb. 4 advisory followed a report out of Texas that one confirmed case of Zika virus infection was transmitted through sex, not a mosquito bite.

Speaking at a Feb. 5 news conference, CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said the agency is investigating Brazilian research that detected Zika virus in patients’ saliva and urine. At this point, however, the CDC’s guidance to pregnant women does not include anything about kissing, he said.

“We’re not aware of any prior mosquito-borne disease associated with such a potentially devastating birth outcome on a scale anything like appears to be occurring with Zika in Brazil,” Frieden added.

“Because this phenomenon is so new, we are quite literally discovering more about it each and every day,” he said.

In the new advisory, the CDC added two new countries, Jamaica and Tonga, to its travel alert list of nations that pregnant women should avoid due to ongoing Zika virus transmission.

While the Zika epidemic first surfaced in Brazil last spring, Zika virus has since spread to 30 countries and territories in South and Central America and the Caribbean. The WHO now estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the Americas in the next year, AP reported.

But over the weekend, a small ray of hope on that front emerged in Colombia. Although 3,177 pregnant women in the country have been diagnosed with the virus, President Juan Manuel Santos said there’s no evidence Zika has caused any cases of the birth defect, according to the AP.

Meanwhile, health officials in the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department reported last week that an unidentified patient had become infected with the Zika virus after having sex with an individual who had returned from Venezuela, one of the Latin American countries where Zika is circulating.

Scientists have suspected that Zika could be transmitted sexually, and there have been scattered reports of similar occurrences in recent years.

If research proves that the virus can be spread through sex, it could complicate efforts to contain infections from the virus, which health officials have said is “spreading explosively” across South and Central America.

Ashley Thomas Martino is an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at St. John’s University, in New York City, who teaches infectious disease.

“We are dealing with an emerging strain of this virus. Zika is not new — it has been around since the 1950s — but this strain is showing that it can be transmitted from the mother to the developing fetus,” he said. “So, the occurrence of sexual transmission may be new, but it’s not that surprising given that we’re dealing with a new strain of this virus.”

Martino added that “most cases will be transmitted via mosquito, and this form of sexual transmission is likely to be a rare occurrence of infection.”

The blood supply is also being monitored closely. The American Red Cross on Feb. 3 asked potential blood donors who have traveled to areas where Zika infection is active to wait 28 days before giving blood.

The chances of Zika-infected blood donations remain extremely low in the United States, Dr. Susan Stramer, vice president of scientific affairs at the American Red Cross, said in a statement

According to the White House, the CDC has reported 50 laboratory-confirmed cases among U.S. travelers from December 2015 through Feb. 5, 2016. There has so far been no transmission of the Zika virus by mosquitoes within the United States, but some Americans have returned to the U.S. with infections from affected countries in South America, Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands, the AP reported.

The Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947, and until last year was not thought to pose serious health risks. In fact, approximately 80 percent of people who become infected never experience symptoms.

But the increase of cases and birth defects in Brazil in the past year — suspected to exceed more than 4,100 — has prompted health officials to warn pregnant women or those thinking of becoming pregnant to take precautions or consider delaying pregnancy.

More information

For more on Zika virus, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To see the CDC list of sites where Zika virus is active and may pose a threat to pregnant women, click here.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KBaMqL

7 Foolproof Ways to Get Rid of Blackheads

If you’ve never had to deal with annoying little black dots on your nose, then you’re truly #blessed. The rest of us have spent our lives resisting the urge to pick or pop our blackheads, which appear when oils and skin cells clog our hair follicles. Though banishing blackheads can be a challenge, there are ways to do it without destroying your skin. Whitney Bowe, MD, a New York City-based dermatologist, reveals seven safe blackhead treatments that will clear up your skin for good.

Try double-cleansing

Clear skin starts with a thorough cleanse, so be sure to scrub away any makeup and grime before attempting to fight those stubborn blackheads. You might find it most effective to double cleanse: First, wash as you normally would, and then follow with a cleanser that contains salicylic acid. Dr. Bowe’s pick: Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash ($8; drugstore.com), which treats and prevents breakouts without being too harsh.

Photo: Drugstore.com

Exfoliate a few times a week

Getting into an exfoliation routine will is another crucial step to beating blackheads, says Dr. Bowe. Do it twice a week if your skin’s sensitive, and three times a week if you tend to be oily. Exfoliating will help slough away the dead skin cells that would otherwise clog your pores bring on the blackheads. Try Clinique’s Exfoliating Scrub ($21; macys.com).

Photo: Macys.com

 

Use a skin brush

Take your beauty routine one step further by using a mechanical cleansing brush, which helps to deep clean pores and purge oil and dirt buildup. A good scrub around the nose, on the chin, and over the forehead works wonders at fighting blackheads, says Dr. Bowe. She recommends any brush by Clarisonic, such as the Mia Fit ($189; sephora.com). We love this one for its portable design—use it after a sweaty cardio class or while you’re traveling to keep skin looking its best.

Photo: Sephora.com

Try a mask

Clay and charcoal masks are like glue to blackheads. They draw out impurities and leave skin feeling smoother and pores looking smaller. Use one two times a week or whenever you feel that skin could use some clarifying.  Try Herbivore’s Blue Tansy Mask ($48; amazon.com). It packs powerful natural ingredients including fruit enzymes, blue tansy, and white willow bark, which together work to unclog pores and prevent new blackheads from popping up.

Photo: Amazon.com

Add tea tree oil to your regimen

Strengthen your mask’s blackhead-vanishing power with a drop of tea tree oil, suggests Dr. Bowe. Tea tree oil has antibacterial benefits that will help clarify skin and prevent blackheads from forming. This alternative remedy helps restore hydration in the skin that might otherwise end up dry and peeling from using other treatments to combat breakouts. Try the Body Shop Tea Tree Oil ($10; amazon.com). 

Steam, then extract

Using a steamer to open your pores is like a DIY mini facial that will clear away blockages. Try Conair’s Facial Steamer ($30; walmart.com). After a few minutes, pores should be opened up and impurities loosened.

Photo: Walmart.com

Now is the time to try to extract any gunk that’s built up inside. Extractions are only safe to do in a sterile environment using fingertips or an extractor tool like Tweezerman’s Blackhead/Whitehead Remover ($12; amazon.com). And if you apply gentle pressure and nothing pops out, stop, Dr. Bowe warns. Leave it until it’s ready, and keep using the salicylic cleanser and other treatments to keep blackheads at bay.

Photo: Amazon.com

Apply a retinoid treatment

Typically known for its anti-aging properties, retinol also works wonders to help you attain a flawless complexion, devoid of blocked pores, Dr. Bowe says. After steaming, if you don’t want to do your own extractions or if nothing comes out, apply the retinoid to your open pores. Use Philosophy’s Help Me Retinol Night Treatment ($49; drugstore.com), specifically in places where you have congested pores. Over time you will notice smaller pores and fewer blackheads.

Photo: Drugstore.com

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1UYq3SZ