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When most people get in the shower and start lathering up their hair with shampoo, they think about the work they need to get done or what to make for dinner. Few of them really think about what is in their shampoo, though.When it comes to shampoo, you might think of the cost, suitability for your hair type (for example, ideal for color-treated hair), fragrance, or your perception of the effectiveness of that shampoo.What you really need to be thinking about are the ingredients in that shampoo and how they might pose serious risks to your health. Read the label on your bottle of shampoo, and if it has any of these ingredients, switch to something else immediately. 1. Propylene glycol This skin irritant is highly toxic and most damaging to the organs inside your body. It also causes your body to absorb other chemicals through the skin. You can get a good shampoo that does not have this that will still leave your locks luscious. 2. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) Ever get shampoo in you

We love this stuff, don’t we? Social Media is full of personality tests these days. We all want to understand ourselves better. It stands to a reason that the better we understand ourselves, the better we can align our lives with what makes us happier and live a more fruitful existence.As a trained life coach, I see a lot of people keento work out the good stuff to focus on; their strengths for example. But we are not so keen to look at our weaknesses. And no judgment here, I know it is not the easiest of tasks.But if you were feeling brave, and were wondering how to even begin identifying your weaknesses, then I have you covered. It is all about looking at your behavioral patterns. It is in your behavioral patterns You could have the best poker face in the world, or live in a big cloud of glorious denial. But nothing, and I mean nothing, gives away our weaknesses like our unconscious behaviors.Just to clear this up before we go any further; an unconscious behavior does not mean that

Our brains are so complex with over 100 billion neurons and a tremendous capacity to store memories and experiences. The brain is what functions the entire body of any species. It is truly a mysterious and amazing part of who we are. So, we must take good care of our brain. When we nourish our brains with positive things, there is no limit to what our brains can do. So, how do you nourish it? Here are a few ideas you can do right now to nourish your brain. 1. Nourish your brain with whole foods We all know that eating healthy makes our bodies healthy, but that also includes our brains. Eating certain foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can actually help to protect the brain’s function. Avoiding foods with trans fat is vitally important to a healthy body and brain. Be sure to look at the ingredients when choosing your foods. 2. Get your body moving Exercise increases the levels of serotonin, which alleviates depression and makes the body feel good. Exercise also maintai

Alone but lonely. Single and loving it. That applies to me and so many other people out there content to be in their own company. I am anatural born loner. Being always ready to tackle challenges without anyone else beside me is something I honestly take pride in. But I understand that not everyone understands whatit means to be content alone, and so I have gathered up some advice that you can follow to learn the art of being a loner (at least once in a while). Think of being alone as an adventure This is the big one for me – and the one that I can explain for my own experience. I have traveled throughout America and Japan alone. People ask me all the time if it would be wiser ormore fun to have someone else along for the ride, but I never give it a thought. To me, the personal discoveries I make are much sweeter when I can tell the story. The journey is a spiritual one that I would not enjoy as much if someone else was beside me.Traveling alone has made me a strong, sensible woman.

There has been quite a bit of focus on immaturity and poise this year, has there not? With everyone going red in the face at actions taking place around the world, it is important to remember how to be calm, collected, and mature in situations that do not necessarily please you. Do not let ego rule, nor the little angel and devil on your shoulders. Here are eight ways to be more calm and mature starting today: 1.focus on yourself Getting addled by what other people say, think, and do, even if it has nothing to do with you, is completely asinine. Focusing on things that have little importance, such as a comedy sketch or a satire, when bigger things are at hand, is immature. If you want to be mature, you have to focus on what you have on your plate and no one else’s. Do what you have to do for you, those around you, and no one else. Forget about the criticism if it is not constructive. Forget about the haters. Forget about comparisons. Just do you. 2. Persevere Children have a way o

Describing emptiness the way you feel it is like describing the absence of color. A lack of joy inside is unlike any other type of sadness. Whether you are newly feeling this emptiness or have been tolerating it for awhile, you do not have to continue with it. There are ways to stop feeling empty inside, and you can start the process of returning color to your life today. Causes of emptiness Those who describe themselves as feeling empty usually share a similar thought – that life lacks meaning. Somehow, your reason for being was stripped away, and now you are a shell of your former self. Emptiness is often a symptom of a couple mental health disorders and psychological unwellness, such as the following: Addiction: This can be to alcohol or drug use as well as a certain behavior. When usage of the substance you are dependent on, or a certain want, becomes unavailable, feelings of emptiness can occur. Borderline personality disorder: Emptiness is often paired with other symptoms of

That's where we're likely headed: A Florida court recently denied Fifth Amendment protections for iPhone passcodes, saying suspects must now reveal them to police. The decisioncame after a previous court had ruled that a suspect couldn't be compelled to give up the key to unlock his phone based on laws against self-incrimination. A trial judge had denied the state's motion to compel the suspect to give up his passcode, finding that it would be tantamount to forcing him to testify against himself, in violation of the Fifth Amendment. But the Florida Court of Appeal's Second District just reversed that decision. Judge Anthony Black said, "Unquestionably, the State established, with reasonable particularity, its knowledge of the existence of the passcode, Stahl's control or possession of the passcode, and the self-authenticating nature of the passcode. This is a case of surrender and not testimony. "More importantly," he added, indicating future c

An Ebola vaccine has proven to be 100 percent effective during test trials in Guinea. The shot has yet to be approved by a regulator, but Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has already committed $5 million so a stockpile of 300,000 doses can be produced. The results of the trial, which covered 11,841 citizens, were published in  The Lancet  medical journal this week. Of the 5,837 people who received the vaccine, none came down with Ebola after 10 days. (Those who showed symptoms before this time were not counted, as it was assumed they had been infected before vaccination.) By way of comparison, there were 23 cases in the group that didn't receive the vaccine. "We were able to estimate the efficacy of the vaccine as being 100 percent in a trial," Ira Longini, a biostatistician who worked on the project said. "It's very unusual to have a vaccine that protects people perfectly." That's not to say the new formula is bulletproof -- while its effectiveness is high,

We are now headfirst into the official season of goal setting. Sure, we have a few days of over-indulgence and chilling out over the holidays. But once the eggnog is all gone and the festive movies have long-since become boring, we start to feel a familiar nagging in the pit of our stomach. There is nothing like sitting on the sofa for long periods of time to let your worries about the passing of time catch up with you. In our normal, day-to-day existence I think we generally keep too busy for this nagging feeling to catch us up. But when we rest, there it is, and we start listing our New Year’s resolutions. So once you have spent some holiday down time alone with your thoughts, and have a list of things to achieve in the near future, how do you set a goal that actually sticks? I commonly see three types of goals being set, and the first one is a bit of a red herring. The ones that dwindle and die These goals are things we launch in January, perhaps a new juicing habit for example.

Chances are you are stumbling upon this article through somekind of social media source. Twitter or Facebook, perhaps? You might see it standing next to another writer’s take on why social media makes us depressed, less confident, and anti-social. But I do not think that is true. Because of this, I want to bring to you several reasons why social media can make you a better individual. 1. Social media can save lives Voltaire and Spiderman’s Uncle Ben both have said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”Social media puts the world in the palm of our hand, so to speak. Not only does have connection to a million viewers throughout the world give us amazing outreach, social media puts us in touch with people who can help us.Take organ donors, for example. Without social media to spread the message, there are many people – most of them are children – who would not have found the help they needed in time to survive.I am sure we have all heard the stories of people using Twitter to

From time to time, every person feels bummed out and low. It is perfectly normal, especially when lots of stress comes calling. You just want to roll over in your bed and pull the covers over your head and stay there.But if this is how you feel on a daily basis, depression could beto blame. It is important you do not ignore it either. There is nothing shameful about getting help, but if you are a woman and you are on birth control pills, before you seek antidepressants to help set you right, you should talk to your gynecologist.Why? A Danishstudythat was recently conducted with one million Danish women ranging in ages from 15 to 34 and spanning 13 years in duration, found that those that were taking birth control pills that contained estrogen and progestin were more likely to receive a diagnosis of depression.It was the largest study ever conducted of this type and found that women taking birth control pills were 23% more likely to fall into depression. And teenagers were even more lik

We live in an over-programmed, over-scheduled world full of commitments. Between working in the office during the day, out of the office work obligations (which as a blogger, there are MANY), workouts to be had, groceries to be bought, dry cleaning to be picked up, regular errands to run, family to see, and friends to catch up with, I often find myself without enough time for myself. And beyond that, I’m finding that most of my schedule, including things I should be excited about, often feel like “obligations.” And I’m not the only one. A recent study by the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis found that scheduling leisure time with friends—for movies, drinks, bike rides— can make these otherwise enjoyable activities feel like chores, which is often why we cancel them. The research showed that assigning a specific date and time for leisure can have the opposite intended effect, making it feel much like a chore.  Additionally, the researchers found that both the

This weekend I started making over one of our bathrooms at the new TBD HQ. I’m on the hunt for a good small to medium sized mirror and figured I should take you guys along with! We wanted to save some money on the bathrooms because we still have the main office to finish as well as the shooting studio and as you know, decor adds up QUICK AF. These are some of the mirrors we found and are considering, and they’re all under $100 which I cannot believe! I’ll add links for each one. (ALSO– I’m dead over this pink bathroom up top that I found the other day on pinterest.)

Parenting is a tough yet rewarding job. You want to do all that you can to protect and care for your children. But when your child is diagnosed with a chronic illness, and you know you can’t protect him, you and your spouse will need support like never before. Remember these tips as you love and care for your child through his illness. 1. Develop a support system You and your spouse will need to support each other so that taking care of your child is less stressful. You will need someone to talk to who understands what you are going through, and your spouse is the best person for that emotional support.You can also find support groups that understand what you are going through. Hospitals may have support groups or know where to find them. Do not hesitate to join a group if you need to, and do not feel guilty about it. It is normal to have the feelings you might be having during this challenging time. 2. Share the care The two of you can share caring for your child so that one of yo

To most people, the lives of their personal trainers or fitness class instructors are a complete mystery. How do we stay that in shape without getting burnt out? What is our secret? Now, I say “we” and “our,” because as a personal fitness trainer, yoga instructor, and professional dancer, I am alwaysanswering these questions for clients and class participants. Because of that, I decided to share my fitness tips and tricks with you! 1. Personal trainers make workout fun You can image that because fitness is our job, we can get bored of our own routines sometimes. That, or the well of inspiration runs dry. The crazy part is that due to our love ofworking out and activity, personal trainers, and group fitnessinstructors find ways to make fitness fun. We do what worksfor us.For example, my routine (aside from the classes I teach and exercises I demonstrate for my clients) involves the activities that I think are fun and get me moving – kayaking, skiing, hiking, dancing, yoga, and gardeni

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who seek to cast off normalcy to see the world, and those who are content with remaining with the same routine and environment they were raised in.As someone who proudly declares herself a global citizen andprofessional nomad, I get asked questions about home and hearth quite often. In return, I developed some reasons for why every person needs to see another culture and land at least once. 1. Perspectives I will not mince words here. When you travel, the preconditioned view you have the world is peeled away from your eyes. You see the world for what it really is: land, sky, water, animals, and humans. Gradually, the dissimilarities you were told existed either become evident or disappear.For me, I have started to see pieces of the world wherever I go. Every place has its forests, deserts, mountains, and lakes.Nowhere is spared of diversity, but it’s where you decide to see those differences that change. Depending on the land you vis