Photo courtesy of sarasotadermatologyblog.com

We all know we should wear sunscreen, but all the different choices for protection coupled with the media buzz over every new scientific finding on sun damage can inspire a person to do a whole lot of nothing when it comes to their skin protection. But for the average person looking to prevent sunburn, sun damage, and skin cancer, arming yourself with knowledge doesn’t need to be difficult at all. Here’s a 5-minute rundown of what you need to know about sun protection.

UVB rays: Not only do these rays penetrate and damage skin deep down, contributing to skin cancer, they’re the ones that leave you lobster-red. Insult to injury. By the way, “SPF” is a measure of a product’s protection against UVB rays, but doesn’t measure how well a product protects against UVA. A product can protect against UVB but not UVA rays.

UVA rays: These rays won’t cause sunburn, but they cause wrinkles, age spots, and blotchy skin. Even worse, they contribute to skin cancer just like UVB rays. There is no standard US metric of a product’s protection against UVA rays, but there are many products on the market which do offer UVA protection. You just might need to do a little detective work!

Sunblock: Sunblock is made up of ingredients which physically deflect the sun’s rays, like tiny knight’s shields. Examples of sunblock ingredients include zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Sensitive skin that’s irritated by chemical sunscreen may find that sunblock is the answer. Because sunblock deflects all rays, it protects against both UVA and UVB.

Sunscreen: Sunscreen is comprised of chemicals which absorb the sun’s rays, preventing it from penetrating skin. Older chemicals used in sunscreen only absorbed UVB rays with efficacy, but newer formulations like avobenzone can absorb UVA light. If you like the quick, non-greasy absorption of sunscreen rather than sunblock, make sure your sunscreen of choice protects against both types of rays.

See? That’s not so hard. Whether you prefer sunblock or sunscreen, the bottom line is to look for a product that offers broad spectrum protection (this means it protects against both UVA and UVB - when in doubt, ask your dermatologist for a recommendation) and wear it every day. Yes, even in fall and winter!

Fess up for real: do you wear sun protection every day?

Even hunger seems a little more refined in Italiano, which must explain why I often feel so dignified while sticking my face in a gigantic bowl of pasta.

Pasta gets a bad rap due to the creamy, calorie-rich sauces it so often gets tossed in, but the pasta itself is relatively blameless and can even boast a decent protein and fiber count. Here are the nutritional facts for four popular kinds of pasta, including a filled tortellini:

Spaghetti—158 calories, 1g fat, 2g fiber, 6g protein
Whole wheat spaghetti—124 calories, 1g fat, 5g fiber, 5g protein
Spinach pasta—130 calories, 1g fat, 5 g protein
Cheese tortellini—307 calories, 7g fat (4g saturated), 2g fiber, 13 g protein,

While spinach and whole wheat pasta clearly pack the best nutritional deal for your caloric dime, none of them break the bank—and all of the pastas are low in sugar, saturated fat, and sodium. Even cheese-filled pastas like tortellinis and raviolis don’t have to be a health buster, provided you skip the alfredos in favor of tomato sauces or a healthy drizzle of olive oil. And take the calories you’ll save chowing down on whole wheat pasta and put them towards a nice glass of red. For the antioxidants, clearly.

By Kristen Julewicz
Photos courtesy of the Burke Williams spa

As much as I love my usual aromatherapy and hot stone massages, there’s always room for a new addition to my beauty repertoire. Ever since reading Eat, Pray, Love, I’ve been on the hunt for something that beautifies my “inner being” along with my outer self. Meditation put me to sleep before it even began and the only thing beautiful about me after a bikram yoga session was the flowery design on my mat.

Thankfully, there’s the Harmony Massage from Burke Williams. With several locations across California, they’ve revolutionized your typical rub down with this signature treatment.

I had the pleasure of experiencing the Harmony Massage last week in their West Hollywood location. The creativity lies in acutonics, the ancient healing art of vibration therapy. As my skin was exfoliated using special herbs and aromatic oils, the use of a tuning fork was applied to specific points on the body where sound waves travel deeply into the body and stimulate tissues and Qi (energy flow), in order to promote inner healing and harmony.

Hot and Cold Stones awakened my circulation and the “blooming flower tea” sharpened my senses and provided a welcome change from my daily Java fix.

After a cross country flight and long day, I didn’t think anything could “renew, revive and realign” my inner being unless it was served in a cocktail glass and poured over ice (I kid!). However, I left their West Hollywood location with a spring in my step and a feeling of calm unlike I’ve ever experienced.

Don’t live in California? I asked as many questions as possible in hopes of recreating the experience at home. My esthetician, while knowledgeable and talented, could only tell me the herbs were “Chinese” in origin. There goes my hope of an Oregano and Rosemary recreation in my kitchen! Perhaps some of the best things in life should remain a mystery. I’m leaving Harmony up to the experts at Burke.

Photo courtesy of Jane Iredale

If, like me, you lack the brain cells that allow you to transform written instructions about a new makeup look into said look on your own face, there’s hope. Imagine a friendly, knowledgeable makeup artist coming to your house and showing you how the right way to get that smoky eye or perfectly matte lip. Now, imagine that it’s free.

Check out Jane Iredale’s YouTube channel for a series of clear videos showing viewers the step-by-step process to create subtle, trendy, and dramatic makeup looks. The well-shot, well-lit videos make it easy to recreate the look in your home bathroom. And you can’t beat the convenience of the YouTube format, which lets you watch the whole video before applying your own makeup or pause to apply after watching each step for maximum precision.

I love the wide variety of women chosen to model the application process. The “Timeless Beauty” video even provides step-by-step makeup application instructions to help older women accentuate—not slather over—their features. And it can be hard to apply makeup over makeup without looking like the Cryptkeeper at the end, so the “Day to Night” video is a personal favorite.

I hope Jane Iredale keeps adding to this great resource! If you’re inspired by the lovely shades featured in these videos, enter our Jane Iredale giveaway contest here. One winner will take home $500 of Jane Iredale goodies (including the Silver Lining collection featured in the “Day to Night” video!)

Turns out spending your retirement curled up in an armchair may not be in the cards if you want to stay strong and active. Aging atrophies your muscles twice as fast as previously thought, and exercise may be the only cure.

It was already well-documented by scientists that muscles shrink and atrophy with age, but a British team of researchers delved in deeper and found that this phenomenon is due to two effects that compound one another: first, older bodies can’t build muscle as quickly as younger ones and second, the hormones which suppress muscle breakdown in the young fail to perform the same action in older bodies.

There’s hope, though—maintaining good blood exchange between the muscles and organs through regular strength and weight training has shown signs of being able to reverse or at least stave off these aging effects. That should tide us over until the development of bionic bodies that will never break down and will let us all benchpress cars.