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Air drying your hair

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By The Beauty Department

Believe it or not there’s a lot more to air drying hair than just letting your hair dry……. in the air. There are steps you can take to make your air dried hair look pretty epic and it’s not as hard as you might think. Follow these tips and find the air drying product for your hair type down at the bottom!

air dry air drying hair the beauty department

  1. Use a WIDE TOOTH COMB to detangle while you’re in the shower or immediately after you get out. Don’t wait too long to comb through or your curl wave pattern will break up. Find your part (if you want one) and do a quick comb through.
  2. Pick your favorite product from the round up below for air drying! I have different favorites for different hair needs so be sure you’re using the one best suited for your own hair. (Here we’re using the new AIR DRY FOAM for which I added a shopping link down below and more info!)
  3. “Scrunch” the product of your choice into your hair. Be sure to deliver the right amount to the area where your hair needs it most– for example, if you want volume, scrunch a volume-focused product into the root and work your way to the ends. If you want to focus on moisture, start at the bottom where your hair may be the driest and work your way up using a moisture-focused product.
  4. A long time ago I told you guys about my favorite thing for curly hair– t-shirt drying. Use an old t-shirt to squeeze excess moisture out of the hair. Using a t-shirt instead of a towel is genius because the little loops from a towel can easily cause frizz whether you realize it or not! They’re like teeny tiny little combs and sometimes hairs stick to them as you scrunch, breaking up the curl.
  5. Always flip your head upside down and give it a little scrunch. By doing that you can avoid that “pasted down” look that is often a result of air drying. By flipping a scrunching you’re lifting the root off your head just a little. For more volume, do this a couple times as it dries.
  6. Continue scrunching from the bottom up as the hair dries. Not a ton, but just a couple times here and there to encourage the wave or curl.
  7. If you have “puffy hair”, and it tends to get wide or super frizzy, twist your hair into a loose bun for 10-20 minutes as you air dry. Then let it to continue drying. That should help contain some of that puffiness.
  8. At the end, add a good HAIR SERUM of your choice! Only if you feel like you need it! If you don’t, lucky you. Sometimes just for extra polishing, I’ll take a flat iron on low heat and just finish off my ends very lightly. Sounds silly because the point of this is air drying but if you’re going somewhere and you just want it a little more refined, seal down your ends with the lightest amount of heat. You’re still skipping heat styling on 90% of the hair.

Here are my favorites for each hair type, including the one we used up top!

the beauty department air drying

  1. R + CO CHIFFON This is more like a light leave in conditioning foam, in my opinion. I wasn’t expecting that the first time I used it. I thought it was going to be more like a regular mousse with a little hold. My hair didn’t have hold at all, it was just soft and bouncy. This is great for anyone needing additional softness when air drying. You can use this on straight, wavy or curly hair. Not going to do anything for puffy or frizzy hair, really.
  2. JOHN FRIEDA AIR DRY FOAM I loved this and it’s super affordable. It gives a very light hold and doesn’t feel heavy. Weightless foams are becoming very popular for air drying and this was the one we used up top. Kept the waves in and frizz out. May not be enough hold for curlier hair types though.
  3. LEONOR GREYL ECLAT NATUREL I’ve been using this stuff for years. I love this for over processed blondes and anyone with significant dryness. Natural oils are packed into this cream and it’s sooooooo great. It brings the most dead hair back to life. Major nourishment.
  4. SACHAJUAN OCEAN MIST Love this for exactly what you’d think. Beachy waves. Some ocean sprays have a lil too much grit for my liking, leaving the hair feeling like there’s a film on it. This doesn’t do that at all and it’s pretty light weight which works well on finer hair (as most ocean sprays do not).
  5. ORIBE CURL GLOSS Anybody air drying major curls should have this is their bathroom. It lasts a long time (which is important because it’s pretty pricey) but I love it SO much. Curly hair lacks moisture, and often lacks shine because of that. This brings back the shine in a way that just looks healthy, not wet and crunchy.
  6. SEBASTIAN WHIPPED CREAM This one is amazing for classic wavy hair and curly hair that needs more volume. It’s whipped and literally feels like whipped cream. It encourages waves and curls to get “bigger” but also feels moisturizing at the same time.
  7. LIVING PROOF CURL ENHANCING STYLING MOUSSE I like this for anyone who’s in between. So let’s say you have not-quite-wavy or not-quite curly hair. This curl enhancer will knock you into the next bracket because it actually help form stronger curl patterns.
  8. DR BRONNERS FAIR TRADE ORGANIC HAIR CREME Shout out to my organic, vegan- loving curly girls. This a cream formula made from organic natural ingredients. I love it for anyone who needs to “take it down a notch” with the width of their hair. If you hair gets big and wide, work some of this in from root to ends and see it settle. The weight doesn’t over-power. It just helps to calm excess volume. Also, feels like you’ve had conditioner in your hair the whole time when you go to rinse it out.
  9. ORIBE GEL SERUM For those of you who need MORE! If you already have wave or curl and you want it big big big, use some gel serum. I love this for wild, untamed crazy curls. It’s going to give you a MAD curly hair flip.
  10. SEBASTIAN POTION 9 I’ve been using this since I was a kid and I’ve used it on many hair types. It’s great for the slightest hold and for adding shine and moisture. I don’t use it every time I shampoo, just once a week or so when my fine but very thick hair feels like it needs a little extra moisture and I don’t have time to do a treatment!

Do you have any favorites for air drying?

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HEALTHY LIVING

A lesson in kindness, inclusion and how kids eat differently

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y

(Feature Impact) The school year brings new classmates, routines and opportunities for children to learn about people whose experiences may be different from their own. They could include friends who use a wheelchair, carry an inhaler or even receive nutrition through a feeding tube.

Watch this video to learn more

https://youtube.com/watch?v=p9srvT963jE%3Fsi%3DFgjL9HX00c698jNa%26controls%3D0

For families who rely on tube feeding, it is an essential part of daily life but is often understood only by those who experience it. That limited awareness can leave children who are tube fed and their families feeling isolated or unseen, according to Gerard Minor, a pediatric gastroenterology and hepatology specialist.

Parents can use everyday questions as opportunities to help children understand there are many ways people receive nourishment. Teachers, classmates, caregivers and communities can also help make tube feeding part of the everyday conversation around childhood rather than something that separates children from it.

“Helping children understand those differences early can encourage curiosity, kindness and inclusion,” Minor said.

To help bring greater awareness, understanding and representation to children and families who experience tube feeding every day, Compleat, a leader in tube feeding formulas, launched “What Is Better Than How,” featuring “Sesame Street’s” Elmo and his signature warmth and curiosity. The original song celebrates the many ways people eat. Some people eat with a fork, some use a spoon and some use a tube, reinforcing a simple message: What matters is not how you eat. What matters is that you are nourished, loved and included.

To hear the song, create a personalized version and learn more about the campaign, visit Compleat.com/WhatIsBetterThanHow.

SOURCE:

Nestle Compleat

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HEALTHY LIVING

Dry eye: An overlooked perimenopause, menopause symptom

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(Feature Impact) Dry eye is one of the most overlooked symptoms of perimenopause, the phase of fluctuating hormones leading up to a woman’s final period, and menopause, the point in a woman’s life when she’s gone a year without a period.

In fact, 79% of women1 recognize hot flashes as a symptom of menopause, but only 14% recognize dry eye as a menopause-related symptom, according to the 2026 Bausch + Lomb (Peri)Menopausal Survey. What’s more, 78% of women1 were surprised to learn that dry eye is a symptom of perimenopause or menopause.

“Dry eye is still widely overlooked as a symptom of menopause, and many women think it’s just a minor nuisance, but the truth is it can significantly affect your daily life,” said Neda Gioia, OD, CNS, IFMCP, FOWNS, founder, Integrative Vision. “Early symptoms are often misunderstood or self-treated but it’s very important for women who experience symptoms to see an eye doctor and get an accurate diagnosis and treatment.”

During perimenopause and menopause, declining hormone levels can impact tear production, tear quality and tear evaporation, contributing to dry eye symptoms including redness, fluctuating vision and a gritty or tired feeling in the eyes, all of which can impact day-to-day comfort and quality of life. If left untreated, dry eyes may worsen over time, potentially impacting eye health and vision. Among peri-, menopausal and post-menopausal women who experienced dry eye, 80% said the symptom came as a surprise.

Respondents reported their dry eye symptoms caused difficulty reading (58%), difficulty using screens (53%), difficulty driving (26%) and reduced productivity (17%), underscoring the often-overlooked impact dry eyes can have on everyday life.1

However, there are a variety of products and treatment approaches available to help manage dry eye symptoms. For example, Bausch + Lomb offers a range of options designed to address the main causes of dry eye.

A doctor-recommended, clinically proven once-daily soft gel supplement that targets the key root causes of dry eyes, Blink NutriTears supports healthy tear production and provides lasting, continuous relief.* § As part of a comprehensive approach to dry eye management, the supplement can be used with Blink Triple Care Preservative Free Lubricant Eye Drops, which are designed to directly address tear evaporation, one of the leading causes of dry eye, and provide instant and long-lasting symptom relief.

An eye care professional can help determine the approach that’s right for each individual. To learn more about dry eye and products to help combat it, visit JustBlink.com.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

12026 Bausch & Lomb (Peri)Menopause Survey via Suzy, n=402; Women ages 30–80+ who are perimenopausal, menopausal, or post-menopausal
§Based on a clinical study

SOURCE:

Bausch + Lomn

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HEALTHY LIVING

Life insurance is on the to-do list right after cleaning out the garage!

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(Sheeka Sanahori) Being an adult comes with a never-ending list of responsibilities: Cook dinner. Scrub the bathroom. File taxes. The tasks grow even longer when sharing a household with a partner, building a family, or taking care of others. No matter how you define “adulting,” getting life insurance tends to be one part of the to-do list that keeps getting set on a procrastination loop.

New survey data backs that up: there are plenty of other tasks adults would rather focus on first.

The Adulting Task Americans Keep Avoiding

According to the 2026 Life Happens Life Insurance Survey, a financial literacy nonprofit organization, 39% of U.S. adults would rather clean out their email inbox than figure out their life insurance needs. Another 31% would rather clean out the garage or basement. One in five U.S. adults would be willing to sit on hold with customer service for three hours before life insurance planning. Even though many adults have it somewhere on their list, nearly half (46%) say they’ll either deal with it later or not at all.

They Know It Matters

Nearly a third of adults have already figured out a life insurance plan, and they feel good about their decision. Others are feeling more conflicted: 14% have a policy, but they’re not sure if they have enough. Another 12% say they either don’t know where to start or they think it’ll be too expensive.

It’s no wonder people are putting it off: Navigating a new-to-them form of financial planning can come with a lot of complicated emotions. Four in 10 feel either overwhelmed, anxious, or some combination of both. Sixteen percent of U.S. adults feel guilty for putting it off, but when the outcome is more procrastination, that feeling lingers.

Why Later Keeps Winning

If you’ve ever faced an important decision without having enough information to make an informed choice, you know how stressful it can be. While the generations have different takes on making major decisions with a gut feeling or “pure vibes,” most of the time, people want to feel like they’re making an informed choice. Forty-five percent of U.S. adults say cost concerns, confusion or procrastination are the main reasons they have delayed or would delay looking into life insurance. For more than one in five, the plan is to seriously look at it when they feel more financially stable. For 12%, they say they’ll do it when they’re older.

Men tend to feel more confident about their life insurance decisions to date; 53% of men vs. 41% of women feel confident their family would be financially protected.

The First Step Feels Bigger Than It Is

Learning more about life insurance, how it’s priced and how it works could help get many consumers out of their procrastination loop. A quarter of people say they’d make a decision if they learned it was easier to get than they previously thought. Thirty percent would make the purchase if they learned it was more affordable than they believed it to be. Others need an experienced professional to talk to or an online calculator tool to give them guidance.

Methodology: Life Happens commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 2,000 adults, including 700 Gen Z respondents, 700 millennials, and 600 Gen X respondents throughout the United States. The margin of error for the overall sample is +/- 2 percentage points and +/- 4 percentage points for each generational sample, with a confidence level of 95 percent. Fieldwork took place between July 14 and July 20, 2026. Atomik Research, part of 4media group, is a creative market research agency.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock (couple using computer)

   

SOURCE:

Life Happens

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