On the negative side, potentially toxic chemicals and carcinogens can find their way into your bloodstream through creams, perfumes, and cosmetics. Herbal teas are a wonderful addition to your daily skin care regimen. Teas such as green, black, and peppermint are aromatically uplifting and can help to tighten pores. Chamomile and lavender flowers are calming and can help to reduce inflammation. The next time you steep some herbal tea, keep the used tea bags, open them up, and use them in your face masks and scrubs....

I have a friend who recently posted on Facebook page that he feels unable to find contentment in his life or in his work, and asked for his friends’ thoughts on how he can change that. But for each person’s response, he had a negative retort, listing reasons why these ideas would not be feasible for him. The following are five such obstacles that are common culprits in feeling stuck, and how to handle them....

So to follow, we created an expert guide to exfoliating your legs—from scrubs to serums to tools and more. Plus, a few reasons you might want to start exfoliating ASAP if you haven’t already. Happy buffing! One perk of using a body scrub is that it’s typically done in the shower (read: extremely low lift). You can keep your favorite store-bought scrub right next to your body wash (a few mbg-approved picks here), or make your own—we’ll share our go-to DIY recipe in a bit....

Achieving the sleep of our dreams (and the daytime productivity of our fantasies) starts with the right mindset; racing, anxious thoughts from the day will only make it harder to relax. Routine matters too; drinking caffeine or alcohol, eating rich foods, and scrolling through social media before bed can mess with rest. Finally, one of the most important determinants of sleep quality is the bedroom itself. The ideal sleep space is dark, quiet, and cold—ideally around 65 degrees Fahrenheit....

The first recorded use of the Aussie oil was in the 1920s, when it was revered as a germ fighter1. In fact, Australian soldiers were supposedly encouraged to keep the oil in their military kits during World War II as an antibiotic. It quickly spread to the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, and other European countries, and these days there are massive plantations across Western Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales growing the product on a large scale....

Here, we unpack what makes positive affirmations so helpful, plus provide over 70 affirmation examples to get you started. The more you work with your affirmation, the more the positive thinking can aid in self-improvement, as they help to transform negative thought loops and patterns. “[Affirmations] work primarily at the conscious level, whereas many of our conflicts about ourselves and our sense of adequacy are within our subconscious or unconscious mind,” Yusim explains....

How to use it: Brew some chamomile tea. Let it cool. Wash your entire body with it. Seriously, though, a DIY facial treatment can fight fine lines and wrinkles, and using chamomile as a rinse can help protect color-treated hair while also conditioning your strands. Or, opt for the tried-and-true method of using tea bags on your eyes to fight puffiness and dark circles. Growing tips: A light-loving plant, this baby needs a lot of sun and occasional watering once it’s grown....