Essential oils are created by glandular structures in the plant, either on the surface or internally. If you touch a lavender leaf, for example, you can smell the essential oil on your fingertips from the external oil glands. With a plant like eucalyptus, you have to break open the leaf to access the aromatic compounds. In either case, when it comes to incorporating essential oils into wellness, it’s often more practical—and accessible—to work with a concentrated essential oil than the raw plant itself....

Most people living in developed countries with access to unprocessed foods get enough biotin through diet alone and frank deficiency is rare2. That being said, it’s important to know the facts including recommended daily dose, overconsumption risk, signs of inadequate intake and deficiency, and where to find the water-soluble micronutrient. Biotin is an essential B vitamin (translation: we can’t adequately produce it, so we must consume it daily) that has several critical roles in the body....

Trust the world’s favorite organizer to turn a show all about folding and tidying into a viral hit. Dubbed by some to be “Netflix’s next Queer Eye,” the series spotlights one household per episode and follows its residents in their quest to find simplicity under piles and piles of stuff. It speaks to those of us looking to get organized in the new year, providing both entertainment (it’s hard not to fall in love with Kondo’s gentle, charming way of delivering harsh advice) and tangible tips on how to get better at letting go....

Here, experts share how to identify and kill bugs in houseplants to keep your greenery collection looking good as new. “There are so many ways they can come in, and my message is always that it’s normal to have pests if you have plants. It’s almost unavoidable,” Roos Kocken, a houseplant expert and sustainability advocate, tells mbg. With that being said, getting into the habit of regularly checking your plants for signs of pests is a smart idea....

What I am going to say might surprise you. While it’s tempting to jot down a list and sink pent-up energy into cleaning, decluttering, and transforming rooms, I strongly recommend that you take it slow. Whether your time at home is two weeks—or two months—keep my top strategies in mind to calmly guide you through: So by all means, throw open the windows and get to work. I advocate a few top spring cleaning tips every year, and this year should be no different....

Conditioners certainly fall into this category. You may think the answer to “How to use conditioner” is fairly obvious (uh, don’t you just put it in after your shampoo? I can practically hear the eye roll!), but in practice, using this item comes with a lot of alternative practices. And it’s worth experimenting with new ways to use it to see what works best for your hair type. Think of it like washing your face: You need to top that fresh skin with a hydrator to keep water in the skin, as well as enhance skin barrier function....

I’ve suffered from chronic gut pain, essentially since birth. At times, it would get so bad that I would begin to question if I was facing my own mortality—it felt like there was no end to the pain. I experienced this roller coaster of symptoms and emotions for 31 years before I finally found relief. When I was 12, I watched my mother get sober. In my family, there are a lot of individuals with substance use disorders, and it was a really impactful moment in my life to see someone navigate their mental health and become the person I always hoped they could be....