Death of the Snooze Button?

With the first day of school looming, it is impossible to ignore that start-of-semester reality: the dreaded alarm clock. There is evidence to support the compulsion to hit the snooze button: teens require at least 8.5 hours of sleep a night, a goal that is difficult to reach when homework, sports, and club meetings force bedtimes into the early morning hours.  

Some school districts, however, are addressing this problem by starting high school later. (The national high school start time clocks in at 7:59.) While more than 1000 schools have embraced this change, others hold out. Check out our pro-con list below and let us know your thoughts.

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Meagan Lazor, the winner of our product Giveaway!

Vitamin D Essentials

Sometimes reading about dietary vitamins can sound a lot like alphabet soup. Given the time of year, I thought it might be appropriate to talk about one vitamin that often accompanies discussion of sunny weather: Vitamin D, which is important for strong bones and a hearty immune system.  

It is true that exposure to the sun's UVB radiation allows our own bodies to manufacture vitamin D. However, research from Skincancer.org indicates that only five minutes of high-intensity sun exposure a day are needed for maximum vitamin D production. What happens after that? Sun burn, probably.

In fact, the best ways to get vitamin D are through diet and supplements. Pair a big glass of skim milk with breakfast, chow down on oily fish (like salmon), or pop a go-down-easy liquid gel to ensure proper levels. 

Paraben-Free: So What?

Here at GR8SKN, we are proud to be paraben-free! Sure, that sounds like a good thing, but how many of us actually know what parabens are—or what they do?

Parabens are compounds used as preservatives in most cosmetics and beauty products. A small 2004 study suggested that these compounds may be linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. However, most toxicologists have since discounted this claim, asserting that the evidence was inconclusive. This is further complicated by the fact that some parabens occur naturally—in blueberries, for instance.

Nevertheless, we'd rather not take the risk. Luckily, GR8SKN packaging—the airless pump, combined with the opaque bottles—allows us to avoid using these potentially harmful chemical as preservatives.   

Guest Post: Lauren's Take on GR8SKN

As a kid, summer means endless fun, the kind of fun that only comes without the stress of homework ceaselessly looming over your mind. However, somewhere between the tearful goodbyes at the end of the summer after graduation and the duration of your freshman year of college, summer just seems to lose its appeal.

The reason? Independence. You got your first taste of it when you hit the "caf" and realized you could have cereal for dinner—just "because." But this independence and control extends far beyond the cafeteria walls; all of a sudden, you have control over a myriad of facets in your life. And it is that very control which inevitably diminishes when you’re back under you parents’ roof and their watchful eyes. In the face of that, however,  it is important to focus on what you can control: your health. Only you can control what your body does, consumes, and uses. 

This summer, I took control over my diet, fitness, and skincare in the hopes of holistically revolutionizing my body.  While I have always done my best to eat healthy and exercise, I still made some minor changes that had big results. With a little creativity I have found fun and delicious ways to incorporate vegetables, such as kale, into my diet for at least two meals a day. Additionally, while I have always been a "gym rat," I have finally gotten over my “gym-timidation” and now do strength-training in addition to cardio.

While my diet and exercise didn’t need that much alteration, my skincare routine was in serious need of a face lift. Previously, I never considered skincare to be something about which I had to be conscious. I had dealt with troubled skin for many years and had tried all the washes, all the spot treatments, even all the prescription stuff. It was all the same to me. You walk down the skincare aisle and everything has the dermatologist stamp of approval promising “you’ll be ready for the big day in no time.” No matter what product I tried, I was always left with irritated, dried-out skin—anything but what I wanted on my illusive “big day.” I started to make the connection that all these ingredients with fancy names I couldn't pronounce were really just harsh chemicals deteriorating my skin. Finally, I realized that skin is an organ of the body—the biggest, in fact—and needs to be treated as such. Just like organs that I tried to nurture via diet and exercise, my skin also needed to be nourished.

So I decided to try GR8SKN, which uses mostly natural ingredients that aid troubled skin in a manner that doesn’t irritate it. I started using CLEAN three times a day: when I woke up, after my daily workout, and before bed. It’s gentle and has a sweet hint of willow bark that smells great. And when a cleanser even takes off your waterproof mascara, it is more than safe to bet that all that caked on foundation is gone after a wash, too.  In the mornings and nights I follow my cleansing with CLEAR, which I know I can count on to soothe any flare-ups. With just a few applications, a problem pimple will be visibly smaller, and yet my skin isn’t left irritated like it was with previous spot treatments. Finally, I apply RESET which is packed with Vitamin A, an all-star when it comes to nourishing skin. In using RESET I have noticed a reduction in uneven pigmentation and an overall healthier glow. As a trio, these products have left my skin looking fresh and healthy. Now, if I wear makeup it is because I want to—not because I have to. While I am still counting the days until school begins again, now it is not just to regain my independence, but to show off the healthy new me—especially my new complexion.