Shortly after Labor Day, the consummate entertainer Usher played 4 consecutive sold-out shows in Brooklyn, New York, as a part of his . For two hours each night, he danced, sang, poured drinks for fans (you only needed to be there), and partied with special musical guests, all while his skin glowed. And not simply because he was sweating, although he was sweating loads. But also since the star, who has been around for 3 many years, has flawless skin at age 45. How does he do it?

With proper skincare and the assistance of hairdresser, Lola Okanlawon.

I had the chance, together with a gaggle of journalists and public opinion influencers, to hearken to the speech of Okanlawon, a famous make-up artist and licensed dermatologist DiAnne Davis, MDconcerning the tricks to having an unparalleled skincare routine, and all of it revolves around the suitable products. In addition to dancing with Usher, our presence that evening was also to have a good time the launch of a skincare brand Ceravelatest Eye cream with skin renewing vitamin Cwhich joins their popular Skin Renewing line. Usher uses it, and Davis says it’s best to too.

“Their whole Skin Renewing line really helps target some of the things that you might start to notice as you get a little older,” the plastic surgeon and skincare expert shared. “So maybe you’ve lost a little elasticity, or maybe your skin tone isn’t even, or maybe you’ve noticed a few fine lines and wrinkles here and there. That’s what this Skin Renewing line is all about.”

The key ingredients of the brand new eye cream are hyaluronic acid, which moisturizes, ceramides, which protect and moisturize the skin, caffeine, which reduces puffiness under the eyes, and five percent vitamin C, which brightens the skin across the eyes without irritating it.

(*45*) she says.

Okanlawon visited the artist before ending Usher’s pre-concert styling and opened up about her collaboration with the star, with whom she has been in a relationship for 3 years.

“I take care of all of his skin, from head to toe,” she told us, noting that they’re each fans of Cerave, which she uses often to prep him for the cameras and the massive stage.

“It’s important to have a skin prep routine before you go on stage. This man doesn’t play with his skin or his body,” she shared. “It’s nice to have a man who cares about his skin and cares about his appearance, buys products and asks me about them. ‘Hey, what about this? What about this?'”

The MUA star then delved into the practices and routines that keep her glowing, which include monthly facials (“This is not a game”) and a really, very clean food regimen.

“Of course, we start with a foaming cleanser because I do his stage makeup so that his hairline and certain things stay intact because he sweats a lot,” she says. “If you haven’t seen Usher perform, it’s like a waterfall. So I placed on some makeup that principally won’t come off together with his sweat. Moisturizing foaming cleansing oil It’s amazing since it breaks down product, it breaks down dirt, it breaks down oils, in order that’s definitely where we start.”

Next up is a brand new vitamin C eye cream. Okanlawon received the product ahead of its September launch and has been using it often on the star’s eyes for several months. She says it’s a must have in any skincare routine.

“Usher is a very good, handsome man. But he’s still 45, so eye cream is very important, and eye cream with vitamin C is amazing,” she says. “It’s preventative, so don’t wait until a certain age. Start using eye cream.”

Then they use Vitamin C Serum and finish your pre-makeup workout by moisturizing your body with Cerave Daily Moisturizing Balmwhich apply together.

“We use serum because serum is very important. Vitamin C helps brighten the skin,” she says. “His skin is very elastic because he takes good care of it. It’s easy, he’s easy.”

What Usher does night after night in front of packed audiences is not easy, but with guidance from Okanlawon and Cerave’s Skin Renewing line of beauty products, she all the time looks gorgeous when she does it.

From doctor’s offices to family gatherings, larger people report being bombarded unsolicited advice about their eating and exercise habits. The underlying message? “They just need to lose weight” to solve almost any health problem.

Society’s give attention to weight has shaped the best way most Australians view health and body weight, which frequently pushes them towards unhealthy thoughts and behaviors in pursuit of the “perfect” figure.

However, the best way society views obesity and body weight is changing, and these changes are being confirmed by science.

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Policymakers and health researchers are increasingly recognizing the harmful effects stigmatizing language and attitude towards individuals with a bigger physique.

Let’s have a look at how attitudes towards obesity have modified through the years and what this implies for public health and healthcare in Australia.

From Personal Responsibility to Complex Chronic Illness

Until recently, weight control was it will likely be considered a private responsibilityObesity was believed to be the results of poor eating regimen and lack of physical activity, coupled with personal and moral failure.

This narrative was reflected in public health policy, which used phrases similar to “he was obese“and the “epidemic of o*c*lness”. It has been shown that such language reinforce negative stereotypes people with larger builds as “lazy” and lacking willpower.

These stereotypes result in stigmatization and weight discrimination, which is still common today. Health professionals similar to dietitians report that Weight stigma (from other people and internally) is a standard and ongoing challenge that ladies need to cope with throughout their careers.

The narrative around personal responsibility has modified lately because it begins to think about broader determinants of health. Research has identified a spread of psychological, social, biological and systemic aspects contribute to rising rates of obesity, similar to socioeconomic status, genetics, medications and environment.

As a result, public health experts consider that is not any longer appropriate use language that refers to obesity as a “lifestyle” issue.

Professionals throughout medicine, psychology and dietetics additionally they responded by updating their language standards to prioritize person-first language (for instance, “person living with o*b*lihood”), recognizing a shift away from viewing o*b*lihood as a private failure.

In 2014, the American Medical Association of the United States classified obesity as a chronic diseasecontrary to the recommendations of the Science and Public Health Committee. The decision has sparked widespread dissatisfaction and debate, with claims that it causes unnecessary discrimination and pathologizes normal changes within the human body over time.

The debate continues here in Australiabut no classification has yet been made.

Weight-focused and weight-sensitive narratives

Recent policy documents in Australia similar to National Anti-Obesity Strategy 2022–2032acknowledge the broader perspective of o*b*st. But the policy and practice in Australia remain mainly focused on weight. They encourage weight reduction as a health goal and recommend deliberately avoiding weight gain.

Weight-Focused Approaches to Health They were criticized for the dearth of long-term (longer than five years) evidence of their effectiveness and for causing unintended effects.

Rather than promoting health, weight-focused approaches could cause harm, similar to increased weight stigma and weight cycling (repeated weight reduction and regain). Both weight mark AND weight cycles are related to negative long-term effects on physical and mental health.

Weight-sensitive approaches to health are gaining popularity instead approach that supports people to eat healthily and exercise repeatedly, no matter their desire to shed weight. This approach goals to enhance access to health care and has been shown to enhance overall physical and mental health.

Approaches similar to Health at every size and intuitive eating are key examples of promoting health and wellness without specializing in weight.

Weight-sensitive approaches have he was met with criticismHowever, there are concerns that these approaches will not be supported by empirical evidence and might not be suitable for people needing support with weight management.

What does this mean for us?

While our views on obesity are always changing, it is crucial to hearken to plus-size people and ensure they’ve equal, protected and satisfactory access to healthcare.

Advocates like Size Inclusive Health Australia recommending actions to cut back weight-related stigma and discrimination in order that health is inclusive of all body shapes and sizes.

There are guidelines and recommendations on counter weight stigma and adopt a weight-sensitive approach to health, similar to: Size-sensitive health promotion guidelines and Eating Disorder Safety Guidelines.

Policy, research and practice should proceed to synthesise and understand the evidence surrounding weight-sensitive approaches, in keeping with changing narratives around weight and health. This will support the design, implementation and evaluation of weight-sensitive initiatives in Australia.

From the brilliant lights of the NFL to the hallways of the Ivy League, Brandon Copeland at all times defied expectations.

A former linebacker who spent greater than a decade playing within the NFL, Copeland now takes on a special sort of challenge: teaching financial literacy. In his recent book, Copeland wants to share her knowledge of monetary independence with on a regular basis people, especially Black communities where financial education is commonly inaccessible.

Born in Baltimore, Md., Copeland began his journey from the football field to the classroom early. The grandson of an NFL player who also juggled multiple jobs, Copeland grew up seeing firsthand the importance of monetary stability outside of skilled sports. He says, “With all those different perspectives, it made me come into the league and think, ‘I have to use this as much as it uses me.’”

He continues, “I learned a lot about money in the league and realized there are a lot of people who will never be able to walk into a Baltimore Ravens or Detroit Lions locker room and have access to those types of people and conversations, so what can I do to make sure that the younger version of me doesn’t have to be elite athletically to get the information that I deserve.”

But what sets Copeland apart isn’t just his NFL profession or his time as a professor on the University of Pennsylvania — it’s his commitment to democratizing access to financial information, a mission that earned him a spot on the Forbes and NFLPA lists.

Now, with the discharge of , Copeland brings his holistic approach to financial freedom to the masses, giving readers practical advice on how to manage their money, invest correctly, and plan for the longer term. His work comes at a critical time, especially for black Americans, who, according to a 2021 McKinsey reportthey own just one.5% of the country’s wealth, despite the fact that they constitute 13% of the population.

Copeland’s transition from skilled athlete to financial educator wasn’t a coincidence. Early in his profession, he realized that many athletes, especially black athletes, often walk away from the sport financially unprepared for what would come next. His key to staying financially disciplined? “It was pretending I didn’t have any,” he shares. “I literally don’t count a dollar until it hits my bank account.”

During his NFL profession, Copeland saved and invested most of his earnings. His disciplined approach wasn’t nearly accumulating wealth—it was about making a sustainable future. “So many of us, especially in the black community, don’t know what questions to ask when it comes to our finances. I knew I had to do something to change that.”

Financial education is a subject Copeland loves and sees as a pressing need in black communities. As a professor at Penn, Copeland teaches “Life 101,” a course that covers every part from managing a 401(k) to budgeting and investing, helping students construct the financial foundation they’ll need throughout their lives. His book builds on that work, offering practical advice for anyone who wants to take control of their money and, ultimately, their future.

“If you have a dollar in your account, you’re an investor,” he says. “What I mean once I say that’s, if I actually have a dollar and I resolve to put it under my mattress, that’s a 0% return. If I resolve to put it in a daily checking account at a credit union, that could be a 0.01% return. If I put it in a high-yield savings account, 4-5% return. If I put it in a stock market index fund, the S&P 500 or something like that, I’m taking a look at a 9-10% return per yr. Real estate gives you something different. But briefly, if you may have a dollar, by investing it, you’re going to create some sort of return in your money.

According to 2022 Federal Reserve Reportthe median wealth of white households is greater than five times that of black households. This gap is fueled by systemic inequalities in income, property ownership, and education — but Copeland believes access to financial education can start to close it.

“The biggest problem is that financial education isn’t taught early enough in our communities,” she explains. “We know how to hustle, but we don’t learn how to make that money work for us over time.” She emphasizes that financial independence isn’t about limiting all the fun of life, but about correctly navigating opportunities to thrive.

His philosophy of “monetizing your passion” is clear in each his teaching and his personal life. From startups to real estate investing, Copeland has mastered the art of turning hobbies and side hustles into multiple streams of income. “I try to double-click on the things I already spend my time on and take a look at the things I like and see how I can put more effort into them,” he says. “Because if you can monetize the things you like, you can spend less time doing the things you don’t.”

This approach reflects a broader trend amongst black entrepreneurs, with the National Bureau of Economic Research reporting a rise within the variety of black business start-ups, which increased by 38% throughout the pandemic.

Despite these gains, African Americans still face significant challenges when it comes to constructing wealth. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 35% of black households live in property povertymeaning they don’t have enough net value to survive on the poverty level for 3 months without income. Copeland is committed to addressing these disparities head on, equipping her readers with the tools and techniques they need to get ahead.

One key message is to understand that everyone seems to be an investor, no matter income level. “Whether you have a dollar or a million, you make decisions every day about what to do with your money,” Copeland says. He encourages readers to shift their mindset from fear to growth, investing in ways that can repay in the long term relatively than chasing quick wins.

For Copeland, that approach also includes estate planning—an often neglected but crucial element in black communities. He points out that top-profile cases just like the death of Chadwick Boseman, who died with no will, underscore the necessity for more conversations about constructing a legacy. Without proper planning, the wealth you create could be eroded by taxes and legal battles. “We need to be aware of the legacy that we leave behind,” he says, a message that resonates deeply in communities where wealth transfer has historically been a struggle.

While the book is filled with financial advice, its deepest message is about achieving balance. Copeland sees financial freedom as a part of a broader pursuit of mental and emotional well-being. “Money can be a source of stress or a tool for freedom,” he explains. His goal is to help people feel empowered by their financial decisions, not overwhelmed by them.

Research shows that financial stress primarily affects black Americans. Pew Research Center Survey found that 54% of black adults worry about paying bills, compared to just 39% of their white counterparts. This financial anxiety can take a toll on mental health, and Copeland’s holistic approach goals to alleviate that. “If you’re not investing, you’re always going to have to work to earn money. You have to find a point in time where you can do that.” His advice is practical, urging people to prioritize each earning and saving, but never lose sight of living fully in the current.

Brandon Copeland isn’t just one other former athlete trying to capitalize on his fame. He’s a person on a mission to uplift his community by breaking down barriers to financial literacy. This is greater than only a guide to wealth; it’s a manifesto for creating lasting change.

“I was in the spotlight, and there are so many people that you literally spend money on to impress… No, I’m not going to waste money trying to put bottles out at the club just to be seen,” Copeland says, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing long-term financial goals over short-term impressiveness.

Through his book, teaching, and advocacy, Copeland is laying the muse for a future during which financial literacy is the rule, not the exception, for Black Americans.