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If you’re rich and famous, it’s never not a good time to share your morning routine with the world, it seems.
Recently, there’s been much talk as prime minister Rishi Sunak’s early hours combo of Peleton, Britney Spears and breakfast from Gail’s resurfaced.
Now, wellbeing wonderwoman Gwyneth Paltrow is back at it, sharing on her Instagram a combination of morning habits that has her followers baffled.
“People have been asking me about my actual wellness routine on a Wednesday, so I filmed some of it,” she told viewers in her stories.
The Goop mogul and Hollywood star says she starts her day “with a tongue scrape and an oil pull” – the former practice has its roots in Ayurvedic medicine; the latter involves swilling coconut oil round your mouth for 15-20 minutes before spitting it out. Both good for your dental health, apparently.
She follows up this oral hygiene with “meditation for 20 minutes”, then a dance workout with friend and PT to the stars, Tracey Anderson, after which she shouts out Goop’s hair oil and dry brush in a tidy bit of product placement.
Not to mention the health benefits of a glass of celery juice, a taste she doesn’t share with her assistant, Kevin Keating, who says on camera: “It’s disgusting!”
But the thing that has really got people’s scratching their heads is another product altogether – nose breathing tape. No, us neither.
Myotape, according to its own product blurb, is designed to “safely bring the lips together” to encourage you to breathe through your nose.
If that sounds all kinds of claustrophobic, apparently it “DOES NOT COVER THE MOUTH... Instead, it surrounds the mouth, bringing the lips together with a light, elastic tension that helps to maintain lip closure and ensure nasal breathing.”
According to Paltrow, who calls this the “single best wellness tool I’ve found recently”, breathing through your nose “improves alkilinity in the body” – and by extension your sleep.
But doctors at the Sleep Foundation say there’s very limited evidence surrounding the pros and cons of the practice. Though there’s anecdotal evidence of perks (including reduced snoring) there’s also risk factors to consider, including potential irritation of the lips and disrupted sleep. They also advise speaking to your doctor before giving it a go.
We’re not quite sure when and where Paltrow wears these strips, nor is it the first time she’s recommended some ‘out there’ wellness products: jade eggs, vaginal steaming and ‘Fur’ oil for pubic hair spring to mind.
If you’re curious about Myotape, it’s actually available to purchase on Amazon for £19.95, but I’m afraid we can’t vouch for its benefits first-hand.
We’ll leave that to Paltrow, who shared her unusual morning routine in the same week that saw the release of Goop’s baffling annual Christmas gift guide.
As eye-opening as ever, this year’s selection ranged from a $28,500 sex chair to hair dye for your dog. Never change, Gwynnie!