What Most Men Don't Know about the Risks of Testosterone Therapy

Rob, 42, is a fitness guy. He loves working out, spends his spare time in the jujitsu gym and eats a high-protein diet heavy on avocado oil. He cares about his health and wants to optimize it, and a lot of the social media influencers he follows are the same.
So a few years back, when Rob started seeing ads for testosterone replacement therapy—TRT—pop up in his feeds, he was intrigued. (Names of patients in this story have been changed to protect their privacy.) Rob was already a man in good shape. But testosterone sounded like a great way to get an extra edge.
'I bought into what I was listening to on social media, which is, 'You're going to feel better, you're going to get stronger, and you're going to look better,'' he says.
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Rob went to a local, privately owned clinic. There he got a blood test, which revealed that his testosterone was well within normal range. 'I certainly didn't need TRT,' he says.
The clinic prescribed it anyway.
Rahim, 48, tells a similar story. He walked into a men's health clinic a decade ago looking for an energy and fitness boost. He got an injection that very day. On subsequent visits the clinic pushed his dose higher and higher, but he perceived little benefit. 'I just felt like I was taken advantage of,' he says now. 'I felt like somebody was using my body to make money.'
Testosterone therapy—prescription supplements in the form of pills, patches, injections or implantable pellets—has probably never been more publicized or popular. Podcaster Joe Rogan is on it. On Reddit and on TikTok, on highway billboards and in TV commercials, you'll see testimonials in praise of TRT promising mood boosts, better sex, extra energy and quite possibly an abdominal six-pack. The global market has been estimated at $1.9 billion.
For the right men, usually those with seriously low levels of the hormone, TRT can improve mood, energy levels and sex drive. It can increase muscle, decrease fat and lower levels of biomarkers for heart disease. Rigorous studies have dispelled once common medical concerns that the supplements increase the chance of prostate cancer; they don't. And many responsible clinics that prescribe TRT inform their clients of the potential risks and benefits and monitor them closely.
But many men getting supplements may not have low testosterone to begin with, and for them, boosting levels of the hormone even higher could cause harm. There is a lot of medical disagreement about what constitutes 'low,' driven by several studies with different populations and different cutoffs. Because of this uncertainty, some clinics will legally prescribe TRT for men whose hormone levels are, according to many measures, just fine. 'It will not make you live longer. It will not make you otherwise healthier,' says Channa Jayasena, who is a reproductive endocrinologist at Imperial College London.
And TRT carries risks. Supplemental testosterone can increase the chances of infertility and shrink testicles. It can lead to an abnormal blood condition called erythrocytosis. It is also associated with heightened rates of acne and painful swelling of male breast tissue. So urologists and endocrinologists who study the hormone caution men thinking about TRT to proceed very carefully.
Thanks to its inexorable cultural ties to masculinity, testosterone is perhaps more prone than other 'wellness' treatments to emotional appeal. The TRT ads that show up on social media promise a lot but rarely mention side effects or proper testing. 'The majority of the testosterone information on TikTok and Instagram is horrible, horrendous,' says Justin Dubin, a urologist at Memorial Healthcare System in southern Florida. 'It's not accurate.'
The normal range for testosterone level is broad, spanning from around 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter of blood (ng/dl). After about age 40, a person's amount of circulating testosterone starts to decline by approximately 1 percent a year, and with the U.S. population getting older, it's no surprise that interest in TRT is rising. There is also some evidence that average levels of testosterone are dropping in young men. Diseases that have become more common, such as obesity and diabetes, affect hormone production and likely explain some of that decline.
But interest in boosting testosterone goes way back—back to before anyone knew what testosterone was. In 1849 German scientist Arnold Adolph Berthold observed that castrated roosters showed little interest in fighting over females. When rooster testes were transplanted into these peaceniks, they suddenly developed an interest in sex and barnyard brawling.
Doctors soon sought to harness the testes' miraculous masculinizing power. In 1889, 72-year-old Mauritian neurologist Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard injected himself with a slurry of crushed-up dog and guinea pig testicles, seeking rejuvenation. He reported that after a few injections he could sprint down stairs like a young man and stand at his laboratory table for hours.
Russian-born physician Serge Voronoff tried transplanting testicles from monkeys into people and gushed about his results in his 1925 book, Rejuvenation by Grafting. He wrote of one 74-year-old patient that after surgery, 'his superfluous fat had disappeared, his muscles had become firm, he held himself erect and conveyed the impression of a man in perfect health ... The grafting had transformed a senile, impotent, pitiful old being into a vigorous man, in full possession of all his faculties.'
Today doctors say any positive effects from these treatments were pure placebo. In 2002 Australian researchers tried making Brown-Séquard's testicle extracts and found that the amount of testosterone in the preparations was a quarter of what would be needed to produce a biological response. And in the days when Voronoff worked—before modern tissue-preservation advances or any understanding of antirejection drugs—testicle transplants (especially cross-species transplants) would have been incredibly unlikely to survive.
A synthetic form of testosterone was developed in 1935, making a drug form of TRT possible. But its advent did not lead to a prescribing boom right away. (It did catch the notice of bodybuilding communities, who began asking for it.) In part, the medical reluctance was because of a small 1941 study showing that adding testosterone made prostate cancer grow faster and that the tumors shrank when levels of the hormone were low. The connection made doctors extremely wary of treating men with testosterone—even men with undeniable hypogonadism, meaning their testes could not make sufficient amounts of the hormone. 'There was a near-complete prohibition,' says Abraham Morgentaler, a urologist and testosterone researcher at Harvard Medical School.
In the 1980s Morgentaler, who had investigated the effect of testosterone on the reproductive behavior of lizards as a student, was a young urologist specializing in male infertility, treating patients with low testosterone, erectile dysfunction and a lack of libido. They were desperate. Morgentaler thought back on his lizards, which had failed to woo females when deprived of testosterone. Cautiously, he began to dose a few of his patients with the hormone. Not only did they report improved sex lives, he says, but 'they described to me how they felt better outside of their sexual symptoms—things like 'I've never had so much patience for my small children,' 'I wake up in the morning, I swing my legs over my bed, I'm optimistic about my day.''
As Morgentaler continued his hormone-treatment research, he failed to see any increase in prostate cancer growth in patients. Over time the evidence that testosterone does not necessarily supercharge prostate tumors has piled up. By the early 2000s fears of prostate cancer with testosterone treatment were easing, if not altogether disappearing.
As a result, TRT began to rise in popularity, and its use increased more than threefold between 2001 and 2011, according to research published in 2013. Still there was hesitation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in 2014 that TRT might raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Testosterone influences muscle growth and activity; muscle fibers are dotted with many androgen receptors. The heart, of course, is a muscle. In men who take anabolic steroids for bodybuilding—natural testosterone is a form of this type of hormone—heart problems are a known consequence.
To tackle these two safety issues, a consortium of researchers put together the TRAVERSE trial, the largest-ever randomized, controlled trial on TRT for men with low testosterone. They screened more than 5,000 men, aged 45 through 80 years, to ensure participants had low levels of prostate-specific antigen (or PSA, a marker of prostate cancer) at the onset of the study, and they followed the men for an average of three years. In 2023 the researchers reported the results. There was no increase in prostate cancer with testosterone treatment. Nor was there an increase in strokes, heart attacks or cardiovascular deaths.
That's the good news for men interested in TRT: for those with low testosterone and normal PSA levels who get boosted into the average range for testosterone, the risk of cancer or heart problems is low. But TRT remains controversial, largely because there is no consensus on how to define 'low testosterone.' The American Urological Association guidelines suggest that as a rule of thumb, 'low' means a total testosterone level under 300 ng/dl, as measured twice on different mornings (because testosterone levels fluctuate). But an international group, the Endocrine Society, has a 'normal' range—between 264 and 916 ng/dl—that partly overlaps with that category. The European Academy of Andrology guidelines put the 'lower limit of normality' between 231 and 350 ng/dl. One reason for these disparities is that testosterone levels can swing by 100 ng/dl or more in a single day, so symptoms (fatigue, for instance) can correlate with very different numbers.
The TRAVERSE trial used a cutoff of 300 ng/dl for 'low.' When men who had lower levels received supplements, there were clear benefits for mood and energy. In 2024 researchers reported a 50 percent increase in sexual activity among men with low testosterone from TRAVERSE who were treated with hormone supplements. That translated to an increase of almost one additional sexual 'event' per day—a category that included partnered sex, masturbation, daydreams, flirting and spontaneous erections. A comparison group that got a placebo had only a 25 percent increase.
Less clear are the effects of TRT on the fuzzier symptoms sometimes ascribed to low testosterone, such as fatigue, brain fog, depression and irritability. Joe, 38, says he was in a pretty low place when he learned, in his early 30s, that his level was only 95 ng/dl. He started TRT that keeps him above 600, and he says it works. 'It just helps me feel incredibly normal,' he says. The TRAVERSE trial found no benefit of TRT over a placebo for addressing low-grade depressive symptoms. But it did find improvements in both mood and energy in men with significant depression, according to another 2024 study. There was no benefit for cognition or sleep.
Men in the borderline-low range, with levels around 300 ng/dl, haven't been studied systematically, says Frederick Wu, an emeritus professor of medicine and endocrinology at England's University of Manchester who led the European Male Aging Study (EMAS), a very large study of aging men. And for men with normal-range testosterone, the results of TRT might not be as dramatic as they are for men with uncontested low levels. Symptoms such as low energy are particularly difficult to tie to testosterone. Any of the minor insults of midlife can cause fatigue and irritability: young kids who don't sleep, a sedentary computer job, stress, a poor diet. One of the first things urologists or endocrinologists do when a patient comes in with these symptoms is check for sleep apnea, which can cause brain fog and fatigue while also reducing testosterone. 'Testosterone is a very robust indicator of general health status,' Wu says. 'If you find low T in a patient, then it is imperative to investigate their general health status rather than having a knee-jerk reaction of starting testosterone treatment.'
There are also almost certainly symptom differences in the way individual men respond to particular hormone levels. 'It's possible that a man with a total testosterone of 350 ng/dl might be deficient in certain ways,' says Joshua Halpern, chief scientific officer at fertility clinic Posterity Health and an adjunct professor of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. 'Different tissues and organ systems in the body require different levels of testosterone to function optimally.'
Herein lies another area of disagreement. Some doctors argue for trying testosterone only after other health interventions because changes in exercise and diet can boost testosterone and improve general health. Others, such as Morgentaler, argue that TRT can be offered first to men with low levels because supplements could give a man with low energy the boost he needs to start working out and eating better. This argument may now be complicated by the arrival of GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic, which make losing weight a lot easier. Should a man with obesity and low testosterone be offered TRT or Ozempic? It's a question that hasn't been studied.
A final uncertainty is what type of testosterone measurement to use. Most studies have looked at total testosterone, a measure that captures all of the hormone circulating in the blood. But a lot of that testosterone is bound to other proteins, such as albumin and sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). The hormone sticks tightly to SHBG, and in that state it can't be used by body tissues. 'Free' testosterone, which isn't bound, can. Ultimately, the amount of free T might be a lot more important than total testosterone when it comes to how men feel. 'Symptoms follow free T,' Morgentaler says. In a 2018 study using EMAS data, researchers found that in obese men who developed hypogonadism, only those whose free testosterone dropped alongside their total testosterone actually experienced symptoms. Still, medical societies have no specific free-T cutoffs for treatment, so a doctor's judgment plays a large role in determining how to use the numbers.
None of these medical debates is likely to come up, however, when people walk into one of the many men's health clinics. Like Rob or Rahim, they'll probably be offered a prescription. In 2022 Dubin, Halpern and some of their colleagues published a study in JAMA Internal Medicine for which they went undercover, sending Dubin's own testosterone measurements to seven men's health clinics. Dubin's level happened to be 675 ng/dl, above what most urologists aim for when treating low-T men. In addition, he told the clinics that he hoped to have children in the future. This statement should have stopped them cold. Testosterone is part of the feedback loop that regulates sperm production; if levels of the hormone stay high in the bloodstream, the testes stop making their own testosterone and sperm. 'There was really no situation in which I was a good candidate for TRT,' Dubin says.
Six of the seven clinics offered him TRT anyway. This outcome isn't unusual. 'Looking back, it was so ridiculous,' Rahim recalls of his own same-day testosterone initiation. Although professional guidelines universally agree that men should be tested at least twice before starting TRT, a single test seems common for online and private clinics. Rahim's numbers were in the high 300s, he recalls, but he was soon put on a dose of testosterone so high that it caused side effects, for which the clinic offered to prescribe more medications. 'It was in their best interests to inject me with more T because it was better for their revenue, even though it wasn't necessarily better for my health,' he says.
Other men report similar experiences. John, 42, was in his mid-30s when he sought out TRT, motivated to keep up in the military special-operations job he had at the time. He was prescribed implantable testosterone pellets, which made his total testosterone level shoot up to more than 1,800 ng/dl. He then dealt with a mandibular disorder from clenching his jaw, as well as benign prostate enlargement that required a cascading series of prescriptions.
Morgentaler says that these cases are cautionary tales that men should take seriously. Avoid clinics that offer TRT without first taking a baseline test, he says, or those without a clear follow-up plan for monitoring bloodwork. One 2015 study found that less than half of men on TRT in a large metropolitan health center ever got a follow-up blood test. And that could be a problem because one common side effect of TRT is erythrocytosis, which results in the overproduction of red blood cells.
An ethical clinic should also be honest about TRT's effect on fertility. Dubin and Halpern say that every month they treat multiple men who haven't been warned that their testosterone regimen will crater their sperm count. Online influencers often shrug off fertility side effects as short-term, but doctors say they can persist. It can take up to two years after cessation of TRT for men to recover a regular sperm count, according to a 2006 study in the Lancet. As any couple going through infertility struggles can attest, two years is a long time.
Two medications that doctors prescribe to hasten sperm-count recovery, human chorionic gonadotropin and clomiphene citrate, often aren't covered by insurance and can have their own side effects. Sperm quality may not be as high in men who have recovered post-TRT compared with men who never took testosterone replacement, Halpern says.
Finally, although the TRAVERSE trial suggests that men trying TRT aren't putting themselves at undue risk of prostate cancer or heart problems, there was a small but unexplained rise in bone fractures in men on the treatment. In addition, there are no studies looking at the impacts of TRT over several decades—and a man starting TRT in his 30s may well be committing to 40 or 50 years of treatment if he doesn't want to go through the hormonal crash of quitting.
One concern from studies of heavy users of anabolic steroids is that natural testosterone production might not fully recover after long-term use, says Harrison Pope, a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist who has studied anabolic steroid use. A 2023 study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism looked at men who had used anabolic steroids illicitly. These people reported a lesser quality of life two years after quitting compared with men who had never used them. In the body, these steroid drugs have effects that are similar to testosterone supplements, so the study results raise worries about TRT.
'If you had interviewed me 20 years ago, I would have assured you that if you'd been taking testosterone for a long time, if you stop, the system will rebound and you will go back to normal,' Pope says. 'In some cases, I would have been dead wrong.'
For some men it will be worth the risk. Rob, John and Rahim are all on lower doses of testosterone now and being treated by practitioners they trust. They all see benefits in mood, muscle building and energy. But all three feel some ambivalence about the experience. It's a hesitation about TRT shared by a lot of medical professionals. 'There are still many unknowns when it comes to testosterone deficiency,' Halpern says, 'including even the basics.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Newsweek

an hour ago

• Newsweek

4-Year-Old Gets New 'Robot Arm'—Mom in Tears Over Her Response

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A girl who has spent the first four years of her life learning to manage with just one arm is finally getting her dream come true, as she prepares to get her new prosthetic. Life certainly hasn't been easy for Kaisley Hernandez, 4, who was unexpectedly born with one full arm. On her right side, her upper arm developed, but she doesn't have a forearm. It wasn't caused by amniotic band syndrome, but rather, doctors believe that her arm just stopped developing. Indeed, her mom, Destiny Hernandez, 30, told Newsweek that it came as quite the surprise because "no one knew until she was born." The limb difference didn't show up on any of her scans, so it was only when Kaisley was delivered that doctors announced that "she has a deformity." However, Kaisley, of Lubbock Texas, has refused to let her disability get her down and she has become incredibly resilient in the face of adversity. Kaisley Hernandez, 4, who was born with just part of her arm. Kaisley Hernandez, 4, who was born with just part of her arm. @dessshernandez / TikTok "Kaisley is a beautiful, smart, sassy girl, and we hope the world is kind to her," Destiny said. "We have come across her being bullied, and that was hard to see, but we just tell her that not everyone understands, and some people just aren't kind." She continued: "We encourage Kaisley and let her know that anything is possible. She can do everything she wants, and her family will be 100 percent behind her." Of course, having two arms would make life so much easier, and it turns out that Kaisley is finally getting her wish. In May 2025, the 4-year-old got her "nubby" molded for a brand-new activity prosthetic arm, which is sure to improve her life dramatically. Destiny captured the incredible moment when her daughter got the mold taken and shared the video on TikTok (@dessshernandez). The video has amazed and delighted social media users, leading to more than 13.3 million views and over 1.5 million likes on TikTok at the time of writing. During the appointment, the doctor asked Kaisley who her favorite cartoon character is, and there was only one answer for this Encanto fan: Mirabel. The sheer joy as she told the doctor she'd like Encanto-themed fabric to line her prosthetic left her mom fighting back tears. As the cast was formed around her upper arm, Kaisley was "overwhelmed with emotions." While she did seem nervous, her mom explained that it was just because she couldn't feel her nubby while it was in the mold, and it was such an unknown experience for her to face at such a young age. Thankfully, her mom and brothers were on hand to talk her through it and show her what an exciting opportunity this will be. "She is so excited, and she tells everyone 'I'm getting a robot arm.' For now, we are sticking with the activity arm until she gets older and then she can decide which direction she wants to go—there are so many options to choose from," Destiny said. Kaisley Hernandez, pictured enjoying her third birthday party with a cake and presents. Kaisley Hernandez, pictured enjoying her third birthday party with a cake and presents. @dessshernandez / TikTok On June 19, Kaisley had a fit test to check her new prosthetic, and it couldn't have gone better. The family will return on July 14 for the finishing touches. After sharing Kaisley's journey on social media, Destiny has been amazed by the supportive response. She never imagined the video would go viral, but she's glad so many people can learn about her daughter's experience, and they can cheer her on from across the world. "We just want Kaisley to have confidence, and we let her know that it's okay to ask for help," Destiny told Newsweek. Many social media users were brought to tears by Kaisley's reaction to the prosthetic mold, and the online reaction has generated over 7,000 comments on the viral post so far. One comment reads: "Poor baby, she has the best big brothers." Another TikTok user wrote: "You can see the gravity of it all just weighing on her. She's so little, but she understands it means things will be different." While another commenter added: "Bless her little heart. It must be so overwhelming for her, big change is scary for the best of us. Your family is amazing all being there together supporting her little self." Is there a health issue that's worrying you? Let us know via health@ We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.

Buzz Feed

4 hours ago

• Buzz Feed

44 Products That Get More Appealing In Your Thirties

A 2-in-1 nausea relief inhaler designed to work FAST on spontaneous nausea, motion sickness, morning sickness, and general queasiness (having a human body is hard). Summer road trips and cruises just got a HECK of a lot more bearable. Lumify Eye Drops, a product so beloved by TikTok that despite being more $$ than other brands, it's the number one selling brand on Amazon right now. Reviewers swear by this for instant reduction in redness in their eyes, with visible differences within a minute of use. La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF 40 Tinted Sunscreen, aka the "holy grail" of tinted sunscreens — reviewers love this lightweight, buildable formula so much that a lot of them replaced their foundation with it altogether. If you're in the market for some subtle but effective coverage that won't get goopy or settle in pores, this is your sunscreen match made in heaven. A delightfully affordable instant foot peeling spray for anyone ready to go full YEEHAW!! on a pedicure, without the big salon price tag. This not only helps gently remove dead skin, but moisturizes dry and cracked heels, so you'll really get some refreshing bang for your buck. Lancôme Juicy Tubes — that's right, the iconic lippies from the 2000s are BACK and juicier than ever!! Summer Fridays and Laneige better show some respect to their elders, because these are so high gloss, hydrating, long-lasting, and the *chef's kiss* perfect amount of sticky that they remain the reigning queens. A "flossing toothbrush" with two layers of bristles — regular firm bristles, and longer ones that are ten times thinner to clean deep in between your teeth and gums to mimic flossing. Reviewers love how deep the clean feels, and also how soft it is on sensitive teeth! Olay Super Serum Body Wash that will make anyone with dry or dull skin REJOICE — this is packed with niacinamide, shea butter, and collagen peptides for 24-hour hydration that will make you feel as ~luminous~ as the spring sunshine. (Psst — this is the body wash version of their TikTok-famous, super effective facial Super Serum, so you KNOW they mean business.) Laneige's Neo Blurring Powder to absorb oil and blur pores so effectively that you'll be like, "Oh ... witchcraft??" Might be the only explanation for how this can matte-ify your complexion while still keeping it radiant and glowy ✨. A standing weeder because YOU KNEEL FOR NO REBEL PLANT LIFE!! Now you can yank those invaders out of the ground and away from your beloved plants without making your spinal cord rue the day your backyard was born. A wildly beloved floral-forward vanilla perfume so deliciously perfect for summer that you'll be like, "Is it appropriate to bathe in this?" This sunny scent leans warm and tropical, with reviewers noting a hint of mango in the vanilla. It's all the bright happiness of summer in a soft, sophisticated, gourmand scent. Catrice "Instant Awake" Under Eye Brightener, which will be your holy grail for concealing and brightening dark circles under your eyes when schedule is throwing you for a loop. This lightweight, color-adapting formula is designed for truly ~invisible~ coverage that makes a drastic difference — one that a lot of reviewers compare to the $33 Becca version. Plus Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel, a cult-fave product for your beauty arsenal that will quickly help minimize eye puffiness and swelling thanks to its winning combo of caffeine and hyaluronic acid. It's basically an alarm clock for your eyeballs, because boy howdy are they awake now!! A reviewer-beloved four-piece airtight food saver set designed to adapt to the shape of halved fruits so you can snack or cook at your leisure without worrying about food waste. Truly, what wouldn't we do to keep a perfectly ripe avocado half safe?? L'Oréal Paris Collagen Daily Face Moisturizer so intensely hydrating, plumping, and smoothing that reviewers compare it to the $92 Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. 👀 Not only is this super effective and affordable, but its nongreasy formula makes it play super well with makeup. A Lululemon-inspired mini wristlet wallet set that looks just like their $50 version, and also easily holds cash, cards, and lip balms, so you don't have to deal with the whole muss and fuss of a purse if you're going on a walk around the neighborhood. Plus, you know what they say — keep your friends close and your beloved lippies closer. A travel-friendly, K-beauty staple SPF 50 Airy Sunstick Smoothing Bar with a curved balm stick style that makes it super easy to apply, and a nonsticky, white cast–free formula that plays ABSURDLY well with makeup. If you're looking for a lightweight "soft matte" sunscreen to protect your skin, this is your new BFF. A copy of Burn After Writing, a guided journal that tens of thousands of reviewers swear by — through a series of questions and thought experiments, it encourages people to take time away from their screens to explore their feelings, both new and old, so they can embrace meaningful ones and try to let others go. L'Oreal Paris Bond Repair Oil-in-Serum for a blowout-style look for a FRACTION of the price — this helps revive damaged or color-treated hair for healthier looking locks, and helps make your hair even mightier by acting as a heat protectant. Reviewers love this formula for helping boost shine, reduce frizz, and overall make their locks look a whole lot more nourished. A set of heavy duty Tub O Towels wipes that are most definitely not here to play — they're basically the paper towel version of The Rock and can lift up stains on anything from grease to permanent marker to nail polish. Bonus: they're tough on stains, but the aloe vera in them makes them super gentle on skin! A set of disposable Plackers "Grind No More" Night Guards for anyone who sleeps like this 😬😬😬 and wakes up like this. 😫 Each one of these grind-absorbing bite plates can be used up to 30 times to help reduce the tension from grinding your teeth in the middle of the night. Psst — this is also a MUCH cheaper alternative to costly bite guards that go for hundreds of dollars! Kitsch's flat claw clip with some modern meets retro vibes that will give your hair a chic little ~pop~ of volume and hold. Reviewers are especially impressed by how strong these little clips are, and how much hair they can hold! Reviewers also note that these make it more comfortable to lean back on chairs, since the claw won't dig into your head. A double-sided cutting board *and* defrosting board with enough capabilities to make your lil' brain spin. One side of the board is made with food-grade stainless steel for cutting meat while the other is made with wheat straw for cutting fruits and veggies, helping save cutting board space and preventing cross-contamination. But reviewers also note that the stainless-steel side is *excellent* for defrosting meat faster, and the built-in garlic grinder on the wheat straw side is also a handy little time saver! A set of Victoria's Secret–inspired seamless "invisible" underwear so soft and stretchy your butt will want to *sing* when you slide them on. This is a true holy grail underwear that doesn't show, doesn't ride up, and somehow manages to look cute all at the same time. Mielle's Rosemary Mint strengthening oil, a reviewer-beloved, TikTok-famous beauty prod that lives up to the hype — this is infused with biotin so it doesn't just strengthen hair, but helps encourage growth. Reviewers who use this consistently swear by it for thinning hairlines, sparse hair at their part, bald patches, and even their eyebrows! And Boldify Hairline Powder for anyone who's like, "Hmmm. Wasn't there ... a lot more hair there before??" when they're styling their roots. This "makeup for hair" helps effortlessly fill in the gaps in your hairline so you don't have style around it. Reviewers also swear by this for touching up their roots between appointments! A set of nighttime renewal fungal nail patches so effective at restoring and helping regrow discolored, damaged nails that reviewers started seeing results in as little as a week. This not only helps tackle symptoms of fungal damage, but helps reduce the thickness and correct the ridges, so your nails can get the sweet relief they deserve. A weighted eye mask that's basically like a weighted blanket for your human eyes, designed to decrease stress and encourage ~deep sleep~. They also feature a 3D contour, so they're hollowed out in the middle and won't rest right on top of your eyes. A fully wireless (Shark Tank-featured!) stick-on "Poplight" sconce so easy to install that you literally just charge it up and stick it to the wall with non-damaging adhesive. It is a renter and indecisive decorator's DREAM — all the whimsy and function of a cute sconce with none of the effort!! HGTV nerds all over the world are shaking. Color Wow Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer, a foam you can apply to your roots when you're styling to take your blowout to the next level, even when the humidity is doing its best to keep your locks down. Reviewers with fine hair especially swear by this for an immediate, long-lasting lift! Black Girl Sunscreen's Make It Pop Sungloss with SPF 50 (!!) that reviewers *adore* both as a glossy shine on bare lips, or to make their signature lippies pop. Who knew sun protection could look so chic? A "spray and go" enzyme-based laundry stain remover that works its magic in one wash to help you instantly get rid of all that discolored dried sweat, oil stains, or deodorant residue on your favorite clothes, so you don't have to do any heavy scrubbing yourself. A set of reviewer-beloved "Loops Quiet 2," aka the "earplugs for people who hate earplugs." These lightweight plugs are meticulously designed to muffle distracting, irritating, or overwhelming noise without completely blocking out the world around you, so you'll still be able to hear your alarm clock or any concerning noises. (Parents especially love these for muffling noise without blocking out their kids!) An adjustable cervical cooling pillow designed to make your neck as comfy and pain-free as possible, using its unique contoured design to cradle your head and support your neck's natural curve. Honestly, the cooling fabric is just a bonus for this little overachiever. A buttery soft (and pregnancy-friendly!) Butterluxe athletic skort so lightweight, comfortable, and breezy that it will become the MVP of your warm weather wardrobe in no time flat. Teeccino, the MVP of all coffee lovers who love sleep even more — this caffeine-free, acid-free strong herbal blend steeps like regular tea, but somehow mimics the taste of coffee so brilliantly that you'll get all the flavor and satisfaction without of a late night cuppa any of the insomnia. A cheery little "Buttercup" butter maker so you can make delicious butter in less than five (!!) minutes and enter a cottagecore era unlike any you've ever known. Time to impress your friends by gifting them with small batch butters in garlic, honey, truffle, and all kiiiinds of flavors you haven't even fathomed yet. A pack of cult-favorite Clean Skin Club Clean Towels — these ultra-soft, chemical-free disposable towels are ideal for drying your face or pairing with a makeup remover or face wash to gently remove makeup at the end of the day. A lot of folks with sensitive skin *swear* by these, particularly because it helps prevent exposing their skin to bacteria that may collect in ordinary reusable towels. A Bob Ross color-by-number coloring book, because free will is stressful, and sometimes you just need the world's most iconic painting instructor to guide the way. The pages are thick enough for colored pencils, paint, or acrylic pens, so you can use whatever medium you choose for your "happy little accidents!" Oxo's compact Cold Brew Rapid Brewer to make cold brew in FIVE MINUTES (!!) with results so quick and delicious that reviewers love it more than their beloved Aeropresses (and even call it "Aeropress 2.0"). Not only is it faster than comparable models, but it's cheaper, entirely portable, and doesn't need to be charged or plugged in. 🤯 You're going to be swimming in a RIVER of delicious, affordable cold brew with this gizmo. "Fitzels" Protein Pretzels for all the snack-happy humans out there who could use an extra protein hit during the day (lest you become your inner Hangry Self and scare your whole office). These come in flavors like "Everything Bagel," "Boujie Mustard," and "Cinnamon Buns," helping you get a satisfying croooooonchhhhh of a snack with 20 grams of plant-based protein to boot. A stress-relieving mini bookshelf full of itty bitty little books you can pull out individually and reorganize to your precise liking. The world may be vast and out of control, but everything is juuuust so in your happy little library. A set of ridiculously realistic-looking faux fern plants for some instant serotonin in your backyard or living space. Plant parenthood is nice, but faux plant parenthood is every bit as chic and a whoooole lot less of a time commitment 💅 . A pair of ultra-comfortable suede cork footbed sandals with some *major* Birkenstock energy at a fraction of the price. Reviewers are so obsessed with the support, durability, and comfort of these that a bunch of them went back for extra colors. A migraine relief beanie for when your brain decides it's going to rattle against your skull at the least convenient time possible. This gets icy *and* hot depending on what kind of relief you're looking for, and double as a sleep mask so you can block out harsh light or try to get some shut-eye for further relief.

Yahoo

6 hours ago

• Yahoo

Lifelong Friends Move in Together. But Then Pal's Disrespectful Behavior Threatens to End Friendship

Two lifelong friends moved in together, but it quickly turned disastrous One of the women often disregards her roommate's boundaries, causing tension between the two Now, they wonder if they can salvage their friendshipLiving with a friend can be challenging, especially when boundaries are crossed. A 25-year-old woman seeks support from the Reddit community after ongoing tensions with her best friend and housemate have made their living situation increasingly difficult. The two have been close for decades and were initially excited to live together. However, over time, their differing needs and disregard for each other's wishes have led to tension. Now, the poster has come to realize that their lifestyles have become incompatible. 'I have always known I am pretty introverted and came from not a great family home, so shared with her ahead of time that I will need alone time and there may be days when I'm just chilling solo in my room,' the woman writes in the since-deleted post. Her housemate, on the other hand, turned out to be far more extroverted than she had realized before moving in. This fundamental difference has contributed to growing friction, along with her friend's disregard for boundaries. The woman describes how, while she was out of town, her housemate damaged their shared car but failed to inform her. 'She had some kind of minor accident leaving noticeable scratches on my wing mirror and didn't tell me, leaving me to have to ask about them when I found them,' the woman writes. Beyond property concerns, her housemate often makes unsolicited comments about the poster's health, despite being asked to stop. This is particularly sensitive given the Redditor's history with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and a past eating disorder. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'She will often comment on my diet and make comments about my exercise even when I ask her not to as my health is a difficult journey for me and diet in particular triggers my past binge eating disorder from my crappy home life," she writes. Her housemate has also been allowing people, including strangers, to stay in their shared space without permission. When confronted about this, she failed to respect the woman's wishes for future instances. The final straw came when the woman walked into their living room and found her housemate and her boyfriend being intimate with the door open. 'I just think she should be more considerate and I don't think I want someone in my life who doesn't care about me or how their actions would make me feel,' she writes. Though they have discussed many of these issues after the fact, the woman notes that nothing has changed. Now, as she prepares to move out, she is left wondering whether their friendship can—or should— survive beyond their time as housemates. Read the original article on People