Body and Beauty and Living-Naturally

Sorry this is late- in typical NiÉriu style!Well, the festival of world cultures has come and gone. The started with a few grey skies and we packed our gear in the car hoping that it would clear by afternoon.

 We arrived at the venue early. First had to attend a child protection workshop- I wasn’t working with children so I had itchy feet thoughout this!I suppose I did have the kids helpign me-but they went off to attend another kiddies workshop. They even got themselves into the irish times gallery!

Eventually went up to my room to set up and barely had enough time before participants started to arrive. There was no sink or running water in the room as I had requested but no biggie as the FWC-volunteers were extremely helpful and we were given buckets with water. We did have to run off to get an extension lead  as the power source was not too accessible.The class started at 10.30 as planned…I KNOW…on time and all, but we had to be as we had loads to do. There were 12 people in all. I was expectedly nervous starting off, but once I got in my stride, it was all good.There were loads of questions which I hope I was able to answer, all in all I had a good feeling at the end of the class…it had been an interactive session, the participants were brilliant and very interested-what more could I have asked for!And as promised, here is the link for melt and pour soap supplies.We made cold process soap with sheabutter, cocoabutter, coconut oil, palmoil, and superfatted with avocado oil. For scent, we used lavender and lemon. All participants went away with a few bars of soap-same recipe but one I made earlier. Infact I had made 2 batches using cold process and hot process to demonstrate the results from these two different methods.And special thanks to the organizers of the festival who did a brilliant job…especially Olga and Fiona. I will be uploading pictures in my next post.

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Do you want to make soap for yourself or as gifts?

Maybe you just want more control on which ingredients are in your skincare products?

Do you want to learn how to make soap or watch the soap making process?

The Festival of World Cultures aims to enhance artistic expression and integration of Ireland’s newer communities by providing a platform for intercultural creative exchange and dialogue.The workshops on offer this year include a Soapmaking workshop facilitated by Claudia of NiÉriu.

Using natural ingredients such as Sheabutter and Cocoabutter from Nigeria, Olive Oil, Coconut oil., this workshop is sure to stimulate your senses.

Soap will be made using the cold process method.
We will also be discussing other Soap-making methods, ingredients.
You will go away with samples of the soap created and notes from the workshop.

Details:

Date: 23/August/2008   Time: 10.30am

Venue: Royal Marine Hotel
For booking information, click here
Hurry up, as places are limited!

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You know that saying ”it never rains but pours”….well right now, it is a bit too literal in our house!

Since I got back from Nigeria, our plumbing has sprung a leak that seems to be getting worse everyday.

What started with using a small towel  thrown on a spot to keep the carpet dry has now become something that needs 3 big towels wrung of water almost every hour not to mention the old duvet now soaked in the hall way trying to keep the carpet dry.

Thankfully today, the problem has been identified. What it comes down to is that the previous plumber who worked on it during the house extension messed up. He had forgotten or neglected to properly finish off an overflow connection that was no longer gonna be in use. It’s so annoying ‘cos we ‘ve been rectifying his crappy work since he left, this should be no surprise!

Anyway, we are just glad to have this sorted and we can now start to think about replacing the carpet.

In the meantime, we can just think about the forthcoming bank holiday weekend!

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Hi People,

I hope your summer has been as brilliant as it’s been for us in Dublin for the last days. It has actually been brilliant since I got back from Nigeria which is cool…coming back to wet weather after having the lovely sunshine would have been …   not so cool.

Well, as I indicated on the main website, I had to shut shop for a while due to a death in the family. My Dad died after battling cancer for the last nearly 2years. He was 80years old and had lived a full, fulfilled life and at the time he went was in a lot of pain.

Daddy or “Doctor” as he was more popularly known was popular in many circles as was evidenced in his funeral. It was attended by everyone from mechanics, street traders, to Doctors and politicians. The tributes written about him read like a praise singers booklet. The best part though is that most people had some sort of personal experience where he touched their lives in one way or another.

He definitely made the most of his life and his gifts.The best things he left us are not property or material things but he taught us the value of things like a good name, integrity, education, friendship and loyalty. The friendships he left us have also proved their worth. “Committee of friends” we are indeed grateful! Doctor…aka Obaghite had real wealth in friends like you! His colleagues in the Nigerian Medical Association -many of whom he would have had a close friendship with were with him from the motuary till the grave.

The ceremony was spread over a week with 4main days.

- the service of songs: I was so busy from the time my feet touched the ground in Warri that I was a bit surprised that Friday arrived so quickly. The service of songs started an hour behind time-we were told the clergymen had had to go fuel hunting….there had been speculation of a looming strike that was mean there would be fuel shortage. When it eventually started it ended up being a beautiful ceremony.

The clergy at first to make up the time, wanted to cut out bits of the ceremony but as they were the parts that Daddy would have been most interested in, we didn’t permit this. They could instead make their sermon shorter. The highlights included

- Dr Agbowu singing beautiful classical number.
- Mrs. Agbamu leading the crowd to sing one of Daddy’s favourite songs-Que Sera Sera by Doris Day. And I have to say we did the song justice!
The day ended with snack packs and drinks being given out. Most of the crowd had dispersed by 8.00pm. Dr Ofor warned everyone to be on time the following day and gave a run through of the intended schedule.

We still had a full house afterwards, and I spent the better part of the night catching up with my girlfriends….after trying to put the finishing touches to the room where Daddy would be lying in state when he came home. Yoleme’s guys had done a fab job with the décor. We were not sure if candles would be construed to mean something undesirable so we decided to light them in the morning before anyone came and put them out once people start arriving.

- Interment: Woke up at about 5. Woke Ajiri and Amina up as well as Zino and we all proceeded to get ready.The girls and Zino and his friends all had their showers before we headed out to Shell mortuary Ogunu. I really should have known better though ‘cos we got there and we were the first there with no one else arriving till later-almost an hour later! Anyway we didn’t get the first slot as planned but it was still okay.

Just as Daddy was nearly ready, Dr Areh arrived with the Ambulance that would be his final ride.

After he had been dressed, I went in to look at him. I suppose because he had not been in the mortuary that long he didn’t look that different from the last time I saw him in Ibadan…other than his complexion…his usual beautiful complexion  had a grayish tinge. I kept saying to myself “that’s not my Dad, but just his casing”. At a point though, I did nearly loose it …sorry guys for snapping at you but if I let you keep on trying to console me….I would have been a wreck! I just needed to get through the day.

I got in the car and Daddy, the driver and I headed for the house.

On arrival, there was already a crowd waiting to greet him and while they did so and he laid in state, I ran up to get ready.He was identified here by Samuel Igbrude. Mummy had left for Isoko with Tony while I and Zino had headed for the motuary.

By the time I came out we were ready to proceed to Isoko.

We headed off on the route marked out by Dr. Ofor and arrived in Isoko without incident. First stop was the family compound in Edhomoko. As Daddy approached in the ambulance shots were fired using what they called local cannon…gun powder i think. There was also a band to welcome him.


He was identified here by his brother Uncle Felix. And after lying in state here, we continued to Otibio were again, family members identified him as their son and he was again welcomed home by the shots fired. There was a graveside service which was led by the clergymen.

Daddy always said he didn’t want to be taken to church when he died so this was a perfect way to honour his wishes but still have a representation of God’s word at his funeral. Despite what the clergy thought and they left us in no doubt about it…we who knew the man realized this was the best fit for him. There was a bit of a to-do because of a white cloth which was apparently required by the clergy but they only told us during the ceremony and then were getting upset that it didn’t magically appear.

The Doctors lowered the coffin into the grave and  Chief Atuyota and Uncle Sam gave graveside orations, and after the grave had been covered, everyone proceeded back to the family compound for the reception.

There was food, drink, music….enough saidJ.

We did the traditional greetings and supported kolanuts for all the guests.

“Isoko wado….”

And then afterwards, we danced and got sprayed…I thought spraying was now outlawed…apparently not it would appear!

For the whole day Mummy was in the room were she stayed with her friends and sisters and cousins,etc. Later that night though we all headed back to Warri, I and Zino stopped at Daddy’s grave to say goodnight.

-thanksgiving /outing service at good Shepard church-mummy’s church. The service started at 8 or 8.30 but we didn’t arrive till about 10.00am which was just as well as it didn’t end till about 1.00pm. I am not sure what we missed as we were there for the sermon.



Anyway after the church service we headed on home to feed and entertain people who had come to celebrate Daddy’s life with us.

Most of the rest of the week was filled with Mummy making the trip to Isoko to sit in the mourning-room. The Isoko cultures or maybe it’s just Owhe ….does not have a lot of empathy for widows or the immediate family of the bereaved!

By the 7th day, I was really glad it was the end and mostly for mummy as she could finally have the chance to grieve and start to make sense of her new “normal”.

One thing to note…for everything we had to do….even though it was in the middle of the raining season we did not have one drop of rain (no be God??!!) The kids were praying as were many of us for good weather…and others had gone their own way and got the 2 rainmakers in the village…”they” say these guys can hold the rain and you have to pay the both of them otherwise the one who is not hired would call the rain…

All said and done now….Daddy got a good send-off and I hope we made him proud. I bet though he was looking at us and was quite annoyed at some of the carryon …he was afterall the most simple down to earth person you could imagine and pomp and all was just not his thing…but we had to do it. Ufuoma, by the wayDaddy’s suit was splendid:-)

Rest in Peace Daddy, Doctor, Obaghite… until we meet again.

We are blessed by having had you in our lives and we will keep your memory going by trying to live as you would have wished….your values are our ideals and we will try to make you proud.

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As the sun begins to peep out it’s time to start to consider sun protection.I don’t believe in slathering on the sunscream all the time. First of all, let’s get something out of the way, Suncreams work by blocking the rays of the sun. Anything that does this isn’t something you want to have on all the time. What I suggest is that you keep your usual regime and use sunscreen when you are actually going into the sun, actually about a half hour before you go in the sun. You should also reapply if you come in contact with water or when you sweat as you would on a hot day. Don’t rely on just the suncream. Use sun protection in the choice of what you wear. Keep in the shade, use hats, and protective clothing. If  you are trying to get a tan, don’t get it on one day by maximum exposure to the sun and then burning.I read an article in the paper this morning about tomato paste being used to protect against sunburn and premature wrinkles.  There had previously been a study in 2003 . The results of that study suggested  that lycopene may protect against UV light-induced erythema and, presumably, against sun damage to the skin, as well[1]. More recently, researchers at Manchester and Newcastle universities carried out another study and the results from this also suggest that adding just five table spoons of tomato paste to the daily diet significantly improved sun protection. This is attributed to the presence of  lycopene  in tomatoes. As well as improving the sunprotection properties o the skin, “The tomato diet boosted the level of procollagen in the skin significantly. These increasing levels suggest potential reversal of the skin ageing process.”Other research has shown lycopene may protect against prostate cancer, as well as the lung, bladder, cervical and pancreatic forms of the disease; it may also boost heart health by combating artery-clogging cholesterol. [2]It is worthy to note that Lycopene levels are highest in cooked tomatoes, so bring out all the pasta sauces and the like. It’s good to know that all the ketchup my daughter eats is also doing her some good!

It is also worth noting that pure and unrefined sheabutter is reputed to have some sun protection properties.

[2] Presentation: “Lycopene protects against biomarkers of photodamage in human skin”; M. Rizwan, I Rodriguez-Blanco, A. Harbottle*, M. Birch-Machin*, R.E.B. Watson and L.E. Rhodes; Dermatological Sciences, University of Manchester and *Dermatological Sciences, Newcastle University.

Published in collaboration with the British Association of Dermatologists.

(http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/content.phtml?ref=1209390017)

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On my way from the day job on Monday, I heard an ad on the radio that this is National Psoriasis InformationWeek, My ears of course twitched, and as soon as the kids were settled that night I logged on to the website to see if there was anything of interest on it.

The site says: “The purpose of National Psoriasis Information Week is to create public understanding about psoriasis and to encourage patients to visit their Doctor or Dermatologist for treatments rather than suffer in silence.” It is a new website so there isn’t really any significant amount of information on it yet but it looks promising. I was disappointed to see in the treatments section that there was nothing about alternative treatments, hopefully once the site is fully operational, that will be addressed. You can see the site yourself here 

As some of you may know, I have struggled with psoriasis and excema for a good while now. It’s a heck of a lot better and more manageable now but I don’t take things for granted, for instance, I wouldn’t even think of not moisturizing my skin. I am also too terrified to get back into the swimming pool after the last time where it felt as though my skin was on fire! Wish there was a salt water pool in a spa nearby…like the one in Inchydoney…ah bliss….

Anyway,my choice to use “alternative”  treatments rather than continuing with conventional medication was borne of the realisation after a lot of research that none of the medication I would get off the doctors would cure it but rather they controlled it, and then also I wasn’t prepared to put up with the side-effects or at the time give up breastfeeding.Without much ado, here are the things that work FOR ME. Note that every case of psoriasis is different, even, my own psoriasis seems to mutate and become resistant to different things after I have used them a while , so I tend to alternate. The important thing is with psoriasis as with most other things ,is try to keep it simple. I have only used topical treatments and this is what I describe below. I also try to take some form of omega-oil in supplements-emphasis on TRY.I also have a relatively good diet- i.e. junk free.These things listed below are the staples in my arsenal. I have tried other ingredients but these work the best for me.

1. Virgin Coconut Oil: VCO is just brilliant. There are numerous articles on the web regarding the use of virgin coconut oil for various ailments. I am not quoting them because my listing it here is not based on what’s out there but on my own personal experience.
2. I have used VCO as an after shower moisturiser.
3. I ‘ve mixed in some dead-sea salt with the vco and slathered it on for about 30mins before the shower( remember that fake tan ad with the girl holding her arms wide so as not to rub off?) The dead sea salt stung me but I was prepared to bear  that, the results were worth it. I use this as a body scrub as well. This is also great for excema. If you buy the dead-sea salt from boots, you might have to run it through a coffee grinder to make it a bit smoother.If  you are a bath type person, you can put some vco and dead-sea salt in your bath water and soak in it.
4. Another option which works well is to mix in salicylic acid (available from your chemist, also ask them for the quantity to mix with your VCO). This is also great for removing those plaques. Again, you’d leave this on for about 15-30mins before washing off in the shower.Most of the Virgin Coconut oil you’ll find is from Fiji, the scent of this is sweeter than the African variety, and it is whiter as well. Other than this, as far as I can tell both are as good as each other.  
5. Neem oil: Pure Neem oil mixed with nothing else is available from most health food shops in Ireland. Neem oil is good for the itch and I actually experienced some remission after using this. It has a foul smell though, and I couldn’t even mask the distinctive smell(not scent). However, it worked. In Nigeria, Neem is called “dogoyaro” and is used to treat a myriad of ills-used both internally and externally. I once had some neem bark off a girl here in Dublin and made it into a soap-I loved it.
6. I also use an exfoliating sponge at every shower. Yep every shower. Exfoliation is generally the main part of a bath or shower for me and if you have plaques, it’s even more important, and when you are done use your emollient/moisturiser. I use one of my butters or plain VCO depending on where my skin is at. 
7. Another thing that helped the itch is aloevera. Good ol aloe-vera. I simply break off a leaf and mix with some VCO in my palm and rub this all over the affected area. This has on many occasions enabled me get an itch-free night.

If you have any questions, send them through and as always, if I don’t have the answer, I’ll find someone who does!

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macys,
originally uploaded by NiÉriu.

I am not much of a gardner. Heck, I am so dark fingered I manage to kill weeds, the only things I grow successfully are Aloe-vera and nettle. It doesn’t help that patience is not exactly my forte.

Anyway, I like the spring…it’s a welcome relief from the winter and get me in the mood for summer.

I had heard of the macys flower show but seeing it in the flesh was quite spectacular and believe me I am not easily impressed.

These pictures taken with my daughter’s camera don’t quite do the arrangments justice but I had to share nonetheless. Enjoy…

The crowd was so much there that I couldn’t really get a decent shot when I went, but hope this gives you a small idea of what it was like?!

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Just got back from NYC where I spent the easter break. I was worried that I would be disappointed but I have to say I LOVE New York and I will definitely be going back.

Meanwhile let me just say again,if you are expecting your order, fret not, it is on the way. The last batch of outstanding orders will be posted in tomorrow morning.

I took off my Spanish hair before I travelled mainly ‘cos I just got tired of the long luscious locks, and I wanted really low maintenance hair for the trip. Before taking it off though, I did one more treatment for deep conditioning so that it wouldn’t shed too badly.

Garlic is very good for combating hair loss so I mashed up about half a bulb of garlic. I put it through the garlic press several times to make it as smooth as it could get.

And then I mixed up the garlic puree with about 4 table spoons of olive oil and then left it on the window sill ( in a little glass jar for the day) When I was ready to use it I mixed the olive garlic combo with an egg and 2 Tablespoons of natural yogurt and whisked them all up really nicely.

Summarily ingredients were :

*2TBS Natural Yogurt

*4 TBS Olive Oil

*½ bulb of Garlic

*1 egg

*5 drops of rosemary essential oil (you may use any of your choice) and 3 drops of lavender.

Apart from the beneficial effects of the essential oils, I used them to try to cover up the garlic scent by complementing rather than masking it.

After washing my hair with one of my soaps rather than my usual no-poo, I did a clarifying  rinse using diluted apple cider vinegar. And then, put my conditioning mix on and combed it through making sure to get enough on the ends.

After combing through I covered it with my shower cap and tied my towel around my head and went about my business. This was left on for nearly about 45mins- 15mins to half an hour would be plenty, I just got busy doing other stuff ( like watching TV!)

I rinsed this off thoroughly in the shower. When it is thoroughly rinsed off, you can barely smell the garlic, especially with the essential oils I used. You do have to rinse thoroughly to get rid of all the bits of the garlic.

I let the hair dry naturally and once dry, much to my pleasure, it was really bouncy and almost good as new. Alas it was time to take it out.

When I loosened the braids, I was even more pleased t observe I had much less shedding than usual. I have since repeated this treatment on my own hair with similar results of reduced breakage.

It does take some preparation so I don’t see myself doing this more than twice a month because as I said earlier, I am a low-maintenance kinda girl.

If you try this, let us know how you get on.

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I ‘d usually used regular honey from the stores but I decided to try out the manuka honey. I got one with 20 UMF rating.

I decided to try this out on my psoriasis patches which of late have been quite itchy. I mixed about half a spoon with my cleansing oil and rubbed it onto my face and then left it on for about half an hour before going for my shower.

I then mixed a little bit…just a smidgen with my facial butter and and also with my body butter.

Results: It doesn;t seem to be as sticky as regular honey. I didn’t itch at all on the patches either. It hasn;t noticeably improved anything else dramatically that I can see yet, it’s been about a week since using it.

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After a few days of being bound in a bun I noticed that when the hair was let down, it didn’t quite have the bounce it had when it was new. The curls were no more defined, it was more wavy and quite frizzy.

What I tried :

• 1Tbs honey
• 4Tbs oil ( I used equal amounts of olive and coconut but any oil should be fine)

Mixed the efck out of these and then massaged the mixture into the hair. I worked upwards from the tips to the scalp and I was more concerned about the frizzy ends.

I left it on and went for my walk which was about and hour and half and then  washed it off using just conditioner.( I continue to do condish-washes even when my hair is off duty)

I let the hair dry naturally(took a good while as it’s soo thick) but it was sooo soft, best of all the curls were back and so of course I had to carry the hair in a pony tail!

Note: It didn’t leave the hair greasy.

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