Body and Beauty and Living-Naturally

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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treehair,
originally uploaded by NiÉriu.

Not usually my forte but thought seeing as it’s an issue for me right now, it’s a good way to break the silence.
Hair…..what to do with it!!
Well it’s supposedly spring but it’s still too cold to have my hair out. I tried to a couple of weeks ago and it was freezing. I quickly banged a weave on it, but that was too itchy so I took that out after a few days and put in tree-braids which I’ve kept in since. I used human hair this time-the first time I’ve ever used the stuff. It does feel softer but I ‘m not sure I’m mad about it. I think also that long hair is just not my thing, I am definitely happier with what I’ve got naturally.
For now, I’ve started to wonder when this coldsnap will end and I can stop with the protective styles. It ain’t cheap getting the hair done either I tell ya!
The pic here shows the back of the hair. Seeing as I’ce been rocking this hair -spanish hair, it gave me a chance to try some stuff on it that usually works for my afro hair.
So, I’ll be putting up a few posts with my experiments with this hair so far.

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Not a whole lot as I am still in recovery!It is still January afterall.

In the spirit of the new year and all that’s good and healthy I ‘m struggling to keep on the healthy eating train. It’s funny how once you decide not to eat something you really start to want it! For instance, bread….I decided I’d cut it out all together as I only eat it because it is convenient. I don’t like it! But no sooner than I decided this, than I start to crave it. Growing up, bread was a luxury and I suppose I never quite acquired the taste for it…same goes for tea and coffee….just give me fresh juice or water preferrably cold!

Anyway, as I am getting the bus to work these days I am also getting a decent walk in the mornings and evenings as well, even though I get soaked because I don’t have an umbrella.I have a nasty habit of forgetting them on the bus/wherever I take shelter.

On another note, there’s a new blog on the block; Shirley has started her blog on saving money by using home-made stuff and keeping as natural as possible. She is being featured on the Channel 5 show “itpaystowatch” by martin…I forget his surname. Anyway, pop over and have a nosey, she has some wicked recipes…maybe she’ll do the foolproof orange cake soon (hint!) In the meantime, I’ll be making the butter, we’ve been using shop bought butter(yikes!) and olive oil with infused herbs. I’ll report back to you on how it went after I try it!

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Well 2008 is finally here, and no doubt all the best intentions and all are in gear to stick to your new year resolutions!!

As for me I’ve none….yep zip, zilch, nada. I’ve gradually gone from making a list, to making a couple of resolutions to thinking about which resolutions I’d like to make to now not even bothering…After all the one thing all the new resolutions have in common is that I didn’t keep them!!

Here’s to wishing you all a healthy, happy and successful year!!

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Sorry gals…and guys, I couldn’t come on to wish you happy christmas. I got busy with packing and posting and haven’t had as much time to post on here. But I have been thinking about you! And for NiEriu clients…I’ve been wondering how the recipients of your gift packs recieved them. Here’s wishing them and  you all  of course healthier and glowing skin for 2008!

Soooo…what did Santa bring you? Or quite simply…what did you get??

We emptied the green bin on the 24th and It’s half full already!! You know what really drives me up the wall? It’s those tiny wire thingies used to tie toys to the cardboard so they don’t move….seriously, it’s not as though the toys can run away!!

Anyway, NiEriu has been working behind the scenes during the holidays… oh and if you like the products you’ve used, please share your thoughts using the review function now available in NiEriushop. we are trying to put up all your comments so far.In the same vein if you prefer not to be quoted, simply send us a mail and we’ll take off your comments.

We will be stocking a few soaps in some healthfood shops at some point in the new year so if you’d like to see NiEriu in a store near you, let us know. Yep, only the soaps will be stocked…sorry, we cannot have your special potions sitting on a shelf now can we? remember…fresh made?! And yes, your favourite soap will still be available to order here, but be warned, you might see some in some shops only available there-by custom request.

Well, I ‘m off to grab a bite for dinner…something with leftover turkey….just as well it’s almost finished!

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