BODY CONFIDENCE

Women are taught a lot of things about how their bodies "should" look. The world is full of critics—and a woman's harshest critic is usually herself. When celebrities are slammed in the tabloids for showing cellulite on the beach and models are demonized for being too thin, it's no wonder we look in the mirror and aren't 100 percent happy with what we see. Body confidence, to me, is the social, physical and psychological/spiritual sense of assurance that comes from your physical characteristics. It's not just about how your body looks but also how it performs. How you feel about your body starts in your mind. If you think that everyone else in the room is thinner than you, you're going to feel terrible and your body confidence will be low. If you think that you look pretty good, you'll feel better and your body confidence will be higher. Having a healthy body and having the confidence that you do are two very different things. The foods that can give you a great body—such as omega-3 fatty acids, black tea and dark chocolate—can also boost your mood. These are all foods that, in moderation, can help you live longer, happier and with oodles of confidence.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to accept your body

HOW GOOD IS YOUR TEETH

I know why I keep on emphasizing on the teeth, in my previous posts I wrote on the techniques and ways to brush the teeth. I once told an aboki not to worry and smile, but when he did I almost threw up. I retracted my words. Why is it that those with the worst mouth odour are those that come close to your nose when they open their mouths to speak. Really...most Nigerians don't even visit the dentist nowadays. Visiting your dentist regularly and having your teeth professionally cleaned makes a drastic difference in your overall health. A clean mouth not only reduces cavities, but also can also greatly improve the health of your entire body. Healthy teeth allow you to eat the food you need, while also reducing the amount of harmful bacteria you swallow.
While brushing and flossing both help to prevent cavities, regular visits to the dentist are essential if you want to have the healthiest mouth possible. Dentists have the tools and expertise to conquer toothaches and prevent larger, costlier problems from occurring. Hurry Now To Your Dentist.

TO BELCH OR NOT TO BELCH

Belching can be cute for a toddler but for an adult it can be seen as a mannerless behaviour. You are in a public place; a restaurant or a commercial bus then you drink a bottle of water or the famous pure water and after gulping it down you instantly have this overwhelming desire to belch. How would you do it and still save face?

Here's what I always do: I make a distracting sound or movement and release the air slowly.
I try not to swallow it, because swallowing the air only makes it worse (minutes later it might come out with a full blast!)

WEIGH-A-HOLICSM

Sometimes I feel that my scale lies to me. Each time,my weight fluctuates from one to three kg everyday. After I lost my 11kg, I became crazy about keeping the weight off so I started weighing myself everyday, and I discovered that you don't necessarily have to get on the scale frequently. Over the years, I've unknowingly become a weigh-a-holics. That is, people who step on the scales far too often. Some do it every day of their lives. Morning and night. Some step on and off five times in ten seconds in the hope that a lower figure might magically appear between their feet. Then they do it again thirty seconds later. Sound familiar?

Well, dear UCB readers, do not jump on that poor scale when it's 8pm and you've eaten a cow for dinner. Under normal conditions, we're all heavier at the end of the day. Not fatter, heavier.
Also, don't weigh yourself when you're wearing hiking boots, after you've just completed a strenuous workout, and ensure that the scale is on a solid surface (tiles, timber, concrete), otherwise your reading could be inaccurate. Don't also weigh yourself on certain days of the month (you can skip this one boys). I know you girls don't need me to spell it out for you but for menstruating women there will typically be somewhere between two and seven days per month when your weight is temporarily inflated due to increased water retention. Probably best to avoid the scales during this time.
Don't be that weigh-a-holic. Best of Luck!
Sometimes the thought of weighing yourself puts you in a state of anxiety. Stepping on the scales frequently is not good.

FUNBACT-A - THE NEMESIS

I used funbact-a triple action and my facial black heads dissappeared. It was wonderful because I had tried other creams and herbs but it didn't work. So, I kept on using funbact-a and even recommended it to my siblings and friends. It cleared off all my pimples but in the second month of using it, my mum exclaimed that I had gotten lighter and warned me to stop using it. I looked like a ghost with an uneven skin tone. Not only does it bleach your skin it also thins it, making it weak and vunerable to more acne break out. This makes you want to keep using the product because if you stop you breakout more. So don't ever use it. If you are still adamant, i would advise you to you funbact-a once in a year. Don't call me bad belle o...

DO YOU SLEEP UNDER THE FAN?

I love the fan too much, but even at that I prefer sleeping under the air conditioner, I have a very big fan in my room and sometimes I would just fix it directly to my face, and then in the morning I wake up with sore throat and congestion. My family would complain and scream but I just can't sleep without the fan blowing at my skin.
Sleeping under the fan don't really cause sickness,what makes you fall sick is the dirts coming from your fan straight into your nose. You breathe in that polluted air all night and then you wake up irritations, allergies and other kind of diseases. I think it depends on the person, some people's immune systems are weaker then others and they prone to getting a chill after sleeping near a fan. The body's temperature naturally goes down when one sleeps and with a fan it goes down even more and some people may react badly to that and others don't. I don't...

YUMMY SKINFLAKES

What's for dinner today? oh, skinflakes. Surpised?, please don't be. While you eat your cornflakes dessert we eat our skinflakes
from your skin, of course.
We are the dust mites, but don't worry we are not like bed bugs who give nasty bites). We told chetachukwu not to expose us but well in her usual way she decided to.
We eat dead skin and our feaces can cause allergies. We thrive in warm damp places i.e. your bed after you have slept in it. When you get up in the morning throw the covers back and let the bed 'air' for a while before you remake it. Washing your bedding at 60 degree C, drying in a hot tumble dryer, ironing or hanging outside in the sun will all kill us off. Be sure never to shake your clothing or bedclothes in the bedroom because this will distribute us all over the room. Regular vacuuming of nooks and crannies in the bedroom and the mattress (and mat if you use one) will help. Unless you are allergic to us though they are harmless. Try not to think about us too much!
Remain dirty,
Yours dust mites.

HANDLING MY HANDKERCHIEF

Maybe my handkerchief is not meant exclusively for my hands but I sometimes use it to wipe other parts of my body. I found out that this is a common trend in nigeria. There was a man in the bus who put up a disgusting sight; he blew his nose on his hanky and kept it in his pocket, then minutes later when he began to sweat he brought it out and used it to clean his face. I almost threw-up in the bus because I could still see the catarrh on the hanky. Please your 'hanky' should not be used for the face or you should have a two for different purposes. Please pass me my face towel...

MY LOVELY OLIVE OIL

I have used olive oil as my morning and night cream for about two years now and a few times Mercy, my roommate would ask why my skin was too oily, especially when I got back from my lectures.
Now this week,I followed my mum to her school and when we came back home I got to know that a colleague of hers was dying to know why my skin glowed , my mum didn't tell her the secret of my glowing skin but that's what I'm about to share with you today.

What olive oil does for your skin:
-Olive oil smoothens the skin, giving it a bright shine
-Olive oil removes pimples and craw craw
-Olive oil is good for dry and flaky skin
-Olive oil is protects the skin against the harm done to the skin by the sun
-When olive oil is rubbed on your face it makes it look brighter.
Tip- use olive oil with dudu osun soap to prevent flaky skin

ARE YOU REALLY CLEAN AFTER YOUR BATH?

When we leave the bathroom after our bath we feel good with all the relief and wonderful sensation that comes from the bath. Then we pick up our towel, and clean our body...Stop and think twice before letting that towel touch your freshly scrubbed face, and ask yourself these questions:

When last did you wash your towel?
Where do you keep your towel?

It is important to watch our towels every two weeks. Do bath towels really ever get dirty?, of course yes. Most towels are made of 100 percent cotton. While it's true that after a shower you have eliminated most of the germs and dirt from your skin, the process of rubbing a towel against the body rubs off dead skin that sticks to the moist towel. Towels also become an ideal nesting place for insects like little cockroaches. eeww!

DUDU OSUN- THE POWER SOAP

Yes I call it the power soup because it is highly effective and all natural.
It is made from. Honey, palm oil, aloe vera, lime juice, shea butter and a host of other traditional herbs.
With Dudu-osun black soap you are safe. I used dudu osun for two months and I noticed that my skin became brighter, my pimples just melted with the lather.
Note: it is advisable to moisturize your skin after each use because of the after effect- it could make your skin dry

USE YOUR SUNGLASSES

Nigeria's weather can be harsh especially during this festive season, if you don't move around in your personal car then I would advice you to prepare properly before leaving your house. Don't just leave your sunglasses at home, use it; make sure it has uv rays protection and not too tinted enough to make you blind-walk. Sunglasses helps protect your naked eyes from the sun and it is also fashionable and sexy. You can find cool ones in the market, kiosks or boutiques.