When your teenage girl turns a monster you hardly recognise

Written by Bunmi Sofola
~Vanguard Nigeria. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2018.

Will every parent ever be able to take the trauma of their adolescent girl's climb to puberty in their stride?  One minute she's in braids and school uniform, the next she's dressed and acting like a prospective Nollywood Star!. Amarachi, a typical modern day mum of two teenage girls and a grown up son prided herself on being a well-grounded mum and brooked no nonsense from her kids.  "I might have been born with the so-called proverbial silver-spoon but my mum never hesitated in thumping us whenever we got out of line", she said. "We were all a bit afraid of her and tried as much as possible not to give her the opportunity to put a lump of disapproval on our scalps through her knuckles.

"Thanks to her, I thought I was as stern with our kids until a few weeks ago when I opened my laptop to discover that Joyce my last child had inadvertently left her Fackbook and other social networking sites logged on.  Unbeknown to her, I was able to see right in front of me everything she and her friends had written in recent weeks.  It's happened before whenever she's failed to subscribe to her I-Phone and had to use my laptop - affording me the rare opportunity to have surreptitious check on her increasing private adolescent world.

"Only things were different this time.  In place of the usual banter, peppered with infuriating teenage acronyms, was a stream of comments, crystal clear in their meaning. They were vicious and cruel observations attacking Joyce for what she'd worn on her recent 16th birthday party.


"Some of the girls told her, in no uncertain terms that she'd dressed like a `slut, a `tart with no self-respect' and that her parents must be ashamed to have a daughter who `looked like a prostitute'.  The attacks on my daughter were part of a new trend known as `slut shaming' fuelled by blogging websites which teenagers post vicious criticisms online, targeting peers they deem to be dressing too provocative or wearing too much make-up.

"I was shocked and deeply upset to see my daughter being bullied like this - yet deep down, I couldn't help feeling her accusers had a point. For on the day of her `6th birthday, Joyce had dressed too provocatively. The outfit she'd chosen to wear, without my consent, had utterly floored me. I should have seen this coming though. last year, she'd transformed almost overnight from a little girl into a tall adolescent with impressive boobs and an amazing figure - which she seems hell-bent on exposing as much as possible. As a result, it's practically impossible for her to leave the house whenever she's on holidays without a fierce alteration. I would yell: `You're not going out dressed like that, put more clothes on!' She would stomp upstairs to change, before shoving the offending outfit into her bag - no doubt to put back on the moment I've vanished from sight.

Women with tattoos seen as promiscuous -Study

Written by Tunde Ajaja - Nigeria

Tattoo is often regarded as a fashion statement, which has largely been embraced my some and strongly despised by some others. Be that as it may, it is simply defined as a picture or design that is marked or drawn on a person's skin by making small holes in the skin with a needle and filling them with coloured ink.

It is believed in some quarters that men do it mostly to enhance their masculinity or for some identification but there are mixed perceptions about women having it, sometimes connoting that such women do it to express their confidence and create an identity for themselves.

Meanwhile, a study by some researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio, United States, found that men are likely to see women with tattoos as more sexy and promiscuous.

In fact, a 2003 study reviewed by medicaldaily found that men are more likely to approach a woman with a butterfly tattoo on her lower back compared to one with no tattoo. Interestingly, it was found that such men perceive such women (with tattoo) to be open to romantic advances, ready to have sex on the first date, go out on a date and be more sexually active.

However, in a study to examine how tattoos influence public perception of women, Lisa Oakes, a researcher involved some psychology students comprising 135 females and 86 males in the study. Oakes showed them four photos of a woman. In one of the photos, the woman had no tattoo, while in the three other photos, she had tattoos with different inscriptions.

Nigeria as the world capital of skin bleaching

Written by Jide Ojo - Nigeria

"Say it loud - I'm black and I'm proud"

- R&B legend, James Brown in his 1968 album.

Jide Ojo

Can you believe that the World Health Organisation has adjudged Nigeria as the country with the highest number of women who use skin-lightening products in the world? In a recent skin bleaching snap survey conducted by NOI Polls from February 3 - 5, and published on March 18, 2014 in Abuja, the polling agency said the assessment result confirms the submission of WHO on the endemic nature of skin bleaching among Nigerian women.

Recall that a report in The Vanguard newspaper of June 3, 2013 had said the WHO had indicated that 77 per cent of women in Nigeria use skin-bleaching products being the highest in the world. The figure compares with 59 per cent in Togo, and 27 per cent in Senegal. Asians are facing a similar trend as 4 out of 10 women in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan use a skin-whitening cream.

The NOI Polls report reads, "Latest snap poll results released by NOI Polls have revealed that 64 per cent of Nigerians are of the opinion that skin bleaching has become highly predominant in the country, especially amongst Nigerian females (97 per cent). This finding supports the claim by the World Health Organisation that Nigeria has the highest number of women that use skin-lightening products in the world. The poll further revealed that despite the negative effects of skin bleaching affirmed by 83 per cent of respondents; the top reasons why people still engage in the practice of skin bleaching are the need to "look beautiful" (35 per cent ) and to "look attractive to the opposite sex" (32 per cent). Skin bleaching was also reported as being mostly predominant amongst Nigerians within the age groups of 18-25 years (48 per cent) and 26-40 years (43 per cent). In addition, respondents identified some of the negative effects associated with skin bleaching to include "skin cancer" (35 per cent) and "skin damage" (25 per cent)".

Finding the right bra

All right, ladies, time for some straight talk. We all know that shopping for a new bra can be an agonizing process. After all, not all breasts are created equal, and trying to match your girls up to a department store's limited selection seems impossible. So, what's a girl to do? What we all have done: Grab the size you've been wearing for years that kinda-sorta-almost fits and hightail it out of that shop as fast as you can.

It's time to start changing the way you do business with your breasts. They deserve better than your 8-year-old cotton stand-by that's never quite fit. The right bra can change the way you look, feel, and carry yourself. It's OK if your chest isn't a one-size-fits-all. It's about time we all embrace that as a wonderful thing. You're unique, and all you need is some help and know-how to find the perfect bra that's right for you, your shape, and your life.

Below, we've outlined everything you need, from the 3 cardinal rules of mastering bra ownership to 7 fail-proof tips for finding the perfect fit.

1. Get Measured

Seriously. Let go of your skepticism and self-consciousness, because professionals are there to help and know exactly how to size you up. Most of us wear the wrong size -and don't know the first thing about cuts, styles, and fit. It's recommended that you get measured at least twice a year, or every time you buy a bra. It sounds like a lot, but our bodies are constantly changing and our breasts age right along with the rest of us.

Fashion brands and social media

By Chi Tola - Nigeria

(chitolaroberts@gmail.com)

By Chi Tola

Fashion brands are known for beauty, style and glamour, and social media provide a good platform to project these.

It is obvious that some brands are amazing at it, strategising and keeping their audience by giving them the information and content they want. Fashion brands should be great optimisers of social media.

As things are in this part of the world, fashion retailing is rarely done digitally (online) by many local brands unlike their foreign counterparts who are taking on all things social at a stimulating yet unprecedented stride.

They simultaneously use this to test their market and build brand loyalty, which of course, enables them to identify which styles are in-vogue and which other will soon fade out. They then use these feedbacks as critical information that guides their production and inventory managers.

On-the-go, you find pre-sales happening at the speed of light. Most of the known brands always have an initial launch online and this helps them not only to position their products but also target potential geographic markets for brick and mortar businesses.

Notwithstanding how winning your platform is, consumers are still desirous to experience the complete vibrancy of the sport called "fashion shopping" on the go.

In working your way to prominence with the social media for your fashion business, here are some pitfalls you should avoid:

Flashy object syndrome

Don't always follow the trend. The fact that there is one ongoing doesn't mean you should do yours that way. Always find what suits your brand and its customers. Before you jump in without a parachute, go back to your strategy. Ask the cardinal questions always. Does this fit your brand? Is it where your audiences are and engage? Will it help awareness and engagement (if these are your goals)?

The truth about chemical hair relaxers, extensions

Written by Sade Oguntola  - Nigeria

Chemical hair relaxers and extensions have found widespread use among women because of the desire to look beautiful, be socially acceptable and because of the convenience and ease of managing such hair. Experts warn, however, that these beautification processes, are not without their hazards to the users, reports Sade Oguntola.

Stella Okonkwo's hair had damaged over the years from decades of wearing weaves and hair extensions. The more her hair was thinning out and damaged, the more reliant she was on extensions to cover up her bald spots.

"Over a period of five years my hair was thin and damaged. The colour changed from black to reddish brown because of the frequency of applying relaxer, weaves and sometimes glue to make some hair styles," retorted Mrs Okonkwo, a school teacher. She admitted that the hair loss was worse when she wears tiny weaves or glues hair extension.

Hair loss is an epidemic among Nigerian women. It is a significant problem for women of all ages, especially now that hairstyles and braids are done on relaxed hair. Hairstyles like braids and extensions onto the hair put pressure on the relaxed hair, which results in hair breaking or falling out.

Common fashion crimes in vogue

By Jessica Nwaimo 
When it comes to fashion and trends, we all want to look great. Unfortunately, there are some fashion errors that we might not be aware of, but we practice them. The following are a couple of outfit mistakes that are commonly made by ladies:

Wearing oversized clothing
There is the wrong oversized clothing and the right over-sized clothing. The right over-sized clothing are some of this year’s top trends such as the bubble skirt, which looks good paired with a tight fitting top and a high waist belt. Wrong over-sized clothing is just plain wrong like knee-reaching t-shirts and baggy pants, you get the point. Make sure you buy clothes that fit you properly.

Wearing undersized clothing
A lot of people think they would look slimmer if they wore a smaller size of cloth-huge mistake. Wearing clothes that are of a smaller size makes you look bigger because you end up looking like a stuffed turkey. When it’s a smaller skirt, it cuts into your belly and makes it overlap the waistband giving you what is usually called “the muffin top” look. Always make sure you buy clothes that are your size, nothing could be more flattering.