A MAG is a Modern African Girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things which may interest a MAG.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Doré Fasolati, this week's subjects: Brocade care, Santoku Japanese chicken, Cosmetics .

Brocade care. A non-reversible patterned fabric with a lavish embossed effect. If it is woven with golden or silver-colored threads, it is called Imperial Brocade. Evening dresses, skirts, jackets, rich coats, and bridal gowns are various styles you can make out of brocade. Brocade is usually significantly more expensive than other woven fabrics made with similar materials. While computerized Jacquard looms have made brocade production significantly more efficient, there's no denying that producing brocade is still more complicated than producing practically any other type of fabric. Some advantages of brocade compared to other fabrics; apart from the outlook, brocade fabric has a significant impact on the textile material. The main brocade fabric material is silk fiber. It is environmentally friendly. Because silk production does not have any fertilizer or pesticide requirements.

First, it is essential to read the garment or accessory label for fiber content and care instructions. Depending on the type of fibers used in weaving, some brocades can be hand-washed, while others must be professionally dry-cleaned. We recommend dry cleaning this fabric at a reliable dry cleaner. Hand washing (30°C/86°F) will cause slight shrinkage and crimping. Unlike its silk cousin, this brocade will not soften when laundered. Press on the back using the synthetics setting; if the fabric has been pre-shrunk, you may steam it. In case you insist on ironing your brocade outfit; iron the brocade pieces using an iron set to the coolest setting, or iron the fabric by placing a towel over the fabric and ironing the towel. This protects the delicate fibers of the brocade. Some brocade is made from silk fibers, which can melt under extreme heat.

Santoku Japanese restaurant in Accra does not only sell sushi and other Far East things, one can also order chicken legs. Ours was nice, sufficiently juicy, they had somehow brought all the meat down from the leg to the “thigh” and cooked it like that after spicing and marinating it. I could come back for that. So I asked about the origin of the chicken, the waiter shook his head, but I insisted. Eventually, the answer came, Brazil. I decided not it ask if by sea or by air, and remembered our 3-0 loss against Brazil not long ago. Can’t we get things right?

Cosmetics? Western Europe is definitely ahead of us when it comes to scrutinizing products for pesticide residues and ingredients that could irritate your eyes and skin, cause increased production of the hormone estrogen (female sex hormone) that triggers excessive cell division in the breast which eventually can lead to breast cancer, cause respiratory disorders, cause reproductive and developmental issues, affect brain function, cause cancers, acne breakouts, and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), cause gut inflammation, affect your immune system, cause birth defects and blood cancer, affect the human central nervous system and can lead to fatigue, headache, nausea and drowsiness, and cause ovarian cancer and lung tumors. I just picked a few, there are more. Many cosmetics contain several ingredients that are suspected to cause some of the above, so the European FDA insists that for those products where absolute proof of toxicity has not yet been established, and which are thus still allowed, they are mentioned on the packaging. Until recently there were only 26 of these chemicals to be mentioned, now, after an 11-year battle with the cosmetics industry about 52 are added, making it 80. Why so long? The industry was worried that too many chemical names on the packaging might put consumers off and make the packaging less attractive. And they now have another 3 years to adopt their production process, and a total of 5 years to get rid of old stocks. They are not helping, are they? Mind you, these chemicals only need mentioning if there is more than 0.001% (one part on 100,000 parts) of the product in the cosmetic for “stay on” products, and 0.01% for wash-offs, an indication of how potent these products are. So what to do? Use as little makeup as possible, do wash it off when not needed again, and buy makeup products only from well-known sources where one would hope that they somehow stick to the few rules we have. It will cost you more, but then again, beauty has no price......... But your health has!

Lydia...

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