Month: July 2022

I can safely say most women+ who are reading this have had some kind of negative experience when it comes to MEDICAL CARE. Whether it be: not being heard, or your ‘pain threshold’ ignored – it’s basically, blatant sexism. 

The new Women’s Health Strategy aims to bring about a number of important changes – many of which have been long overdue.

AT KIT we want to closely follow this and see the promised result.  LETS STICK TO THE RESEARCH AND STATS FIRST:

Maria Caulfield has been the spearhead to LAUNCH a call for evidence to inform the GENDER HEALTH GAP. Maria Caulfield says:

“When we launched our call for evidence to inform the publication of this strategy, women across the country set us a clear mandate for change.  Tackling the gender health gap will not be easy – there are deep-seated, systemic issues we must address to ensure women receive the same standards of care as men, universally and by default,  This strategy is the start of that journey, but eradicating the gender health gap can’t be done through health services alone. I am calling on everyone who has the power to positively impact women’s health, from employers to doctors and teachers to industry, to join us in our journey.” 

To start with, £10 million is set to be funneled into a breast cancer screening programme to provide 25 new mobile breast screening units. These will be targeted at areas with the “greatest challenges” of uptake and will also allow services to recover from the impact of the pandemic. It is hoped these screening units will tackle health disparities and lead to earlier breast cancer diagnosis – something that is crucial in ensuring a good recovery.

The strategy also includes several plans to improve IVF services, including removing additional barriers to IVF for lesbians, bisexual women and trans people, so that couples will no longer have to pay for artificial insemination to “prove” their fertility status. 

The new plans also mean that NHS treatment for female same-sex couples will start with six cycles of artificial insemination, after which they will be given access to IVF services if necessary.

The changes to fertility services also include plans to “improve transparency on provision and availability of IVF” to tackle the “postcode lottery” in access to IVF treatment, and the introduction of a pregnancy loss certificate to be issued to parents who have lost a child before 24 weeks.  

THIS NEEDS TO BE HEARD.

We want to give a big shout out to Minerva Beauty for pushing forward in the area of inclusivity. D&I is important. End of. So, Minerva has launched two amazing SALON chairs which cover ability inclusion. So SHOUT OUT to Minerva for doing this.

Two salon chairs accessible to guests with mobility difficulties are now available from Minerva Beauty, Inc. The Zaria Hydraulic Salon Styling Chair and the Atikus All Purpose Chair are each equipped with an innovative flip-up style footrest, providing easy entry and exit from the chair.

“At Minerva, we strive to provide salon equipment that is not only stylish but also functional to accommodate the needs of all our customers,” says Jay Rawl, President and CEO at Minerva Beauty. “We are so excited to now offer these two salon chairs that are perfect for every salon setting as well as a critical addition for salons in eldercare centers!”

The Atikus All Purpose Chair reclines up to 70 degrees and is equipped with a fully removable headrest, while the Zaria Styling Chair includes a strategically placed gap between the chair back and cushion for easy cleaning.

“The Atikus and Zaria are unmatched when it comes to form and functionality,” says Jeff Grissler, Director of Corporate Relations at Minerva Beauty. “With the ability to flip up the footrest as guests enter and exit the chair, it adds a level of precaution for your business and your clients. From eldercare centers to salons and spas, both chairs provide the professional quality you can depend on for your business.”

This has also been mirrored in the modelling industry with Olivia Anakwe, who states, “Black models are still asking for just one hairstylist on every team no matter where your team is from to care for afro hair. I was asked to get out of an empty chair followed by having hairstylists blatantly turning their backs to me when I would walk up to them, to get my hair done. If I am asked to wear my natural hair to a show, the team should prepare the style just as they practice the look and demo for non-afro hair. I arrived backstage where they planned to do cornrows, but not one person on the team knew how to do them without admitting so. After one lady attempted and pulled my edges relentlessly, I stood up to find a model who could possibly do it. After asking two models and then the lead/only nail stylist, she was then taken away from her job to do my hair. This is not okay. This will never be okay. This needs to change. No matter how small your team is, make sure you have one person that is competent at doing afro texture hair care OR just hire a black hairstylist!” 

We have asked around and these are a couple of comments from people within the industry:

“This is very true. The problem is that in most places those who have a passion for natural hair and textured hair are not afforded the same opportunities to reach celebrity status clients. I have had so many clients ask me why I am not promoting myself to help high profile clients. However, like any respectable client, celebrity or not, no one wants someone they don’t know. Or the stylist is not in the proper circles to expand their client base.”

“I was in a union job and most stylists did not have the education about black hair care or makeup. I had actors asking me, did I do makeup? And how they did not, and would not, sit in any other stylist’s chair. We need more platforms to enforce more training in the Industry.”

THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE. Yesterday.. It’s 2022, FFS.

Researchers are uncertain about exactly why PMS negatively affects sleep; however, studies have identified potential reasons for this symptom.

• Changing hormone levels may provoke difficulty falling asleep as well as more sleep interruptions in women with PMS. Multiple studies have found that sleep worsens during the late-luteal phase (when PMS arises) in comparison with other parts of the menstrual cycle.

• Hormonal changes before and during menstruation may harm sleep through effects on body temperature and melatonin production. Progesterone, which increases after ovulation until the late-luteal phase, increases body temperature to an extent that can cause fragmented sleep. BLEAUGH.

• ALSO it could be regarding anxiety: anxiety about anything to do with periods,because let’s face it,periods aren’t a walk in the fucking park. This anxiety can completely destroy a night’s sleep – this could be because of your new White Company sheets, or your hormones are just draining you. 

Bodyform can’t just take this crap away from you, but they are offering products to make you feel more comfy, and most importantly, feel HEARD.

We want to show you the recovery of the industry in numbers! The industry shows a promising 54% recovery rate. Over two thirds of business owners are confident of their survival, with over 40% of them planning to expand their businesses going into 2022. 

We wanted to explore this – and show an example of game changers in the industry who truly support their team to become the best they can be, facilitating a HUGE growth in their salon – one such example is Colin McAndrew, owner of MEDUSA. 

Colin McAndrew said: “We consistently invest in [the team’s] professional development, but during the pandemic I appreciated just how important it is to also invest in my team as people. Having experienced fertility treatment first hand, I want to help others that go through it also. Supporting them financially as well as creating an open culture in the salon will hopefully help lessen the struggles of such treatment.”

Additionally, Mr McAndrew and three members of his team have completed a Menopause in the Workplace course, and an expert is booked in with each salon to help educate staff on the subject.

The firm added that 90%of its team and 84%of its customers are female, and it cited a study finding that 25% of menopausal women consider leaving the workplace due to their symptoms.

Medusa has also introduced free period products for all staff and launched a Salon Safe campaign in the last year.

THIS. IS. GOOD. NEWS.

Let’s talk about Doom Scrolling and if you’re unfamiliar with what Doom Scrolling – IT IS when you are sitting on your phone and you start falling down that little rabbit hole of reading excessive amounts of news stories that probably bring up negative emotions for you AND trigger you. 

This is different from just reading the Daily News and staying informed. This behaviour can become somewhat persisted so why do we do it?

 The psychology behind this is quite interesting because when it feels like there are things happening that are really scary in the world like mass shootings or  racial injustice it can feel like everything is out of your control so this can be a way of seeking reassurance and away to help us try and ease our anxiety over the situation so this is a friendly reminder that even though there’s a lot going on in the world it’s important that you:

• You can create a physical separation from your devices. You could even leave your phone at home when you go for a walk or run or an errand or if you’re spending time with her friend you could turn off notifications from the news and turn them on again once you feel mentally prepared to do that. 

• This kind of leads me into saying go on a news diet that limits how much you start scrolling, set a timer three times a day whatever you feel comfortable with, 

• Stop push notifications from news sources and read the news at your own pace. 

• We all know that social media can be a really positive place. We need to break the cycle with positivity throughout social media, bookmark websites or social media accounts that make you feel good and when you notice yourself going down the doom scrolling path open up the positive pages on your account. 

• Seek out positive stories as well as staying informed you need to remind yourself and protect yourself preserve yourself preserve your world that you live in it’s a really tough time at the moment for all of us particularly women were struggling I mean maybe you just need need that time to just look at some makeup trails whatever calms you down organisational porn –  let’s do that.

 Just had to say it today of all days.