Here's how you can nourish your skin as temperatures drop
With the seasonal change bringing in cool and dry air, it's time to protect your skin from tightness and sudden dullness, specially for those experiencing a dryer texture.
'Winter is the time to support the skin's barrier function in a more intentional way,' said Ruan Winter, from Vitaderm . 'People tend to focus only on hydration, but it's also about locking in that moisture, replenishing what the skin has lost and reinforcing its natural defences.'
Here are Winter's top tips to give your skin a nourished feel. Your skin is a mirror of its environment
In the same way you swap linen for wool in your wardrobe, your skincare also needs to adapt. Colder weather brings lower humidity, which translates to less moisture in the air and, consequently, less moisture in your skin. Heating systems don't help, further zapping hydration levels and often leading to increased sensitivity.
However, the goal isn't simply to coat the skin in thick products. Nourishment goes beyond hydration. It's about feeding the skin with essential nutrients, lipids and actives that help it function optimally even in challenging conditions.
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The Herald
2 hours ago
- The Herald
Contraceptives for sub-Saharan Africa stuck in warehouses after US aid cuts
Contraceptives that could help prevent millions of unwanted pregnancies in some of the world's poorest countries are stuck in warehouses because of US aid cuts and could be destroyed, two aid industry sources and one former government official said. The stock, held in Belgium and Dubai, includes condoms, contraceptive implants, pills and intrauterine devices, together worth about $11m (R195.5m), the sources told Reuters. It has been stalled since the Trump administration started cutting foreign aid as part of its 'America First' policy in February, as the US government no longer wants to donate the contraceptives or pay the costs for delivery, they said. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has instead asked the contractor managing its health supply chain, Chemonics, to try to sell it, two of the sources said. An internal USAID memo, sent in April, said a quantity of contraceptives was being kept in warehouses and they should be 'immediately transferred to another entity to prevent waste or additional costs'. A senior US state department official told Reuters no decision had been made about the future of the contraceptives. They did not respond to questions about the reasons why the contraceptives were in storage or the impact of the US aid cuts and delays.
Mail & Guardian
2 days ago
- Mail & Guardian
It's the ‘Donald disease' that's making us sick
US President Donald Trump. 'Hello, sis. How are you? I hope you're fine. I mean, I'm not.' A lot has been going on out there, he told Bhekisisa in the voicemail, one of the many we recently received. 'You know, I'm a gay guy. I have sex with other men, without wearing condoms now, because when I try to fetch them from my local clinic, I'm told I get judged and told I want too many. You know what's happening in our industry.' We will call him Nkosi. Because he has sex with men and because his industry is sex work and because no one in the small community where he lives knows that he is gay or what he does for work. He even has a 'girlfriend' so people will think he's straight. Sex work has always been a dangerous profession. But ever since the administration of US President Donald The World Health Organisation says gay and bisexual men like Nkosi's chance of contracting HIV through sex That is what makes sex workers, as well as gay and bisexual men, what researchers call a ' But the Gone, too, are their health workers specially trained in how to work without discrimination. Gone is their tailor-made HIV treatment and testing services; their specialised mental health support and the condoms and lubricants they handed out for protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Gone are Preventive medicines like the daily pill are called 'So, sometimes I don't have PrEP,' says Nkosi. 'A partner can tell me he is on PrEP, but I don't trust that. Because where is he getting PrEP? Where am I going to get it? The black market? 'I don't know if it is even the real thing. Is it a counterfeit? Lube? That's another thing — you use everything, anything, as long as it's got jelly in it. The last time I did that I had an itchy penis for a week.' Nkosi calls the domino effect of the Trump administration's decision to pull funding 'the Donald disease because it is being caused by this guy, one man'. 'It's like crossing the freeway every day the way we're living now. One day, I know I'm gonna die.' What's with key populations? When Health Minister But why is there so much focus on these communities? 'Even the most self-interested people should be heavily invested in treatment and prevention of these populations,' says Francois Venter, who heads up the health research organisation, 'There's no clean, magical division between key populations and general populations. It's a Venn diagram of married men sleeping with sex workers, of drug-using populations interacting with your ostensibly innocent kids, gay men with your straight-presenting son, all needing HIV prevention and treatment programmes.' Although we have medicines like PrEP to prevent people from getting infected with HIV and antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for HIV-infected people, which, if taken correctly, Studies, for example, show that getting people to use the anti-HIV pill, also called oral PrEP, each day, Moreover, the Some of the 1.1 million choose not to start treatment, but an even larger proportion, who do go on treatment, Pepfar programmes That's why having lost at least half of those workers — The difficulty with state clinics and key populations Government clinics are mostly Stigma and discrimination in public clinics — doled out by security guards, cleaners, health workers and patients in waiting rooms — keep people away from HIV treatment and prevention. Motsoaledi Because funding cuts mean already understaffed government health clinics now have even fewer staff, many people with HIV, or those wanting PrEP, have to travel further for treatment or wait in long queues. Here are some of their stories — we collected them via voice notes with the help of health workers who worked for Pepfar programmes that have now been defunded. Female sex worker: 'My child is going to be infected' 'Yoh, life is very hard. Since all this happened, life has been very, very hard.' 'I have tried to go to the public clinic for my medication. But as sex workers, we are not being helped. We are scared to go to the government clinic to treat sexually transmitted infections because we are seen as dirty people who go and sleep around. 'We even struggle to get condoms. We are now forced to do business without protection because it is only our source of income and it's the way that we put food on the table. My worry now is that I am pregnant and my child is going to be infected because I'm not taking my ARVs, and I have defaulted for two months now.' Transgender woman: 'The future is dark' 'I'm a transgender woman. My pronouns are she.' 'When the clinic closed, I was about to run out of medication so I went to the government clinic in my area. I introduced myself to the receptionist and the lady asked me what kind of treatment I was taking. I told her ARVs and that I'm virally suppressed [when people use their treatment correctly the virus can't replicate, leaving so little virus in their bodies that they can't infect others], so I can't transmit HIV to others. 'The lady told me that they can't help me and I need to bring the transfer letter. I told her that the clinic is closed so I don't have the transfer letter. I asked to speak to the manager and the manager also refused to help me. The manager! How can she let someone who is HIV-positive go home without medication? 'I had to call one of my friends and she gave me one container. If you're not taking your medication consistently, you're going to get sick, you're gonna die. And the future? The future is dark.' Migrant farm worker: 'Lose my job? Or risk my health?' 'When we were told that the clinic was closed, I was actually in another town trying to get a seasonal job on the farms. But when I went to the nearest clinic, I was told that I needed to get a transfer letter. So I ended up sharing medication with friends. But then their medication also ran out. 'Then I got a job on the farm. Before the mobile clinics came to the farms and we had our clinical sessions there. The nurse was there, the social worker was there. Now we went to the clinic and spent the whole day there because we had to follow the queues. 'And because our jobs were not permanent jobs, you know, you just get a job if you apply by the gate. So if you are not there by the gate on that day, then the boss will automatically think that you are no longer interested in the job, so they employ someone else. 'I went to the government clinic and asked to get at least three months' supply. But the clinic said no because it was my first initiation so I had to come back. So I went back to the farm to see if I could still have my job. I found that I was no longer employed because they had to take up someone else. 'What am I going to do? If I go to the clinic, I stand a chance of losing my job. If I stay at my job, I am at risk of getting sick.' Transwoman: 'I'll just stay home and die' 'Accessing treatment is difficult because of the long queues. Even that security guard keeps on telling me to go away when I ask for lubricants and he tells me every time there's no lubricants. 'We need the trans clinic back. I need to speak to somebody, a psychologist. On Tuesdays we had our psychologist come in, and the doctor. But now I don't have the funds to go and see even a psychologist. 'It is bad. It is super bad. I don't know when I last took my meds. Another friend of mine just decided, oh, okay, since the clinic is closed and I no longer have medication, I'll just stay home and die.' *These stories were edited for length and clarity. 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Mail & Guardian
29-05-2025
- Mail & Guardian
Soft skills, hard results – Why leaders who connect are the ones who succeed
Once considered secondary to technical qualifications, Melini Moses says skills have become the cornerstone of effective leadership. Technical expertise might get you the job — but it's emotional intelligence, clear communication and the ability to connect that will keep you there and move you forward. According to Melini Moses, communications strategist and founder of Express Yourself, soft skills are now leadership essentials. 'They're not separate from strategy — they are strategy.' With a background in journalism, Moses brings a unique lens to leadership development. 'I've lectured in business communications and this reinforced that stories are how we move people, shift perceptions and, ultimately, build trust. You can have an MBA or a PhD — but if you can't work in a team, resolve conflict or rally people around a shared goal, you're going to hit a ceiling.' She notes that the perception of soft skills has undergone a marked transformation in recent years. Once considered secondary to technical qualifications, skills such as empathy, communication and emotional resilience have become the cornerstone of effective leadership, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Leading in a changing world 'When lockdown hit, people were anxious. Some were grieving. Others were juggling work with home-schooling,' Moses recalls. 'Leaders had to change their approach. Soft skills training shifted towards tone, presence, and creating space for people to be heard. The result? Improved productivity, because people felt valued.' Business is about people, not just processes, and while the value of these skills is clear, she says not all South African organisations have embraced the shift. 'Some are waking up to it, but not nearly enough,' she says. 'In a climate of budget cuts and staff shortages, soft skills often fall off the priority list.' But Moses warns this can be short-sighted. 'Misunderstandings, low morale and staff turnover aren't just HR issues — they're often communication problems. And they can cost more to fix later than what it would have taken to prevent them in the first place.' Stories that connect During her time as a news editor leading a team of journalists in a fast-paced Johannesburg newsroom, Moses completed a management course that incorporated soft skills such as emotional intelligence, personal mastery and conflict resolution. 'That high-pressure environment demanded more than just technical know-how,' she recalls. 'I had to lead with empathy, build trust quickly and navigate conflict.' Her transition from newsroom leader to entrepreneur reinforced those lessons. 'Running a business means dealing with uncertainty, managing client expectations and being resilient. I wasn't formally tested on these — but they've shaped my success more than any qualification.' Engaging teams in a digital world She frequently coaches leaders from highly technical fields such as engineering, mining and finance — sectors where logic, precision and results are prized. But these environments can struggle with relational communication. 'One client, an engineer, was technically brilliant but his team felt overlooked. Through coaching, we worked on storytelling, body language and engagement. Slowly, his influence grew — and so did team morale and performance.' Communication blind spots often go unnoticed, Moses explains. 'Leaders assume a message has landed just because they've said it. Or they default to WhatsApp and email, even for emotionally charged conversations. Not everything can be handled digitally — sometimes you need a voice, a presence, and space for real exchange.' Looking ahead, she believes the most critical leadership skills over the next five to 10 years will be emotional agility, presence in uncertainty and storytelling for influence. 'We're entering an era where connection, not control, defines great leadership,' she says. Courageous, communicative and character-driven leaders Her advice to young professionals who aspire to lead? 'Don't wait for a title. Lead where you are. Build your skills, but also build your character. Ask better questions and lead with heart. In South Africa, we don't just need competent leaders — we need courageous, compassionate ones.' Above all, Moses believes in the transformative power of communication. 'Your voice matters,' she says. 'In times of change, your presence can bring peace. In moments of conflict, your words can bring clarity. Use your voice — and use it with wisdom.'
