{"id":637811,"date":"2026-09-27T18:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T18:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/637811\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T18:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T18:44:11","slug":"self-acceptance-is-really-important-health-and-haircare-among-talking-points-at-feelgood-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/637811\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Self-acceptance is really important’: Health and haircare among talking points at Feelgood Live"},"content":{"rendered":"

The impact of hard water on hair, supplement use for menopause, consistency over perfection in our food consumption, and two key skincare steps to never skip were among the valuable insights covered at the second annual Feelgood Live event in Cork.<\/p>\n

Over 200 women experienced a morning of movement, conversation and inspiration at Feelgood Live, in association with PrecisionBiotics, Nourish, and Ireland\u2019s Blue Book, at the Marina Market on Sunday morning. The event began with a low-impact workout led by Lesley Giltinan of Lean With Lesley, kicking off a high-energy mood among the crowd.<\/p>\n

\"LesleyLesley Giltinan, from Lean With Lesley, leading an exercise routine at Feelgood Live. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

Menopause expert Dr Fionnuala McSweeney and dietitian Aoife Hearne spoke on the women\u2019s health and wellbeing panel, offering expert advice on making positive day-to-day changes.<\/p>\n

Hearne emphasised the importance of consistency over perfection in our diets \u201cIt\u2019s less about perfection and more about being \u2018good enough\u2019. Consistency tops everything; being \u2018good enough\u2019 is good enough,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no \u2018good foods\u2019 or \u2018bad foods\u2019; there\u2019s just food. There\u2019s no morality when it comes to food.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She emphasised the importance of reducing the pressure we put on ourselves when it comes to healthy eating for the whole family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t eat broccoli one night, that\u2019s not a crisis. We\u2019re not raising kids to eat broccoli; we\u2019re raising kids to have a healthy attitude to food as an adult.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AoifeAoife Hearne and Dr Fionnuala McSweeney in conversation with Esther McCarthy. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

Dr McSweeney said many things can impact a woman during perimenopause or menopause, including pressure to have children, ageing parents to care for, and financial strain, and she approaches each patient from a lifestyle perspective too, encouraging everyone to keep a symptom diary.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerimenopause is a period of transition and a process that is different for many women,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She emphasised the benefits of strength training, sleep, nutrition, and other factors for women, with Hearne noting that women often consider restricting their food intake, but she advises \u201cincluding rather than excluding\u201d foods and being kind to your body.<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf-acceptance is really important here,\u201d Hearne added. \u201cWe are all here because our ancestors had enough food to survive. Eating enough is important. We are seeing women underfueling chronically.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr McSweeney suggested focusing on body composition rather than a number on a scale as we age. \u201cFocus on how I can make my body stronger and fitter for old age,\u201d she suggested.<\/p>\n

The morning\u2019s second panel focused on hair and skincare with consultant dermatologist Prof Nicola Ralph and hair stylist Sabrina Hill from Kopper Salon in Cork city.<\/p>\n

Prof Ralph said women are bombarded with adverts for all kinds of skincare as they age, but she recommends just two essential steps for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t spend your money on expensive moisturisers \u2014 SPF in the morning and topical retinol at night will do. If you don\u2019t have sunscreen in your daily routine, you\u2019re wasting your time,\u201d she said, adding some tips on how to start incorporating retinol into skincare routines.<\/p>\n

She also highlighted the importance of treating our necks and backs of hands with the same care and products we use on our faces.<\/p>\n

\"IrishIrish Examiner Life\/Style editor Esther McCarthy, Lesley Giltinan, Dr Fionnuala McSweeney, Aoife Hearne, Professor Nicola Ralph, and Irish Examiner\u2019s Feelgood Editor Irene Feighan at Feelgood Live. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

Hill shared some advice for caring for hair, and cited environmental damage as one of the main causes of hair issues she sees in her salon, with hard water being a particular concern for many of her customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur water is damaging hair. Irish water has a lot of minerals; it\u2019s usually hard,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favourite product for anyone who needs to reset their hair is a really good scalp shampoo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The frequency of hair-washing changes from person to person, but Prof Ralph suggests regular washing to treat scalp concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a fan of people washing regularly if they have scalp issues and using the right products,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"AudienceAudience members at Feelgood Live. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

The audience was highly engaged and their questions for the experts included seeking advice on supplement use, pre-wedding skincare, hormonal headaches, skin and hair care tips for sauna-users, and budget-friendly product suggestions for scalp care.<\/p>\n

\n Feelgood editor Irene Feighan thanked attendees and noted how Feelgood aimed to share lived experiences from Irish women. She paid tribute to healthcare trailblazers including Vicky Phelan and Laura Brennan.<\/p>\n

“All of these women had a huge impact on our healthcare\u00a0\u2014 here’s to women telling it like it is, without shame or fear,” she added.<\/p>\n

Feelgood Live attendees went home with a goody bag worth over \u20ac100 and spot prizes were given out throughout the event. Ticket holders also availed of offers at vendor stalls at the event from Getset Nutrition, Irish Pride, Ipera, and On The QT, as well as food and drink discounts at Marina Market traders Alchemy Coffee and Bowld, and refreshments provided by Good For You, Unrooted and OAC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The impact of hard water on hair, supplement use for menopause, consistency over perfection in our food consumption,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[500,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-637811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-september-reset","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}