On Saturday we took The Most Adorable Granddaughter in the World#1 to see the Christmas Parade. We almost missed it - thinking it was happening this coming weekend and not last weekend. It seems awfully early to be thinking about Christmas which is why we got the dates mixed up.
Anyway, we sorted it out in time and went. It was great to see more of a Christian influence in the parade with some local churches getting involved. Even the first carol that was played this year was about the babe in the manger and not the jolly red guy in a suit. I am still shaking my head at a letter to the editor I read in a newspaper a few years back complaining about the Christmas parade and how Christians had to bring their religion into everything! We have Christmas because ...?
However there are no photos of the Christmas Parade this year. The time had been changed from 1 pm to 5 pm presumably so that adults with young children were not standing out in the hot midday sun.
This year that wasn't a problem.
It rained.
We had no umbrella.
We stood under a tree and repeatedly experienced large drips plopping down on us. Despite this, and despite the fact that most of those in the parade looked like drowned rats (and the bands' instruments didn't fare too well either), we enjoyed it.
We do have a photo of The Most Adorable Granddaughter#1 before we arrived at the parade posing for the camera:
Totally unrelated, I finally have my hair back! Yay! And my scalp. After my terrible time with the itchies things are finally getting back to normal. There's still some pain and discomfort but it's nothing compared to what I was experiencing.
During this period I looked at more gentle methods to cleanse my hair and scalp. Not that the method I use is particularly rough. I use a natural shampoo diluted with chamomile tea and wash the scalp every second day and the length just once a week. (My routine is here). However, since I was so uncomfortable (read, almost going insane with itching) I decided to try some other methods. I tried washing with just conditioner but quickly gave up after only two washes. Some love it - never use anything else - but it's not for me. My hair felt greasy and icky and I couldn't wait to get home from work and dump half a bottle of shampoo on my scalp to clean it (that might be an exaggeration but it seemed like a lot of shampoo considering I was trying to avoid the stuff!).
Next I tried baking soda and it left my hair shiny and soft but while others can use it regularly I feel it's too harsh to use more than once a month or so. But if you're interested, just search for baking soda washes online and you're sure to find tons of information. Just remember to follow with a vinegar rinse (please don't use the two together at the same time - there have been reports of damage that way - but with rinsing in between there should be no problem) and if you let the baking soda touch your length you'll probably want to use a good moisturising conditioner as well.
Then I turned to homemade shampoo using eggs and lime juice. It worked - to a degree. I've used this recipe in the past with success so I think by now my hair and scalp were in revolt and nothing was going to work. The next method proves my point.
I tried soap nuts. Natural. Non-allergenic. Cheap. Easy. They leave your hair clean and super shiny - supposedly. For me, it was the worst method I'd tried so far. My hair looked dull and lifeless and I still didn't feel it was clean. I know that with some of these alternative methods hair can feel 'moisturised' and it can take a little getting used to, but my hair actually looked like steel wool and felt like it too!
So back to my basic routine. No herbal teas or honey treatments or anything other than just my basic diluted shampoo and an apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse until my hair settles down. Perhaps in a few days I'll introduce some of my herbal teas but not just yet.
Perhaps because I was feeling better about my hair I decided today to engage in some retail therapy (is it still called retail therapy when it's second hand/op shop finds?). I know some use retail therapy to cheer themselves up but when I'm shopping for clothes for my figure nothing cheers me up.
However today wasn't a bad experience. I came away with a pretty little shrug cardigan and four skirts. There's something about this time of year that I just have to put on a floaty feminine skirt - and now I can (well I could before but now I have more to choose from)! Better still, the average price for each item was under ten dollars.
Hair back to normal + pretty skirt + a bargain = a happy Jules!
Anyway, we sorted it out in time and went. It was great to see more of a Christian influence in the parade with some local churches getting involved. Even the first carol that was played this year was about the babe in the manger and not the jolly red guy in a suit. I am still shaking my head at a letter to the editor I read in a newspaper a few years back complaining about the Christmas parade and how Christians had to bring their religion into everything! We have Christmas because ...?
However there are no photos of the Christmas Parade this year. The time had been changed from 1 pm to 5 pm presumably so that adults with young children were not standing out in the hot midday sun.
This year that wasn't a problem.
It rained.
We had no umbrella.
We stood under a tree and repeatedly experienced large drips plopping down on us. Despite this, and despite the fact that most of those in the parade looked like drowned rats (and the bands' instruments didn't fare too well either), we enjoyed it.
We do have a photo of The Most Adorable Granddaughter#1 before we arrived at the parade posing for the camera:
Totally unrelated, I finally have my hair back! Yay! And my scalp. After my terrible time with the itchies things are finally getting back to normal. There's still some pain and discomfort but it's nothing compared to what I was experiencing.
During this period I looked at more gentle methods to cleanse my hair and scalp. Not that the method I use is particularly rough. I use a natural shampoo diluted with chamomile tea and wash the scalp every second day and the length just once a week. (My routine is here). However, since I was so uncomfortable (read, almost going insane with itching) I decided to try some other methods. I tried washing with just conditioner but quickly gave up after only two washes. Some love it - never use anything else - but it's not for me. My hair felt greasy and icky and I couldn't wait to get home from work and dump half a bottle of shampoo on my scalp to clean it (that might be an exaggeration but it seemed like a lot of shampoo considering I was trying to avoid the stuff!).
Next I tried baking soda and it left my hair shiny and soft but while others can use it regularly I feel it's too harsh to use more than once a month or so. But if you're interested, just search for baking soda washes online and you're sure to find tons of information. Just remember to follow with a vinegar rinse (please don't use the two together at the same time - there have been reports of damage that way - but with rinsing in between there should be no problem) and if you let the baking soda touch your length you'll probably want to use a good moisturising conditioner as well.
Then I turned to homemade shampoo using eggs and lime juice. It worked - to a degree. I've used this recipe in the past with success so I think by now my hair and scalp were in revolt and nothing was going to work. The next method proves my point.
I tried soap nuts. Natural. Non-allergenic. Cheap. Easy. They leave your hair clean and super shiny - supposedly. For me, it was the worst method I'd tried so far. My hair looked dull and lifeless and I still didn't feel it was clean. I know that with some of these alternative methods hair can feel 'moisturised' and it can take a little getting used to, but my hair actually looked like steel wool and felt like it too!
So back to my basic routine. No herbal teas or honey treatments or anything other than just my basic diluted shampoo and an apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse until my hair settles down. Perhaps in a few days I'll introduce some of my herbal teas but not just yet.
Perhaps because I was feeling better about my hair I decided today to engage in some retail therapy (is it still called retail therapy when it's second hand/op shop finds?). I know some use retail therapy to cheer themselves up but when I'm shopping for clothes for my figure nothing cheers me up.
However today wasn't a bad experience. I came away with a pretty little shrug cardigan and four skirts. There's something about this time of year that I just have to put on a floaty feminine skirt - and now I can (well I could before but now I have more to choose from)! Better still, the average price for each item was under ten dollars.
Hair back to normal + pretty skirt + a bargain = a happy Jules!
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