Girly Fru-Fru Stuff

I got my package of wonderful soap and shampoo bar samples from Chagrin Valley Soap today. Opening our mail box sent the most wonderful minty-herbal scent wafting out. I had taken Oreo over to the big central mail box thing for the apartment complex and actually wound up using the lovely scents to keep him moving.
He's a sucker for pretty smells. Loves chamomile and baby's breath especially. No idea why.

Anyway, my acne has flared up something fierce lately and I've been getting sores on my scalp again. Not fun. I seem to be getting the acne to ease off a little, but cycling through my shampoo/conditioners and even trying some new ones hasn't helped the head much.

I had tried Chagrin Valley shampoo bars several years ago in Chicago. I had fallen in love with LUSH products, but not so much some of the ingredients or the price tag. I had chin-length hair then. Between the water and the hair, I just could not make a go of them, even waiting several weeks, vinegar rinses, etc., etc. So I used up the bars to wash the rest of me and that was that. Then I found one of those old samples stashed in one of my dresser drawers (they smell wonderful, so they serve double duty as potpourri when not in active use). Used it to wash hair and face and it turned out very nicely. Several days in and I don't have that weird grungy-greasy feeling, haven't needed to do a vinegar rinse yet, and scalp sores seem to be improving. I'm guessing the change in water and maybe in hair length helped.

Anyway, Chagrin Valley has lovely, lovely stuff and it is incredibly reasonably priced and there are samples for nearly everything. So I grabbed whatever looked fun. They also have doggie shampoo bars. Tom discovered they're easier to use on Oreo than liquid shampoo when we borrowed one at a friends place. And Oreo is also having some skin itchies, so I'm hoping this will help.

I also scored a solid lotion bar. They're made of waxes and oils that are solid at room temperature but melt when massaged on skin. My hands have become more prone to eczema over the past year, so this is part of my plan of gradually having hand lotion available all over the apartment and in my purse as that seems to be what keeps the itchy, nasty pustules away, but I am sometimes too lazy to hunt for lotion.

So this is the soap I've been making little soap holders for. My first one seems to be just the right size. The one I started last night is going to be too big and will probably need to be frogged. And no, they aren't paying me to gush about their soap on the internets. I will post further info as I try things out.

Also, I have started using Astrid as a to-do list reminder thing. I really like it so far. It's free, web based and has an Android app. Easy interface. You can add in a social component as well.

Bonus Oreo Cuteness