Update: My scorched head

In a previous post,

"I am a white girl"

I mentioned in passing that my scalp is sunburned.

It's getting better.  

I went to a beauty shop here called

"Ulta."

Ulta is a magical place...

filled with an amazing array of 

beauty products

and accessories.

It even has a salon.

But, then I entered.

I was looking for something for my sunburned scalp.

A young lady asked if I needed help

and I smiled and said, "yes!"

She tried to help me.

But she normally just stocks shelves

and after looking at a couple of things,

she passed me off to someone else.

Another lady was going to help me...

but then the phone rang

and she got distracted.

For a very, very long time.

So,

* * *W A R N I N G* * *

by this point, I had exceeded my "asking time"

I had exceeded my "looking time"

the rules are fuzzy here,

but we are in the South

and I am still attempting to learn the rules...

(unfortunately, they are not written down somewhere)

THEREFORE,

I approached another sales lady.

She had to deal with me...

someone with an irritating request...

"Do you have sunscreen for hair or the scalp?"

As she 

VISIBLY

 struggled to understand my West Coast "accent"

she put her hand up in disgust and exclaimed,

(ok not verbatim-but close)

"honey, you need to see a pharmacist!

You need a prescription or somethin'!

We don't deal with that--you got a problem!"

"yes, I have a burned scalp...

from.

THE.

SUN. 

YOUR.

SUN."

"Yous burnin'?  Are you's itchin'? 

What you put on your head?

You need a pharmacist!"

I was mortified...I didn't have lice....okay?

I put my hands up in the air...

(maybe she understands sign language I thought)

over my head 

in the shape of the sun

and tried to get her to understand.

"I have a sun burn on my head

do you have sunscreen?"

Her eyes bugged out a bit:

"Yous burning?  You say your scalp burning?

Honey, you need a pharmacist,

Maybe you havin' some sorta reaction? 

we don't have nothin' here like medicine."

"No, I'm just burned.

On. my. head.

From.

The.

Sun--

do you have...."

"We's don' carry medicine here...

maybe you just need to go see the pharmacist or somethin'"

Her face was twisted up

and she was backing away from me...

(I was afraid she was going to throw up)

"Up above.

The. Sun.

It is Shining down.

On my white head.

Don't you have some type of hairspray with UV protection

or sunscreen?"

THE LIGHT BULB NEARLY EXPLODED

over her head.

Oooooohhhhhhh.....

She quickly showed me a couple of bottles of spray...

with UV protection.

I took the cheapest one:

$20.

YIKES.
I'm pretty sure it's not really what I wanted...

but we were both satisfied.

I think.

Unfortunately, I think she still had some reservations

about me and my burned scalp...

maybe I was carrying some disease...

or throwing off lice in her store...

*yeah*

she followed me to the register...

still giving me weird looks.

** sigh **

I promise you.

I am trying to fit into this culture.

I went back the next week,

with a friend who is from Alaska.

We rolled around the store...

laughing...

checked out the perfume...

examined the blue nail polish...

all the while talking in our "weird" accents...

she definitely made it more fun!