Peace Corps Hair Wash Regimen

Uncategorized

Mar 14

Peace Corps life at times can really seems like you are living a different life. One of this biggest changes I have made is to my hair wash regimen. Here is an older post detailing my hair wash regimen before joining the Peace Corps.Natural Hair Wash Regimen And here is the updated version....I'm am currently sitting in my bed on what seems like one of the hottest days in the Philippines with only my one electric fan preventing me from melting into a heat stroke. I am trying to convince myself that I should get up and wash my hair. I've been wearing my hair in matted puff for the past week. I took my hair out of its twists for a celebration but this has gone too far! I cannot go another day with my hair out so let's jump right into my hair wash process.

First I

pre-poo

.......sometimes. This is a quick step I do to "loosen up" my hair since it seems it has been baked, fried, and zapped of all moisture from the sun. This is also the time I do a quick finger detanglimg while parting my hair into four sections to make the shampoo process a bit more effective to ensure that all the dirt, grime, and sweat build up is gone.

Next I head to the CR (comfort room) to

shampoo

. Please note I did not say head to the shower. I am lucky enough to have a shower in my house but two years ago and like many other volunteers the bucket bath method is most common. I will explain both for a full understanding.

Shower Method:

I quickly let water run over my hair for a few seconds then apply shampoo while my hair is still in the twists. Most of the time a few twists unravel. I just twists them back up and finish shampooing. If I don't check before I start this process, I could be left in the bathroom with shampoo in my hair and no water. My water runs off of an electric water tank. So if I use all the water from the tank and there is no water pressure I have to hook the water tank up to a socket and wait for the water to refill. This only allows a small window of time to shampoo.

Bucket Bath Method:

One bucket. Maybe two if you have longer hair but that is all you have to shampoo and rinse your hair. You use the pail provided with the bucket. This is what Filipinnos call the "Tabo." Use one tabo pour to wet your hair and then add shampoo to your hair. The water in your hair usually provides enough water to create suds in your hair and to distribute the shampoo throughout head. Next, use 2-3 tabo pours to rinse the shampoo but rinse slowly our else most of the water will be wasted on the floor. Then check to see if there is any remaining shampoo in your hair the remaining water in the bucket is saved for a final rinse. Sorry no time time to contemplate life or even your next day.

Next I

condition and

detangle

at the same time. Since I have been wearing my hair out I want to detangle as much as possible. At this stage I detangle differently based on the two shampooing methods just mentioned.

Shower Method:

While in the shower I coat my hair in moisturizing conditioner. As I apply the conditioner I run my fingers down my strands of hair to get any shed hair or breakage that slips out. Then go over they section again my shower comb (side note: I use to use my deman brush but the rubber base melted on my dresser from the extreme heat). I let the conditioner sit for a few minutes while I do the rest of my shower routine and the last thing I do is rinse out all of the conditioner.

Bucket Bath Method:

After I shampoo my hair I immediately apply a leave-in conditioner and finger detanlge my hair. I don't worry about using a shower comb because I have limited water and I do not want a ton of extra conditioner left in my hair but I use a leave-in conditioner just in case I miss some areas in the rinse process. While rinsing my hair I make sure I rinse one section at a time. A quick tip: if you use les water in the shampoo process you leave more water for rinsing the conditioner.

Deep Condition:

To save on time and water this step has been merged with the pre-poo step at the beginning. I use a spray bottle of water to wet my hair. Section by section I apply my favorite deep conditioner. After each section I coat it with coconut oil for extra moisture.

After I apply the deep conditioner all over my head I cover it with a plastic cap, 2 shower caps and my satin cap. I cover my hair with so many layers because I did not bring any hair appliances with me to the country. I let my natural body heat and the harsh sunlight do the work. If I want extra heat I would put on a beanie as well. I don't have a set amount of time that I leave the conditioner on. I usually forget back it and go do something else.....cook dinner...wash clothes or search YouTube for a new hairstyle.

Once I rinse the deep conditioner out its ready to style or shampoo depending on where you place this step in your regimen

. More info on

Deep Conditioning the Peace Corps Way

Preferred Style:

Twists

Tuck and Pin

Flat twist updo