So your a girly girl and you just signed up for the World Race huh?
Let me guess, your leaving in July, September or January and your thinking "what the heck am I going to do with my hair? Should I bring a blow dryer? Nail polish? Makeup?"
If you are anything like me when I first signed up for the race you are panicking right about now. I had no clue what ultralight backpacking was when I said yes to JESUS, and left last year in July! Now I'm an expert! Well sort of. (Hehehe) I'm here to help all of you curly girls, and Girly girls make it through what may be the toughest year of your beauty life, OR like a year away at Esther's Beauty Treatment center.
You decide
Tip 1. To all my curly girls!
So I have noticed that lately the Race has attracted more sistas! Holla! Hahaha, but this goes for all my curly haired ladies, and my beautiful friend Christina Simke (look at her blog) can vouch for this, curly hair on the race can be up and down! At home our hair is already temperamental, but the constant change in temperature, water conditions, and lack of a local Target has sent my hair through the ringer! So my first suggestion is
BRING PRODUCT FROM HOME!!!!
I cannot stress this enough! If your hair is very specific, and it needs special care make sure you bring a large container of whatever you use at home, unless you plan on shaving your hair off like some girls decided (not for me, I did that circa 2009). I made the biggest mistake of not bringing my hair cream on the race and I paid for it major! I honestly just left it on my dresser, and it sucked to be me for the first 3 months of the race. Now chances are you will run into something half decent on the race to replace what you use, but until then be prepared! The hardest thing to find on the race is leave in conditioner, it's almost impossible, even in Africa. But if your squad is going through Thailand, there is a drug store called Boots on almost every corner, and they sell bottles of coconut and almond leave in conditioner. I literally bought 8 bottles to last me the rest of the race, and it was worth it. The leave in is not 100% natural but it will suffice.
Tip 2.
Do some research and get acquainted with natural ingredients you can use to do your hair. From the bush of Africa, to the Malaysian city there is ALWAYS produce around! Find out what you can use in case you run out of product to deep condition your hair! Did you know avocado is AMAZING for deep conditioning, and raw apple cider vinegar is an amazing hair cleanse! Based on your hair type find what works for you, and keep a list so you can treat your hair with local things. I won't list mixtures here but you can message me if you want ingredients for some of my fave mixtures based on the region of the world you are in.
Tip 3.
Be careful who you let touch your hair! I have seen many girls get unsatisfactory haircuts on the race because its usually cheap to free! I brought my own scissors to cut my own ends, no I am not a professional, but I figured when I get home I can have a professional I trust cut my hair thorough ally. Most of the foreign world, especially if you spend 6 months in Asia like me, has straight hair, so doing curly hair is just foreign to them, especially African hair. And unfortunately most African women wear weaves, fades, or have relaxed and straight hair so it's not their specialty either. I'm not saying there can't be exceptions, but this is what I observed over the year.
Tip 4.
Test the water! Every month I assess the water situation to decide when I can and cannot do my hair. If I know the situation is bucket showers over a squatty potty, and I am leaving a place with a decent shower, then I wash it there, and put in twists, and try to make them last for the month. Obviously it's the race and 9 times out of 10 you won't know, but sometimes you get a heads up on the water situation. Also sometimes the water is really harsh, and worse for your hair, this will determine how many times a month you want to wash it.
Tip 5. For all my Girly Girls!
You will not need as many carabiners as you think. And this goes for all the other gizmos and gadgets I can't pronounce. Before the race I had no idea what a carabiner was, I googled it and was like "oh those things they give out for free at the bank"? You dont need 20 of these, all you will do is lose them, and find unnecessary things to hang on the outside of your pack if you have them! So I brought 3, literally a PNC bank one and 2 other people gave me, and I was fine. Leave the mess kit, chances are a boy on your team will have one anyways. You don't have to run out and buy a $50 leather man pocket knife, a simple one will do, and simple first aid kits are fine. Other than that use your judgement, if you don't know how to use it, chances are you don't need it.
Tip 6.
A mature man of GOD will want you to focus on your year with the LORD, and HIS time this year will be occupied with doing the same. Seriously pray about your male interactions this year, and let GOD guide your heart! There is plenty of time for buildings relationships in the right season, and unless you are a special case that is probably not this year. I know it is a challenge, especially if someone is already pursuing you, but it's worth the wait to do it right, and if he believes you are worth the wait he will wait.
Tip 7.
Bring your favorite shirt! Bring your favorite something. I gave away most of my personal belongings before the race, but I left a few things in my closet that I love, thinking i could enjoy them when i came home. There were plenty of days I wish I had brought one or two of those things just to look like myself, or feel good wearing them. Now ill be honest, they will probably get ruined after a few bucket hand washes, but I think it's worth it. This year is so special in a lot of ways, and trust me if you are used to being nicely dressed at home you will regret only having 4 T-shirts and gym short to wear for a whole year, but being able to have something nice to wear on an off day will bless you. Of course I am not saying bring a ball gown, use your own discretion.
Tip 8.
Take care of yourself! Some people may disagree with me on this one but I believe this year is really important to take care of your womanly duties. Honey, if there is a shower available, then shower. Some racers think it's cool to not shower, for no reason, for days at a time. Nothing against them at all, but that's not my steeze, so if showering, taking care of your feet, hair, nails, skin or whatever is important to you, then do it! Asia is FULL of extremely cheap beauty products, and manicures and pedicures literally can cost as little as a dollar there! After walking 5 1/2 hours through the Nepali jungle, our feet might need a nice scrub, or your nails need cut and polished! It's OKAY! Your still a woman, delight in the way GOD has made you! Leave the roughness to the boys, trust me there will be plenty of it! It can also be good girl bonding time to do all natural facials! And if you are super active at home, and you eat healthy my beautiful teammate Beka Adam can give you plenty of tips on eating vegetarian/vegan on the race. Her email is [email protected].
Tip 9.
Let GOD define your beauty! Get ready for the LORD to absolutely rock your definition of womanhood and beauty this year. It was rough to leave a lot of the things I loved behind this year, but totally worth it. Allow GOD to show you what beauty is, and if you are struggling with letting something go then pray about it. Your beauty should not be an idol this year, and although there is nothing wrong with delighting in things like nail polish, there were times I went without this stuff because GOD asked me to. Half way through my trip in Vietnam the LORD asked me to give away all my "extra girl things" all my nail polish, dresses, jewelry and more. It was a sacrifice, but in the months I was in Africa I delighted in the natural beauty GOD gave me, and it has been awesome! I am also going home in 6 days with the knowledge that I don't need as much as I came here with, it's very freeing.
P.s. I know most people say that girls gain weight on the race. That doesn't have to be true, I on the other hand have lost over 20lbs. Just sayin, take care of yourself. You can run, you can eat healthy!
Enjoy your race ladies! Embrace it! Delight in the LORD this year! If you have any question pleas feel free to email me, or hit me up on Facebook!
GOD Bless!
