One of a few things I thought of while applying for the World Race was my hair! Yes, after I got over the bucket showers, I then shifted my thinking to how was I going to maintain my natural hair with limited hair products for 11 months.
Back home in the United States, I go to a natural hairstylist. I use a lot of different natural hair products and I get sew-ins regularly. I knew that I would be giving up this luxury for 11 months.
Products:
First and foremost – The truth is you will not find your regular natural hair products you normally find at your home hair store.
When I launched in January, I only brought Cantu Sheer Butter Moisturizer and VO5 hair conditioner! I didn’t have enough space in my pack so I put my hair products on the back burner. I used my hair moisturizer in little moderations to make it last.
Secondly, every World Race route has different countries and in each country you may be in different city location. For example, you might be in a city that have a vast number of stores with the basic hair products, like conditioner or shampoo. Or you might be in a village or small town where there is one store with little to no hair products. With that being said, you might get lucky or you might be struggling for a month.
In my Asian countries (India, Nepal, Cambodia¸ Vietnam, Thailand) I found a lot of Pantene and Dove hair products. In my personal experience, Vietnam and Cambodia were gold mine countries. I got Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, and hair moisturizer.
If you use gel on your hair – Bring extra gel that works for your hair. It is very hard to find ethnic gel overseas.
Also, Headbands are life. Bring a variety of headbands – this could be our only accessory.
**These are the products I have been using for the last 7 months**
Hair Styles:
My hair grade is a 4C. My hair must be moisturized daily or else it can get dry and brittle, which will cause it to damage.
Protective hair styles would be the best choice on the Race. My protective styles have been braiding and scarves. It is a perk to know how to braid your own hair and also your teammates hair.
Depending on the style of the hair, I have left out my hair for a day or two or I would braid it and wrap it in a scarf. I don’t wear scarves back in the United States but surprisingly scarves have been my trademark on the Race. I would suggest bringing a solid neutral color so you can pair with most of your outfits and a pattern scarf that can add a little extra style. Most pattern scarves look great with solid color shirts depending on your pattern choice.
As I mentioned, I got sew-ins back in the U.S. Normally, I get the natural curls sew-ins. My hairstylist and my friend suggested to make a natural curl wig. It would be easy to braid my hair, clip on the wig to my braided hair, spray water on my curls and BOOM … Ready to go!
Yep…I brought the wig on the race. My 1st team named her “Ms. Flavor“! I wore Ms. Flavor and my scarves both Month 1(India) and Month 2(Nepal). I did the same to my wig as I would my hair like shampoo and condition. It was easy to maintain. By month 4 (Cambodia) it was too HOTTTT to have it on so I dropped Ms. Flavor.
Now in 7 months, I found an African hair store in Athens, Greece!!! I felt like I was in heaven!!!
I met a friend at church and she offered to braid my hair with braids!! She is sent from heaven! So my plan is to keep the braids in for at least 2 months and my hair will be in a protective style by the time I make it to Africa for my last three months on the race!! whooa!!
Weight:
It is challenging but doable to live out off a backpack for 11 months. When traveling, one thing you must consider is WEIGHT!! When traveling by air there are strict weight restrictions but when you travel by bus there are none. You just must be willing to carry your own weight… LITERALLY. I knew past racers that brought at lot of hair product and they were willing to carry the weight. You have to choose what is more important if your backpack is overweight.
Hair products or tent/clothes/sleeping pad?
Overall you know what your hair needs in order to stay healthy. Bring the products that you will need to maintain your hair. 11 months is a long time without the things you will need for your hair. You don’t have to worry about shampoo or conditioner because you will find that in almost every country. Bring the products that you know you will not find overseas.
Trust me it is worth it and your hair will thank you at the end of your race!
