Which got me to thinking - what do I know this time that I didn't know last time? And wondering what I brought that was an excellent idea, what I brought FAR FAR too much of, and what I'd make sure to do in advance next time.
The first thing I'd add would be tips on taking care of your body. I've never been to a desert before, given that I grew up in Ireland and I had no idea what to expect from the elements. Here's some stuff I learned that affected me, at least!
Hair
If you have hair that is in anyway considered to be long (and is of the not-poker-straight variety), I found myself wishing I had taken the goddamn time to brush my hair every single day. By Thursday morning, my hair was a shockingly matted sheet and I had to spend 45 minutes that day trying to untangle it. It was painful and a lot of it fell out!
When I finally washed it at the end of the week, the amount of hair I lost was pretty stunning. Make sure your hair is super clean and shiny when you get out there, don't put any product in it that morning, or on the way because it will stick and you will regret it. I have wavy-straight hair, unfortunately I have no idea what it must be like if you have curly hair.
- Wide-toothed comb
- Spray bottle
- Hair ties, hair ties, hair ties.
Skin
General hygiene
You're not going to sweat - or you will, but you'll barely notice. I brought cycling shorts to avoid thigh-rub in what I thought was going to be a slick, damp sweatfeast. It wasn't. I didn't wear them at all. I felt dry and really not too bad most of the time I was out there, apart from when I was pickling in my tent. A huge tub of wetwipes did me just fine - I had a 'bath' in my tent every morning, followed by deodorant and I felt more or less fine. You don't stink.
Additionally, you do have misting tents out there so you can get nice and damp, as well as people who will spritz you with bottles so it's not nearly as bad as you imagine!
- Wetwipes
- Deodorant
As for sunburn, I am the palest goddamn girl on earth. I got sunburned in San Francisco without even meaning to, under the clouds, because I wasn't being careful. Every single friend of mine joked about how I would die in the sun, but you know, I was absolutely fine. What worked for me was SPF 100, a huge sun-hat, a loose jacket (I had a silk dressing-gown - see the picture) and not being a moron. Apply it often, of course. Especially to your nose and shoulders. If you are worried about sunburn a significant amount and burn easily, bring something loose and float you can wear over your tanktop. I was so glad I brought my coverup! And inevitably when you do go a bit pink, put on aloe vera. It's nice to bring some of that and people will want to use it as well.
Additionally, my friend Tarmo adds: "also check yourself in the mirror every once in a while so an elderly lady at center camp doesnt stop you and practically force-rub sunscreen on your nose"
- SPF 100
- Wide-brimmed hat
- Dressing-gown/floaty beach cover-up item
- Aloe vera
Playa-foot
The one problem I encountered with very dry skin was playa-foot, only with my hands. The alkali quality of the sand can really mess up your skin and while I was extremely clever and careful with my feet, cleaning the dust off at night, not putting my socks on after walking in the sand in bare feet - I neglected my hands.
By the sixth day they were cracking severely and if I'd left it any longer, they would have bled, and my friends were getting freaked out at how deep the cracks were. I was doing things like coating the palms in moisturiser and leave them there to soak in but it was no good. Finally, the only thing that helped was putting something acidic on my hands, to neutralise the alkali. Some goddamn genius in my camp recognized my symptoms, thank god, and gave me a lime to rub the juice of on my palms and within 20 minutes I felt better.
We had brought a fucktonne of white vinegar for some insane reason - and it did feel great on my feet, but we had way too much left over. Next year I'll bring a small bottle of vinegar, and a few limes.
- Small bottle of white vinegar
- A few limes
- A giant tub of moisturiser (everyone will want some and it feels great)
Lips
I don't have lips that crack and dry, but lots of people do and if you even mildly think you or your friends might get dry lips, make sure you have some lipsalve somewhere you can easily find. It will disappear SO quickly in the big pile of mess in your tent you have no idea, so maybe worth buying a couple. And be warned, it will melt. As will everything.
- A few sticks of lipsalve, kept in the shade
Bit more on food and that next time, I guess!
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