Now I know that some of you have heard me gush about this already -- perhaps multiple times -- but please indulge me once more! Quite simply, there is nothing that I've experienced that is as soothing and relaxing and downright blissful as a Vietnamese shampoo. I've never been a fan of showers. I don't know why. (Though I do enjoy a good onsen...) I've always thought of showers as necessary to keep clean, but never understood how some of my friends and family could claim that a shower was one of life's great pleasures. Now I must re-evaluate, the Vietnamese have definitely found the best way to wash hair.
Here's the process:
You lie down comfortably on a table that's like a massage table, your head in a basin. (Now, in back home, when the hairdresser insisted on washing my hair, I never really liked it because I felt uncomfortable in their reclining hair, my neck feeling strained to fit up into the basin.) They start by shampooing your hair. Then you get a great head massage. Scratching. Massaging. Kneading. Wow. Rinse. Then they massage exfoliating cream into your face and neck. Rinse. Then another face massage with a hydrating cream. Great eye massage. Pressure point work. You feel like you might fall asleep. Rinse. Once again they shampoo your hair with more massaging. Rinse and repeat a third time! After that they do this amazing waterfall thing. Your eyes get covered with a wet cloth and they spray water over it. Somehow this makes me shiver in delight all the way to my toes. Time for an ear cleaning, tickles tickles tickles. Conditioning time. While the conditioner works, you get yet another neck massage, followed by a shoulder and arm massage. Final rinse. After that they help you to sit up (believe me, you need the support!) and give you a quick back massage to help you return to the world. Ah... bliss! The whole process takes almost an hour, and you feel like a new person afterwards.
So? Did I convince any of you to come and visit Vietnam to try this out for yourself?! :) There's a great salon a few minutes walk from the orphanage. The two women who work there are very friendly and we have a great time trying to communicate with our handful of Vietnamese and English words. Over the past month we've become friends, sharing food and, most recently, an aloe drink that they'd made from aloe plant growing in their garden. I force myself to only get a Vietnamese shampoo once a week, but it's a challenge. After all, it only costs a buck and a half a pop...
Here's the process:
You lie down comfortably on a table that's like a massage table, your head in a basin. (Now, in back home, when the hairdresser insisted on washing my hair, I never really liked it because I felt uncomfortable in their reclining hair, my neck feeling strained to fit up into the basin.) They start by shampooing your hair. Then you get a great head massage. Scratching. Massaging. Kneading. Wow. Rinse. Then they massage exfoliating cream into your face and neck. Rinse. Then another face massage with a hydrating cream. Great eye massage. Pressure point work. You feel like you might fall asleep. Rinse. Once again they shampoo your hair with more massaging. Rinse and repeat a third time! After that they do this amazing waterfall thing. Your eyes get covered with a wet cloth and they spray water over it. Somehow this makes me shiver in delight all the way to my toes. Time for an ear cleaning, tickles tickles tickles. Conditioning time. While the conditioner works, you get yet another neck massage, followed by a shoulder and arm massage. Final rinse. After that they help you to sit up (believe me, you need the support!) and give you a quick back massage to help you return to the world. Ah... bliss! The whole process takes almost an hour, and you feel like a new person afterwards.
So? Did I convince any of you to come and visit Vietnam to try this out for yourself?! :) There's a great salon a few minutes walk from the orphanage. The two women who work there are very friendly and we have a great time trying to communicate with our handful of Vietnamese and English words. Over the past month we've become friends, sharing food and, most recently, an aloe drink that they'd made from aloe plant growing in their garden. I force myself to only get a Vietnamese shampoo once a week, but it's a challenge. After all, it only costs a buck and a half a pop...
That sounds like total bliss... Do want!
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