Ok not everyone will appreciate the water woes I’m currently experiencing, but after I put you on the spot early this week and asked if you’d collect enough water for a shower or to wash your face if you could only choose one, the dreaded event happened – I came home after a long day to dry pipes! Yikes!
Ok not entirely dry. I turned on the shower and there was some water so I quickly jumped in and started soaping up my hair… and then slowly the water slowed and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I literally begged for the water not to disappear. “No! Don’t go! Noo….!!!” The distress I felt at seeing the water slow to a trickle and then stop, as the shampoo ran into my eyes was almost comical if it wasn’t so tragic. I then found myself staring at the pail of water in the bathroom, dreading the cold water… brrr!
But I did manage to wash myself and my hair and yes, my face with rather minimal water usage, so I thought it would be a good idea to share how I did it. It could be because you too are experiencing dry pipes, or perhaps you may find yourself in a situation where you don’t have access to a lot of water to clean yourself. It sometimes happens (As a student, I once stayed at a pensione in Venice that had the dirtiest, grimiest bathroom seen to mankind. My friends and I refused to shower in there and we had to make do for 2 whole days. We survived. Barely.); so it’s useful knowing you can still stay clean without using a lot of water.
And you can also tell me how you save water or manage to keep your personal hygiene with minimal water use too – remember, we learn from each other! 🙂
Wash hair leaning forward and use low suds shampoo
I can’t go by a day without washing my hair, which is a personal quirk (yes I wash my hair even in the dead of winter. Thank God for the person who invented hair dryers!) and I’ve been testing out some sample sachets of Sachajuan shampoo which I do quite like. It doesn’t lather up very much and feels quite gentle on my scalp and best of all, I’ve found that I can make do with just using their shampoo because it isn’t very drying at all. So I save by not having to rinse off conditioner.
I find it best to lean forward when washing hair with minimal water, because you don’t want the shampoo cascading down your body and having to use more water to rinse it off. Use a tumbler or dipper, wet your hair, soap it up with shampoo, and rinse with another 2 full dippers of water. Hair feels clean and I’m happy. Granted I have short hair so those of you with longer hair might want to hold off washing your hair if you start running low on water.
Use a damp face towel, sponge or wash cloth to wash your body
I scooped out some water, wet a face towel and used it to wipe myself down. Then, I used a light body wash (Lush shower gels seem to work well as they don’t have too much slip and rinse off quickly and easily) and rinsed it off by running the face towel over a few times to remove the soap, then splashed some water to rinse.
You may be surprised at how clean you actually can feel using just a face towel or wash cloth, because it operates on the same principle as using a wash cloth for your face. The terry cloth operates as an exfoliator and helps remove the dirt from your body quite effectively. You may also be surprised at how little water you actually end up using by using the damp face towel.
If you like, you can soap up the sponge or towel and rub that all over before quickly rinsing off by splashing water over yourself or by using a damp towel followed by a couple of splashes of water. I actually surprised myself at how little water I did end up using to wash hair and body and how clean I felt thereafter. Shows you that long hot showers, while a lovely luxury, are just that – a luxury!
Use Micellar Cleansing Waters to clean your face
I use Bioderma cleansing water as my makeup remover daily, but for this period, I am using it a little more efficiently as a precleanse so I cleanse twice with Bioderma and skip my cleansing balms for now. I do however do a second cleanse and I surprised myself that I could do it with just a basin of water!
I scooped a dipperful of water or a small basin, wet my face, applied my cleanser, and rinsed off using just that one scoop of water. Again, running water from a tap is really a luxury! We can save water and make do with so much less!
(1) Sachajuan Normal Hair Shampoo (2) REN Clarifying Toning Lotion (3) Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Cleansing Water (4) Guardian Baby Wipes (5) Clarisonic Mia
Use a Clarisonic or face washing gadget
I’m not the biggest fan of the Clarisonic, but if you have it or something similar, use it. It helps clean your skin more efficiently especially if you’ve had makeup on during the day and it helps keep your skin clean during this trying period, especially if you aren’t double cleansing. I found that using a Clarisonic resulted in me using a lot less water to rinse my face after I was done.
Use an exfoliating toner to ensure clean skin
If you aren’t already using an exfoliating toner, now is also a good time because it not only balances your skin and helps exfoliate the dead and dull skin cells due to the stress, it also ensures your skin is clean of all cleanser residue and dirt you may have missed. I already use one as a matter of course, but if you’re thinking of trying one, I quite like the Hada Labo Mild Peeling Lotion and REN Clarifying Toning Lotion.
Wet wipes help you cool down and freshen up
If you are really pressed for lack of water, stock up on wet wipes. I usually go for generic brand baby wipes – more value for money! Before taking a bath, wipe yourself down with the wet wipes first. This helps remove the top layer of oil and dirt and grime. Then when you wash yourself, you’ll be able to do it more quickly and use less water. This is also a good tip to use when you’re travelling. Always keep a pack of wet wipes in your carry on luggage and bag as you head out and about, because you can use it to freshen up quickly and easily with minimal water and fuss.
There’s no substitute for a long hot shower and a nice face wash after a long day at work or in school or after going out in the hot sun, but it’s not the end of the world if you are faced with dry pipes or restricted water supplies. We just have to be a little more ingenious and resourceful and save water as much as we can till we get the water running in the pipes again 🙂
Do you have any water saving tips for bath time or to wash your face?
If all else fails and you have the means, I suppose checking into a hotel is an option or maybe you have a gym you can go to 😛 Or there are always friends and family you can impose on at this time. I would have, had I not returned home too late to go pound on other peoples doors, begging to use their shower LOL! 😀 So for this trying time, guess who’ll be home early so I can bug friends and family for a proper shower if I have to! 😀
Paris B
So far, there is still water in my condominium although I do not know how long this would last. Hubby managed to handwash some clothes we soaked overnight and still hoping we will have water 🙂 I like your tip on the Bioderma Micellar water and Clarisonic because I had to give up my cleansing balms because of the water rationing and I am also using my Olay Pro-X just to ensure my face is properly exfoliated. If there is no water every two days, I would have to sacrifice washing my long hair because it takes up too much water.
I do not have any water saving tips but I will use the water in the pails that I have stored instead of using the shower to ensure the water is not wasted and not kept for too long (it has dust particles). I then fill up these empty pails with fresh water or pour water from other pails in my second bathroom 🙂
Our condo implemented internal water rationing so the water in the tank will last. Whilst a considerate move, it also means that there are long periods of time without water and that means the weekend is going to be hell! 😛 First world problems. Sigh… Oh and like you, I also gave up on my cleansing balms for now because the water, when it does return looks murky and I don’t really want it on my face that much. Times like this, I actually appreciate using the Clarisonic for helping keep my skin clean and I’m sure the Pro-X is doing the same thing for you. So I guess there are benefits to using these gadgets after all! Haha… Good point about not keeping water for too long. Especially with the haze now, there’s so much dust in the air, nothing is safe! Gah!
If you have water ration (one pail of water per person, sort of), then I would skip hair conditioner. Wash face first (makeup already removed) because you want the water to be still clean. Then I would lather up everything else – hair and body – before slooowwwly rinsing all off, pouring the water from the top first obviously. Oh yes tilt back your head so you don’t run the shampoos on your face! :p
Yep! Agree on skipping conditioner – as I tell people, won’t die wan 😛 What I’ve also done is forgo putting anything on my hair in the day in case I can’t wash it in the evening. That way I don’t have product residue gumming up my hair. It feels so old school to be bathing with a dipper you know. Take away the modern convenience of running water and suddenly we go back to our kampung basics LOL 😀
But Paris, as I’ve learnt from your post, you don’t normally put things on your hair!!!! :p
Hahaha I usually don’t, but sometimes I have this “stuff” to keep hair in place. But what I realised in recent days is that I DON’T NEED IT! 😛 I was only using it coz it was there LOL
haha…nice one, Paris. and, I think everyone should take tips to save water all around. I always use a tumbler for washing my face or brushing my teeth.
Absolutely, we take running water for granted and then when we don’t have it, we suffer… as is happening to us now. Sigh… Good tips on using a tumbler to wash face or brush teeth. Brushing teeth especially! We don’t need that much water!
1 more week left and I’ll return to KL and I’ve been contemplating a strategy ever since the news hit me that my area is affected. I came up with 2 things… Baby wipes, cleansing milk and L’occitane Shea Fresh Face Water! Anyway thanks for suggesting using washcloth… Will definity get one for shower!
A face towel will do the trick as well. Really helps save water and makes you feel cleaner too. Good luck and hopefully the water woes are over by the time you’re here
Hah, love this list! This is sort of related, but I went to summer camp as a youngster and we were limited to 10 minute showers every day. So some of us would draw up a big bucket of water and use it to shave our legs outside, rather than wasting time in the shower doing it. And of course you can wet your hair, turn the water off, lather up the shampoo and not turn the water back on until it’s time to rinse!
Yes! Camping is another situation with restricted water so that’s a good tip Rebecca!
I had the same thought when water rationing hit my area – how in the world do I wash up with as little water as possible! The sponge/cloth tip is a good one! Never thought of that. I used my cleansing milk and micellar water for face, then used minimal water to wet myself before shampooing and using body shower gel. Instead of rinsing head and body separately I rinsed everything at the same time -_-;;;
It’s so depressing not being able to shower properly! Am praying for lots and lots of rain soon!