Pai-Shau: Haircare Made Using Steeped Teas

I love tea…like 3 cups a tea love tea; but till I tried Pai-Shau I never considered it to be much benefit to my hair. Turns out Vietnamese women are on to something. The brand was created after the founder, Zohar Paz, went to Vietnam and saw women cleansing their hair with steeped tea leaves during an ancient bathing ritual. Said founder isn’t just your average entrepreneur, however, he’s the former CEO of Moroccanoil North America- just the smell of that line (and having spent a lot of time in Israel where it’s based, I’ve smelled it a lot) makes me happy! But it’s not just the smell; odds are, if you’ve tried Moroccanoil, you consider their products to be very effective, especially in the frizz-fighting department. They’re also a pioneer brand and responsible for ushering in the hair oil trend, which leads me to wonder if steeped tea products will become commonplace in the next few years, as well…

The line, which retails for between $26 and $45, includes a serum, shampoo, conditioner, mask, and styling cream, each of which has a blend of five steeped teas from around the world: black tea, green tea, pu-erh tea, white tea, and African red leaf tea, along with vitamins B, C, and E. I have long, multi-textured hair, so my go-to product when I try a new line is always their hair mask. Unlike typical hair masks that you apply in the shower, though, this one is a bit more labor-intensive. You apply the thick formulation on towel-dried hair (versus wet after shampooing) and then wash it off after five minutes. Of course, I did not follow directions because I am too lazy to apply this once already out of the shower! I applied it like I would any regular mask – in the shower – and just avoided the water while I washed the rest of my body before rinsing the product out of my hair. It worked! The product is heavy to the touch, but it doesn’t weigh down hair and it works to leave it both tangle-free and frizz-free. I still like the scent of Moroccanoil’s hair mask better, but I def see some potential competition…