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D'abord, je me suis douché, puis je me suis coiffé.

D'abord, je me suis douché, puis je me suis coiffé.
First I showered, then I did my hair.
From Lesson 126:Past tense of reflexive verbs (je me suis…)·French

Breakdown of D'abord, je me suis douché, puis je me suis coiffé.

je
I
se doucher
to shower
d'abord
first, first of all
puis
then, next
se coiffer
to do one's hair

Questions & Answers about D'abord, je me suis douché, puis je me suis coiffé.

Why do we use suis here instead of ai for the past tense?
Because se doucher (to shower) and se coiffer (to do one's hair) are reflexive verbs, meaning the action reflects back on the subject. In the passé composé, all reflexive verbs must use être as their helper verb, so you have to use suis instead of ai.
If a woman is speaking, do the past participles douché and coiffé change?
Yes! Because these verbs use the helper verb être, the past participles must agree with the gender and number of the subject. If a female speaker is saying this sentence, she would add an e to both: D'abord, je me suis douchée, puis je me suis coiffée.
Could I just drop the me suis and say j'ai douché?
No, because doucher without the reflexive pronoun means to shower someone or something else. If you say j'ai douché, a French speaker will expect you to name what you washed (like a dog or a car). To say you washed yourself, you must use the reflexive je me suis douché.
Does se coiffer specifically mean to brush, comb, or style?
It covers all of those! Se coiffer is a general reflexive verb that means to arrange or fix your hair. It does not specify whether you used a brush, a comb, or hair gel.
How do d'abord and puis work in this sentence?
They are sequencing words, which are very helpful when talking about a daily routine or a series of past events. D'abord means first, and puis means then. Using them together makes your story flow naturally.

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