I just got my haircut (not that you would notice – it still looks a mess). I always put it off for as long as possible in Japan because I find the whole process really irritating. Here are the problems:
1. It’s hard to explain exactly what you want in another language
2. You need to go armed with a picture to show the stylist. Unfortunately, Japanese hair magazines are somewhat uninspiring – all the styles look the same. None of them flattering on me.
3. The stylists always take AGES! Tonight I purposely asked for a “quick trim”. Emphasis on QUICK. I was in there an hour and I didn’t even get a shampoo or anything.
4. They always ask me loads of stupid questions (that to be honest I don’t understand properly). They seem to be asking me how to cut hair…. Why don’t they just get on with it?
5. When you get your hair washed, they place a paper towel over your face so that you can’t see anything. Why do they do that?
6. The hairdryers are painfully slow because of the voltage. The stylists usually have them on cool so that it takes even longer.
7. The stylists basically cut one or two hairs at a time and then stand back to make sure it matches the other side. This quickly gets annoying.
8. Every time you move from your seat (to the wash basin or what ever) everyone chimes in with “Otsu kara sama deshita” (good job). I don’t understand why they do this.
9. They make a big deal about the loyalty point card. As a returning customer, (why oh why?) I got a 150 yen discount tonight….. roughly 70p.
This cut should last me until I get to Wales when I will go running to Lorna, the hairdresser I have had since I was a child. Lorna knows exactly what to do with my hair and remembers every style I have ever had including that groovy perm she gave me back in 1983.
