Recently, after a year of letting my hair grow, I bit the bullet and went to the hairdresser for the first time here in Japan.  Compared to the budget cuts I was used to in the US, this was quite an experience!

Because the Japanese are very time-conscious people, I assumed that everything would be done in an efficient way.  And since in the US you are able to do some things yourself (wash, style, etc.) and save some money, I assumed that would be the case here as well. With this in mind, I arrived promptly at the salon having washed my hair, ready for this new cultural experience.

The hairdresser I was going to was a woman who has come to our church occasionally and is involved in a seeker Bible study with Pastor Uchida, so it was nice to already know the person.  I had already taken some time with one of my language helpers to go over different things related to hair cuts. To be safe though, I brought along a picture of the style I wanted, along with a list of words and phrases I could use to describe it.  Armed and ready, I sat down in the chair and proceeded to explain my desired style.  The hairdresser asked a few questions, and I muddled through the answers.  “Interesting.” I thought…

The first thing I found was that (like a lot of other things in Japan) a haircut in Japan is a full service experience. The hairdresser said that the next time I should leave washing my hair to her as she had her own custom shampoo and it was included as a service. Partway through the cut, another woman came in for her appointment.  She and my hairdresser must have been old friends because they began chatting away.  Japanese people are usually friendly, and this hairdresser particularly so, but I didn’t realize how much until I began to notice that she would actually stop cutting my hair for a few minutes every so often because she got so caught up in the conversation.  “Interesting.” I thought…

After the cut, she then put the special shampoo on my hair (here they wash  before and after the cut) and then wrapped this loop of cord around my head and plugged it into a machine. I sat for about 20 minutes while she began to cut the other lady’s hair.  Although I asked her what the loop was for, I didn’t understand her answer and wasn’t sure how to clarify.  None of the people I have asked since seems to know (Colby gave some sort of smart alec remark about it improving more than my hair, but conceded it was probably some sort of ionizer to work with the shampoo).  “Interesting.” I thought…

After, she rinsed out my hair, she led me back to my earlier seat to begin the drying process.  She brought out this machine that was about shoulder height and looked like a person with outstretched arms.  Built into the neck and arms of the machine were several fans.  The hairdresser put the arms on either side of my head and turned the machine on.  She then proceeded to use a hand-held hair dryer to simultaneously blow dry my hair.  While all of this was going on — mind you — she continued her conversation with the other lady.  Blow-drying, pausing, chatting.  Blow-drying, pausing, chatting. This went on for a number of minutes, and then all of the sudden she pressed a button on the machine and steam began to shoot out of the fans!  “Very interesting.” I thought…

Two hours after I arrived, it was finally complete. I paid, thanked her very much, bowed, and was on my way.

I have since found out (after relaying this story to my other Japanese friends) that it is very common for women to go to the salon and spend the morning there while the hairdresser washes, cuts, styles, massages , etc.  I will say, I do like the cut I received, especially since the humid air here (or maybe the cord device) has put a pleasant wave in my otherwise straight hair.

Please pray for the hairdresser as she continues to meet with Pastor Uchida and his wife for Bible study.  Pray that faith would grow and that in the future she would agree to be baptized and become a member of the church.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 9:04 pm and is filed under Life in Cross-Cultural Ministry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.