On 20th June, I had a haircut in a hair salon named ‘Lips’ located in Akita city. After moving to Akita prefecture about two years ago, I had difficulty in finding a good hair salon with hairstylists who could deal with my hair texture and give a haircut accordingly. It may be due to the fact that hairstylists in Akita usually deal with Japanese customers who have extremely flat and straight hair.
By nature Japanese women have silky smooth hair that can be easily arranged into a number of hairstyles. Modern Japanese women desire a dainty, exquisite, and trendy hairstyle. Japanese hairstyles are usually elegant and adorable, which accentuate the facial features and flawless skin tone of Japanese women. The hairstyles for women range from formal traditional hairdos (kimono hairstyles) to ultra modern hairdos. Nowadays most women sport a modern hairstyle. There are many kinds of modern hairstyle that can be broadly divided into three kinds, ‘long’, ‘medium’, and ‘short’, which represents the length of hair. According to my hairdresser, the most popular trend is a bob hairstyle and its variants since it is trendy, fashionable, and manageable. Japanese hairstyles have added features of sophisticated layered cuts, step cuts, and curls to achieve proper texture which add glamour to any hairstyle. In addition, bangs or fringes are a consistent feature in every type of hairstyle. Any trendy hairstyle is complemented with bangs to give an enigmatic look. In addition, coloring and highlighting is very common among people of all ages. Nowadays hip colors having very innovative names are ruling the hairstyles. Teenagers and younger generations usually sport ultra modern hip hairstyles. Inspired by different prevailing cultures such as gothic fashion, the Lolita look, punk, and hip-hop, the young girls are going for asymmetrical cuts and jagged look. Such hairstyles really look very cute (kawaii in Japanese) on Japanese women.
However, the hairstyle that looks cute and elegant on Japanese women, may not work wonders on a foreigner women with altogether different face cut, physical features, skin tone, and hair thickness and texture. Therefore it is a good idea to consult an experienced hairstylist prior to making the final chop. They can usually guide a foreigner regarding what style would suite our face. While I lived in Tsukuba, one of my Japanese friends had introduced me to a hairstylist who owned a hair salon named ‘Poco a Poco’. The hairstylist was really very experienced in dealing with foreigner customers and had a superb technique for cutting hair. His haircut technique was so good that all foreigner women used to say that he has God’s hand! However in Akita prefecture, initially I had difficulty in finding a salon with an experienced hairstylist who could cut my hair to my satisfaction. This is because there are very few foreigners here as compared to the Kanto area, and most of the hairstylists are simply not used to cutting hair of foreigners who have very different hair texture and thickness.
Hair salon ‘Lips’ in Akita city is a nice salon and is located in the heart of the city. It is a small salon and caters to only 3-4 customers at a time. It had a relaxed and private atmosphere. There were 3-4 hairstylists and the person who cut my hair was probably the best one I could find until now in Akita prefecture. The hairstylist recommended a short bob layered hairstyle. I liked her haircut technique and other services. In Japan, when the hairstylists shampoos the customer’s hair, they cover the customer’s face with a towel so that water drops do not fall on the face and also probably to avoid the customer looking up from a strange angle at the hairstylists’ nostrils! My friends across the globe have told me that covering the customer’s face with a towel is not so common in other countries, although I cannot be sure about that. After washing my hair, the hairstylist massaged my neck and shoulder area which was therapeutic. While she cut my hair, soft music was being played in the background. Such small comforts really make a big difference. The atmosphere was very relaxing and I dozed off after some time! However, the hairstylist was in a mood to chat and so she woke me up and enquired about many things related to my hair. She suggested to try a different hair color and also to lightly perm my hair. When I told her that I have never colored or permed my hair in my entire life, she just froze at the place she was standing and told me that it is unbelievable as nowadays girls in Japan start coloring and perming their hair by the time they are 15-16 years old. I just did not have the heart or mood (I was very sleepy due to a nice relaxed atmosphere) to explain to her that in India more than 85% of women have never been to a hair salon! It took about 1.5 hours to shampoo and cut my hair. I was happy and satisfied with the hair cut. She charged 4700 Yen for shampoo and cut, which is the usual charge in Akita prefecture.
Hubby took photos of me before and after the hair cut. I had not cut my hair for more than six months and so the change in the hairstyle looked drastic, though I liked the style very much. The hairstylist and hubby told me that the hair cut was ‘kawaii’. Next day I applied some hair wax and tried to style and manipulate the hair a bit. Hubby again took a photo of me and I uploaded it to a social networking site that I use regularly to communicate with my friends around the world. Some of my friends were shocked to see such a short hairstyle with almost all my hair chopped off :) That goes on to prove the sense of ‘kawaiiness’ and hairstyle trends definitely vary from country to country.
By nature Japanese women have silky smooth hair that can be easily arranged into a number of hairstyles. Modern Japanese women desire a dainty, exquisite, and trendy hairstyle. Japanese hairstyles are usually elegant and adorable, which accentuate the facial features and flawless skin tone of Japanese women. The hairstyles for women range from formal traditional hairdos (kimono hairstyles) to ultra modern hairdos. Nowadays most women sport a modern hairstyle. There are many kinds of modern hairstyle that can be broadly divided into three kinds, ‘long’, ‘medium’, and ‘short’, which represents the length of hair. According to my hairdresser, the most popular trend is a bob hairstyle and its variants since it is trendy, fashionable, and manageable. Japanese hairstyles have added features of sophisticated layered cuts, step cuts, and curls to achieve proper texture which add glamour to any hairstyle. In addition, bangs or fringes are a consistent feature in every type of hairstyle. Any trendy hairstyle is complemented with bangs to give an enigmatic look. In addition, coloring and highlighting is very common among people of all ages. Nowadays hip colors having very innovative names are ruling the hairstyles. Teenagers and younger generations usually sport ultra modern hip hairstyles. Inspired by different prevailing cultures such as gothic fashion, the Lolita look, punk, and hip-hop, the young girls are going for asymmetrical cuts and jagged look. Such hairstyles really look very cute (kawaii in Japanese) on Japanese women.
However, the hairstyle that looks cute and elegant on Japanese women, may not work wonders on a foreigner women with altogether different face cut, physical features, skin tone, and hair thickness and texture. Therefore it is a good idea to consult an experienced hairstylist prior to making the final chop. They can usually guide a foreigner regarding what style would suite our face. While I lived in Tsukuba, one of my Japanese friends had introduced me to a hairstylist who owned a hair salon named ‘Poco a Poco’. The hairstylist was really very experienced in dealing with foreigner customers and had a superb technique for cutting hair. His haircut technique was so good that all foreigner women used to say that he has God’s hand! However in Akita prefecture, initially I had difficulty in finding a salon with an experienced hairstylist who could cut my hair to my satisfaction. This is because there are very few foreigners here as compared to the Kanto area, and most of the hairstylists are simply not used to cutting hair of foreigners who have very different hair texture and thickness.
Hair salon ‘Lips’ in Akita city is a nice salon and is located in the heart of the city. It is a small salon and caters to only 3-4 customers at a time. It had a relaxed and private atmosphere. There were 3-4 hairstylists and the person who cut my hair was probably the best one I could find until now in Akita prefecture. The hairstylist recommended a short bob layered hairstyle. I liked her haircut technique and other services. In Japan, when the hairstylists shampoos the customer’s hair, they cover the customer’s face with a towel so that water drops do not fall on the face and also probably to avoid the customer looking up from a strange angle at the hairstylists’ nostrils! My friends across the globe have told me that covering the customer’s face with a towel is not so common in other countries, although I cannot be sure about that. After washing my hair, the hairstylist massaged my neck and shoulder area which was therapeutic. While she cut my hair, soft music was being played in the background. Such small comforts really make a big difference. The atmosphere was very relaxing and I dozed off after some time! However, the hairstylist was in a mood to chat and so she woke me up and enquired about many things related to my hair. She suggested to try a different hair color and also to lightly perm my hair. When I told her that I have never colored or permed my hair in my entire life, she just froze at the place she was standing and told me that it is unbelievable as nowadays girls in Japan start coloring and perming their hair by the time they are 15-16 years old. I just did not have the heart or mood (I was very sleepy due to a nice relaxed atmosphere) to explain to her that in India more than 85% of women have never been to a hair salon! It took about 1.5 hours to shampoo and cut my hair. I was happy and satisfied with the hair cut. She charged 4700 Yen for shampoo and cut, which is the usual charge in Akita prefecture.
Hubby took photos of me before and after the hair cut. I had not cut my hair for more than six months and so the change in the hairstyle looked drastic, though I liked the style very much. The hairstylist and hubby told me that the hair cut was ‘kawaii’. Next day I applied some hair wax and tried to style and manipulate the hair a bit. Hubby again took a photo of me and I uploaded it to a social networking site that I use regularly to communicate with my friends around the world. Some of my friends were shocked to see such a short hairstyle with almost all my hair chopped off :) That goes on to prove the sense of ‘kawaiiness’ and hairstyle trends definitely vary from country to country.
Before the haircut
After the haircut
After applying hair wax
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