Beauty Salon ~ Oh Boy!

You haven't had a haircut until you've had a haircut in Japan! It is an experience unto itself. I have a new "do" (yes, again) and so will share with you the experience. Taylor told me I was weird because every time I get a haircut I do something drastic. Oh well, we change what we can, and I like it! When I enter the salon they hand me a key to a locker in this back room. On the shelf of the locker is a note card welcoming me by name, expressing hopes of a relaxing visit. I put on the slippers that are waiting for me, put my own shoes, jacket, purse and whatever else in the locker, lock it and they put the key away for me. (You may think, "that isn't safe" they can steal everything," not a worry here, they are so honorable, people return everything they find, without taking what's inside!) After the stylist sits down with me and I tell him what I want he sends me off with an assistant who does the first wash, yes I said first, there are more to follow. She leads me to a massage chair, turns it on and puts a light blanket over my lap. They don't just spray your hair to get it wet. They start with a warm towel wrapped around your head and slowly start to wet it down. Once it is all wet and warm, they slide it off and start the scalp massage. They eventually work in shampoo and for 15 minutes, it is pure heaven! Then they rinse you, comb out your hair and send you back to the stylist. The haircut is relatively the same as in the U.S., but then they send me back to that massage chair! Once again, for 15 minutes, I get a little slice of heaven, while my hair gets another washing and a deep, steam conditioning, and of course the massage. The assistant then escorts me back to the stylist and offers some tea, water, or juice. Then she gives me a shoulder massage for about 10 minutes! The stylist then dries my hair, (when Erika goes he has his helper dry also, so that there are two people working it at once! Talk about spoiled! You may be thinking "I don't want to know how much this costs!" It is only $55 and more than worth it! It isn't just the salon I go to. I have heard from other friends, that other Japanese salons do the scalp massage thing, but I don't know if it is to the extreme that this place does, and I don't care enough to give it up to try anywhere else! What an experience!