My First Korean Haircut

(The "After" picture) 

I am one of those girls who cries over her hair.  I’ve had a few really bad hair experiences, but I’ve even cried over the mediocre ones.  It’s girly.  It’s immature.  And I’m sure it will happen again sometime.  There, you know the truth.

So, I had my hair cut and colored right before I left for Korea.  Nearly 10 months later and I hadn’t worked up the nerve to get a haircut.  It’s comical.  I moved half way around the world and this scared me.  You hear horror stories because the stylists don’t speak English or how they dry cut your hair or how they can’t do blond color because that’s simply not an option for Asian hair.

Here’s what happened – my hair started to look bad and eventually ugly hair overcomes fear.  So, in a fit of bravery I marched myself over to the salon across the street.   I had a piece of paper in hand from a Korean co-worker explaining my need for a haircut and to take off two inches please.

It worked.  No one spoke English, but soon my hair was being washed and I was on my way.  It was also my first time with a male hairdresser, but he was uber-stylish, so I figured I had nothing to worry about.  He showed me a picture of a hairstyle and I liked it.  So, he went to work.

And he cut…and he cut some more.  He pulled my hair up and down and sideways and cut.  He dried my hair and then cut it some more.  He was armed with a literal tool belt of a dozen scissors.   I felt giddy in the chair, because no matter what the outcome it was okay.  It would be an improvement!

And it was...a big improvement.  I ended up with a few more layers than I like, because that’s a lot of work to style.  However, it’s a good cut.  He worked for an hour and styled my hair great.  The bill was even better.  How about $15 for elegant salon treatment!

I’m the girl who cries over her hair, but there were no tears this time!

P.S.  Any girls in Korea facing the same dilemma -- try "Curl Stage" in Yatap.  It's on the bottom floor of the Amigo Building right near Kim's Club!