Magic Straight

On Saturday December 12th I got a straight perm (or Magic Straight).  My hair is officially straight.  And short.  It's the first time my hair has been straight and short for a long period of time in my life.

I picked the hair salon somewhat randomly off the internet.  I had asked my co-teacher where I should get my haircut in Seoul and she suggested Ewha Womans University because you can get it cut pretty cheaply there.  So then I searched on Google for a salon in the area.  The second entry in Google is for a place called Eunha Hair Salon (for the website click here)  The one That I picked had two locations: one around Ewha and another around Gangnam.

When I called the Ewha location no one answered the phone.  So then I called the Gangnam location and they picked up and transfered me to someone who spoke English, the manager, Charlie.  I booked an appointment for 2pm Saturday.

I accidentally got to my appointment 30 mins late due to a bus mix-up (I got on the wrong bus yet again.. shocker, huh?) but it didn't seem to matter.  My hair stylist was a petite woman who spoke English fluently.  I showed her the picture that I wanted (I printed out a photo from the internet earlier that day) and she said ok.

It was about 3pm by the time we were settled in and ready to go.

Before. 

The entire process took about 4 hours to complete!! By the time I walked out of the salon it was 6:30 and dark outside.

Here is why:
1.  Wash hair.

The chair that I sat in for my hair washing was a massage chair.  I thought it was genius.  I mean, we get to sit in massage chairs when we get pedicures, why not also when we get our hair cut?  It was sheer joy.  (hah, pun not intended but still great: sheer/shear joy, gettit?)   

2.  Cut hair
3.  Blow dry hair
4.  Apply magic straight.

I should note that I honestly didn't know what that straight perm process was going to be like.  I thought it was going to be some kind of magic flat iron, but it actually reminded me more of when you dye your hair and they paint on the hair chemicals and let it sit. 

5.  Sit and wait. Read English magazine about Seoul.
6.  Wash hair.
7.  Blow dry hair.
8.  Flat iron hair.  Curl ends to "give body"
9.  Insert curlers to "give more body."

At this point I was kind of freaking out.  Why was she curling my hair?  I thought it was supposed to be straight.  I tried not to say anything but the anxiety was killing me.  Finally I burst out and asked "why are you doing this?  Is it still going to be straight!?"  That's when she explained the whole "give it body" concept.  Frankly, I'm not sure it even worked.  My hair is as flat as a brick.  And I love it. 

10.  Apply magic straight part 2
11.  Sit and wait.  Read the newspaper in English.
12.  Wash hair for a third time.
13.  Blow dry.
14.  Flat iron.  
15.  Cut any more hair that is out of place.
16.  Style.  Done!

After (the next day)

My hair will now be permanently straight -- for 6 months to a year.

After photo taken the day of haircut using my dirty mirror at home. 

The cut doesn't look exactly like the photo I gave her as I'm pretty sure that the actress from the internet photo didn't have two layers of hair like I do now but I guess it's still ok.  Mostly because I can't see the back of my head.  Otherwise, I might be upset.

 

The cut ended up costing me w250,000 (which is about $212 by today's exchange rate) which is a lot more than I was expecting considering that other people told me they got it done for only w80,000 but I was satisfied both with my cut and my service.  Still, styling like this in the United States is said to cost around $500 so I'm still considering it 1/2 off.

A week later and my hair is still straight as a wire.  It's wonderful!  I've gotten only positive feedback from everyone around me.  Both the students and the teachers, however, told me that I look younger now.  My co-teacher said that I look like I'm 18 years old.  I guess it is a good thing to look almost 10 years younger than you actually are, but I'm still unconvinced.

Straight Hair Happiness.