Now that's what I call getting your hair washed!

Wow, just back from my first visit to a Taiwan hair salon, and it was nothing like the US! I'm used to a quick wash with the back of my head hung uncomfortably over a sink, then a cut and a blow-dry. Usually doesn't take more than half an hour for the whole thing. It's a teeny bit different here.

First came the cut, with me trying to convey to the stylist what I wanted done. I can say "haircut" and "just a little" in Chinese, but she was asking me stuff I didn't understand. Oh well, go with the flow. Instead of hanging me over a sink to wet my hair, she began spraying it from a spritzer bottle and cutting a section at a time. I was leafing through the hair magazines, being envious of all the cute little Asian girls with their perky smiles and tiny figures. When I finally looked up, I realized my hair was waaaay shorter than I'd wanted! Yikes. OK, it will grow back. Then we got to the bangs, and I stressed "just a very little." They got chopped pretty short, straight across. Ugh, not a good look. OK, they will grow back.

Then it was time to wash my hair, so I got up to go to the sink. "No, no, wait there." Huh? OK.... A different girl came over while the woman who cut my hair started on the next client. The girl put a towel around me and then proceeded to squeeze a watered-down shampoo onto my head, being very careful and working up a lather. Ooooohhhhhh, magic fingers! This was not just a hair washing, this was a full-on head massage! The wash took much longer than the cut, with the girl using her nails to systematically scratch all over my head a few times, scraping from neck to top and face to back. Then she started massaging the very back of my neck, then my temples. Then she repeated everything. I thought I was gonna melt. Now I see why Doris from Hong Kong always goes to get her hair washed when she visits Taiwan!

When she finally done working my head over, then it was time to lay down with my head over the sink, but it was far more comfortable than the US style, more flat with the head over a drainboard and supported. And the water pressure, yeah! You can't get water pressure in California because of the water conservation gadgets but here, oh my. The rinse took quite awhile, too, and felt mah-velous.

Now it's time for the blow-dry, back to the woman who cut my hair. And by the time she finished, I looked kinda cute. The cut is almost flapper-like, probably better suited to a younger gal, but not too bad. I think I can get used to it. And it's sure a lot cooler without all that hair on my neck. It's all about chin length now. The whole process took just over one hour.

And the cost? $250NT for the cut, $120NT for the wash (yes, you can do just one or both here), which is about $11.60 US. Dealio! I'm going back to the same salon (it's a couple minutes walk from my house) to get re-highlighted, since the cheap-ass Revlon color I used has already mostly washed out. Back to blonde highlights in time for Wu Bai's next concert on September 10!