Hair Nightmares in Seoul

One of the biggest dilemmas that arose once I decided to live overseas was the thought of how I was going to maintain my tresses while I was away. I am very much an "every two weeks at the hairdresser" type of girl. (Though the recession slowed my roll on this to once a month.) After doing a bit of research I was happy to discover that they were a few places where I would be able to go to get my hair done and not be disappointed while I lived in South Korea. However, I didn't want anything extravagant done to my hair. When it comes to my hair I have always been a "basic wrap" kinda girl. Last year for a cruise my friend's convinced me to get micros in order to minimize the stress of having to do it after it got wet. I bitched the whole time about how much I hated my hair and how I was never getting these damn braids again. I keeps it simple and the braids were unfamiliar and not a look I liked at all on myself.

This weekend I decided to try out one of these hair salons and see what the result would be. Us ladies decided to do a spa weekend and just get some pampering done. (Hair, Massages, Waxes, Mani, Pedi you know the deal) The first stop was for hair. Now Best Bup was getting her micros redone so she and another friend went to an African salon in order to get serviced. My other friend was getting a sew in weave. Now these are 2 things that I do not eff with. I simply do not like weave. Now do not get me wrong, if a woman has a nice weave I definitely give props. Personally, I am just not a weave wearer. In addition I know from friends that wear weave that it is crucial to do your research before getting it done, from the hair you use to the person applying it to yo head!

So I go to my salon which is run by Koreans to get my hair done. Can you say EFFICIENT?! First I was pleased they spoke enough English in order to communicate with me. Second, they move with purpose. Third, THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING! I had to wait like 10 minutes before I got my hair done but in those 10 minutes I was quite observant. I saw this one Korean woman gettin BUSY on some micros. Another, was applying color to a woman's hair while her co-worker was finishing her mani and pedi. Finally I saw another Korean woman pressing someones hair and it looked GOOD! I was interrupted by a woman who said, "Shampoo?"
"Yes please!" I replied
"Would you like deep conditioner?" she asked in her Korean accent.
"Umm yes!" I answered
And we were off. An African woman washed my hair and thoroughly I must add. I sat under a dryer with deep conditioner in my hair, was rinsed, and ready to be blow dried in no time. This place already had many black salons beat in my book because they respected my time. (Lemme not stunt I LOVE my hair stylists in Pgh and DC!!!! They are simply the best. I just gotta be there WAY too long!) An older Korean woman than blew my hair out STRAIGHT! Like she was not playing! Then flat ironed it. I gave her a little direction on how I wanted it to look and she knew exactly what to do. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my hair turned out. And to make things even better it only cost me 28,000 won! (This is roughly 19 American dollars depending on the day) I walked out feeling great and was eager to find out how the other ladies enjoyed their hair experience!

SMFH They weren't as pleased as me....

So Best Bup got some micros. I went to meet her at the shop she was in which was this small ass room with bags of hair hanging all over the walls. I know her very well and could tell immediately that she was not pleased. And I immediately saw why. Why was her ponytail once they pulled up her micros so damn STINGY?! Like seriously it wanted and NEEDED more weave bad. After later inspection of her hair we noticed that they used so little weave that her natural hair was sticking out of the braids in the middle. Now I am no weave expert but I do know that you need a good amount of hair in each micros so they look full. This woman clearly was trying to conserve her weave and Best Bup was livid!

Then my friend who was getting the sew in was up next. We will call her Bup #3. Personally, after the episode with Best Bup I would not trust this lady to do my hair. But Bup #3 kept her appointment to let this woman sew in her weave and was also disappointed. (I learned a lot about weave this weekend!) So Bup #3 wanted the hair "closed" I believe is how she put it. Anyway she didn't want any of her natural hair out! She kept stressing this to this woman but the woman kept saying that it would be better if they left some hair out. Bup #3 quickly figured out that this woman didn't know how to do this closure. Not to mention Best Bup and Bup#3 both complained about how this woman blow dried their hair. She didn't brush it or comb it as she did it. She simply grabbed a fistful of their hair and took the blow dryer to it. (I was really trying not to laugh as they told me this part of the story!)

Anyway Bup #3 is now pissed because in the front of her head her non-permed hair is out and this chick doesn't know how to close it so she just keeps insisting that it would look better not enclosed. This stylist then proceeds to put an ubberly huge amount of product (mouse, gel, grease, hell I dunno) on the hair that is still out and is about to take a flat iron to it! Bup #3 LOST it to say the least!
"I know you aren't about to put that flat iron in my hair after you just wet it with all that crap," Bup #3 exclaims.
"Yes I need to straighten it so I can finish your weave." the African stylist answered.
"Ummm that is going to FRY my hair! You need to blow dry it a lil before you put that flat iron in my hair! And I told you I didnt want any of my natural hair out! How are you going to finish this?!" Bup #3 asked truly perplexed.
"I will glue tracks in and blend it!" the stylist responded clearly annoyed with Bup #3's constant questioning.
"Fine, whatever just finish it!" she responded with much aggrevation.

So when Bup #3 gets back to the hotel room we look at her hair at first glance like uhhh it looks okay. Why are you so mad? Needless to say Best Bup and I do not know much about sew in weaves. However, upon taking a closer look I began to see the discrepancies that Bup #3 was so mad about and then upon hearing her horror story I understood more. Best Bup and Bup #3 continued to exchange complaints about what they didn't like about their hair. They then turned to me and asked, "So how was your experience?"
I was honestly nervous about telling them how good it was so I just left it at, "Good. My hair turned out decent."
"I see! It looks nice." Bup #3 responded with a bit of an attitude.

Early the next day Bup #3's track came out at lunch. Can you say hysteria?!

My phone just rang......
It is Best Bup talkin about her stingy ponytail......Until Next Time