GETTING THE OPPA HAIR IN KOREA

I just want to make a short post of my experience getting my hair cut and permed in Seoul. I’ve been wanting to splurge on the whole hair experience so I held back on getting a haircut before korea😭

When we were in Seoul (Mostly in Seoul, less in Jeju), I think 90% of guys have the same hair cut!!! AND ITS A GOOD HAIR CUT, IDK WHY ITS SO HARD TO GET SUCH A CUT IN SG BUT I RLY WANTED TO BE PART OF THE 90% 😩

Anyway, the hair salon I went with after a lot of research was JUNO Hair. Here are the reasons why:

1. They cater to english-speaking foreigners

There’s a team of hairstylists who can communicate in english and this is very important because you don’t want to spend $$$ only to have some massive language barrier and be unhappy with your haircut

2. There are SO many branches

I am not too sure about the exact statistics but im quite certain i saw at least one at any subway station I alighted at.

3. No prior appointments required

As someone who doesn’t like to adhere to a travel itinerary, having a 3 hour long hair appointment might require you to shift your itinerary a bit, so it was q helpful to just walk in to the nearest branch without notice.

💈The Experience

I told the counter staff I wanted a basic haircut and then a stylist was appointed to me. Her english wasn’t the best but she did use google translate for hair terminologies she couldn’t translate.

She gave me a price list of the different services offered before jumping into the cut, which I thought was very helpful. *I asked if I can take a photo but it isnt allowed. But i’ve very good memory so thats alright*

Basic Haircut: 35000₩

Haircut with wash and style: 50000₩

I went with the wash and style option, because I told her, “Can I get the haircut that all the korean guys on the street have?” And I wanted to see how to properly style it🤣 I thought these prices were very reasonable!! What really impressed me was how there was no hard selling throughout the process (unlike some places in SG)

The salon was HUGE, the aisle of 6 chairs I was in had 2 other clients getting their hair done, from my very discreet eavesdropping, they are probably korean americans, this sounds very irrelevant but they were both getting their hair permed-

-I was so TEMPTED and I caved and asked how much would a perm be, due to a slight language miscomm, she told me its “16 dollars more” - thats what I heard anyway. Then I agreed because wtf additional $16 for wavy kpop idol hair??? SIGN ME UP RN LA

She then proceeded to show me the price list again, and then I felt stupid bc why tf would a perm be $16 when the haircut is $50+ HAHAHAHA. The actual prices are listed accordingly:

Perm: 160000₩ (~160+SGD)

Perm with hair treatment: 180000₩ (~$187SGD)

I showed her a few photos of what I DIDNT want, (super tight curls), and she told me the style I want (parting perm) requires the hair treatment because my hair was previously dyed as well. I got over my initial despair of parting with my money very quickly (Its one of my travel philosophies), and was not equipped with the communication skills to ask more, WE R GOING WITH IT!!!

I was given an eye shield, and once the curling rods are placed and perm solution has been added, I was brought to another area where my hair was heated. I was given a pack of lime juice at this point, thumbs up. But I did pay $187 afterall.

Once 40 mins has passed, she proceeded to remove some of the curlers and add more perm solution to the curled hair, and then flattened it with the brown towel. I asked her whats that for and she said she needs to flattened the sides else the curls with make my face look super big. I was mildly offended but I really liked how customised it was and how the stylist notes whether it suits your features or not!!!

Afterwards I was given a second hair wash and my hair was dried and styled. Its a bit curlier than I would have liked but honestly, this probably grows out into what I wanted and last longer!!! I LOVE IT.

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