Not Just a Hair Wash

Not just a hair wash:

            Before we came to China, and as soon as we got here, we have been told that we have to go get a hair wash. So tonight, we finally did it… and it’s an experience that I have to share with you! Ps. Julie Outhouse, please do not take offense to this, you are still the best hairdresser I know J

            Before going to get a hair wash, me, Kate and a girl named Megan from St. Stephen went out for Sushi (jealous Mel?) it was delicious! We have shrimp, salmon, California rolls, etc… but for some reason my chopsticks skills were really bad tonight (I have come to the conclusion that it is because I hold my pencil different than a lot of people, so when people try to teach me, I am trying to do it the normal way, but my way of holding my chopsticks is not normal, but I’m sticking to it!)

            After the Sushi, we headed to the hairdresser (take note that both the sushi and hairdresser is three buildings away from my hotel room. Uh-oh I can see where my money is going to go) We walked up the stairs where we were met by a lady, and instead of saying anything we motioned a hair wash (put our hands on our head and acted like we were washing our hair, get it?:) ) she took us into a room where we all laid down on a massage bed that had a sink at the end of it. The three people came in who were going to wash our hair, one woman and two men. At first I was kind of nervous and thought it was awkward because the guy that I had kept mocking mine and Kate’s laugh and saying random words in English that we were saying. We would laugh and say “oh my God” and he would do the same in between his Chinese words. He then started singing Lady GaGa and when he stopped, I continued the song and he laughed. Funny little things like this kept happening and I kept laughing because I thought it was so funny, so then he yelled, “Relax!” and I realized that he could speak English and most likely knew what we were saying. He then brought his iPhone over and put it beside my ear and all it was, was chinese with English translation. The English translator would say things like “What is dry-heaving?”, “Tom really turns me on”, “How do I get to the restaurant?” and random things like that! I was loosing it laughing. Anyways all this is besides the whole point of this point. Yes I had a hilarious guy who made it hard to relax, but made the experience that much better, but what I want to tell you about is the experience of a hair wash in China.

            He first started off by massaging my head for about 10 minutes. It was AMAZING. He then washed my hair while continuing to massage my head, my neck and my upper back (I didn’t know until tonight it was possible to have that many knots in your neck and upper back. I have to start taking better care of my body!!) After he washed my hair, he did a little facial on me with cream and massaged my face. Next he washed the cream off of my face with a face cloth and set the cloth on my face and rinsed over it with hot water. It felt so good! After he was done this process he went back to massaging my head, neck and upper back while conditioning my hair. During this he also took his finger and put them to my lips and made a kissing sound! Haha! Once he was done this, they wrap your hair up and move the massage to your arms, hands and shoulders. It wasn’t like a normal massage though, but it’s hard to explain. After they are done with your hands, arms and shoulders, he cleaned my ears. YES, he cleaned my ears! It wasn’t normal. Hahahaha! Finally, he said..”how do you say…” and motioned for me to flip over with his hands and I said, “flip over?” and he repeated it until he got it right! It was cute. Lastly, he finished with a back massage! It did not feel like hands were being used at all through this process. I thought he was using tools during the whole thing, but it was only his hands. I wish I could explain this better. We were all laughing so hard during this, and kept saying I can’t wait to tell people about this. Picture yourself laying down surrounded my three Chinese people who keep mocking you, and then saying something in Chinese and laughing while they have their hands on you. It is truly one of those experiences you have to have, or one of those “you had to be there” experiences!

             After I was done with this process I was taken to another room to get my hair styled. Before I got my hair styled I had to pee though (of course) and used the public washroom, the ones where you have to squat and pee in a hole in the ground. I’m pretty sure the “water” that was on the floor was pee, and I got pee on my new toms, but o well, they were only 10$ and I’m sure ill buy another pair! haha! The stylist straightened my very curly hair with a brush and a blow dryer. I have never seen my hair look like this without a straightening iron. So overall this process took about 1hr and was totally routine for getting your hair done in China. Oh, and did I mentioned this cost 5$ CAN? Yes, its crazy cheap, and was an experience I will never forget. I think ill be getting a hair wash many more times before I head home. Sorry if this post is a little boring, and doesn’t interest you at all, but if you ever travel to China, please please please go get your hair washed. It is an experience that is awkward, uncomfortable, weird but completely amazing at the same time! I now understand what everyone was talking about!