I see a lot of people have been reading my post about the Korean Setting Perm. On it, I mentioned that the curls were quite tight, but that I thought they would loosen up over time. Well I just want to update and say that they no, they haven’t really loosened up at all, and it’s been over eight months. Eight months later and those curls are still holding tight.
Setting perm is described by Koreans as the “elegant” waves versus the digital perm, which is supposed to be curlier and more slightly more fun? I’m not sure how to describe it, but setting perm is what you see when you see classic, sophisticated Korean girls. I don’t think it turned out the way it was supposed to have on my hair because my hair is naturally very frizzy, so I’m sorry if my pictures weren’t of much help to you. Funny thing I just searched up “setting perm before and after” and my picture came up. Maybe I shouldn’t have put such a dismal picture of the after shot (sobs).
In retrospect, the Korean magic straightener was not nearly as good as the Japanese straighteners I’ve gotten before, so here’s some real advice: definitely go for the Japanese straighteners over the Korean magic one if you want straight hair. Okay, that’s enough talking!
Sorry guys – it’s been a while since my last update. I’ve been busy and also it’s been tough lugging around my heavy Canon camera everywhere. So I’ve been lazy about taking pictures. I’ll probably be taking more photos once classes start, since I’ll have more time to upload them on here as well.
One of the things I wanted to do most once getting to Korea was getting my hair done. I have really puffy and frizzy hair, so I hate it, and whenever I go to China, I get it permed straight so I don’t have to bother styling it everyday. Lately I’ve been straightening it whenever I go out, but since the power systems are different in Korea, I haven’t been able to use my straightener. The girls in Korea pretty much all get their hair permed, so I was interested in getting mine done as well. Since I’d gotten my hair straightened many times before, I decided to get a wavy perm this time.
I went to Juno Hair, which was recommended by Eat Your Kimchi, so I knew it would be a good place. I went to the Seoul location near the Seoul National University Station on Line 2. The directions I got for it were slightly wrong – I had to look for like 30 minutes before I found it, but it was right next to the exit. Go out exit 3, turn around and keep walking for a bit and it will be on your left. It’s on the second floor, so go up the stairs.
Thankfully there was a lady there who spoke English, so I could tell her what I wanted. She told me I should get a setting perm for the bottom of my hair and magic straightener for the top part, since my hair is frizzy. She ended up doing my hair. Also, there was another guy who helped out, and he did the shampooing for me. I forget both their names, but I’m sure there aren’t too many female hairdressers there who spoke English, so you’ll probably get the same person I did if you go. The guy who helped was really nice, and kept asking me questions, even though our communication was very stifled and awkward. But he was really cheerful and enthusiastic, so it made the experience fun.
In the end, I had my roots done (my hair is dyed a reddish brown), magic straightener on top, and setting perm for the bottom. It came out to 300,000 Won, which is a lot of money, but decent for the services I received. Here is a before and after:
Sorry the lighting is bad in the after shot, but at least you can see how soft and wavy the hair is :) I really like it – the only thing is – I wish the curls were less tight, but I think they will loosen up over time.
I really enjoyed my Juno experience. If you want to go to get your hair done is Seoul, definitely go to Juno. There are a bunch of other locations in Seoul as well, but I don’t know them and I’m in no position to give directions for them.
Tomorrow we register for classes. I heard that a lot of classes are already full, so I’m a bit worried, but I’m sure everything will turn out fine. Hwaiting!
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April 29, 2012: Here’s an update to the perm eight months alter.
karainseoul 