GOING TO TEACH IN JAPAN FOR A YEAR HAIR HELP!

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OT again: Luckily we all are entitled to our opinion :)
I do wish i had a way looser texture.. No need for relaxers and buying all these products and tossing them out for not working...
Off course i would rather be healthy.. But the caucasians i know eat crappy food and still their hair grows fast and beautifully...

And yes the styling options are prob better with our texture but i dont think its pretty most of the time. And thats just my opinion

I'm sorry OP, last time, I promise.

You are entitled to your own opinion. You sure are, but let's quickly review the difference between opinion and fact.
Opinion: White people never have problems with their hair.
Fact: Moving to another environment can wreak havok on all kinds of hair, straight or kinky.

In context of this thread, it sounds like you think that moving can only negatively affect Type 4 hair, and that Types 1-3 won't have any problems. And point blank, you are wrong.

Now, if you aren't talking about moving at all, and you're just talking about how you wish you had straight hair then that's another thing.

I'm not disputing your right to form and voice your own opinion. You paid your 6.fiddy like everybody else up in here. But if you're so eager to voice your opinion, then put that money to use and start your own thread. Or blog about it.

You're on that Bluest Eye ish...white people hair is the best, and kinky hair is nothing but trouble. So say it loud, say it proud.

Don't use an innocuous and upbeat thread to make your own inflammatory remarks, especially when they have nothing to with the conversation at hand.
If you're doing it to protect yourself from backlash (because most people are not gonna go in on you out of respect for the OP), then stop.

Freedom of speech is a two way street. You can say what you want to say, but so can everyone else. If you know that what you're saying is going to agitate people, and you want to say it anyway, then that's your right. But take your licking like a grown up.

What you're doing now is taking a hostage and using it as a human shield. In most countries, you'd be arrested for that. And in the words of Riley Freeman, that's a bishazz move. :look:
 
No advice to add. Just to wish you all the best!

I know the excitement of moving to a new country for work! :yep:
 
You might seek the help of the member PacificPurinsesu:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/member.php?u=10869

Yes, PacificPurinsesu has a great Fokti page, and Yokoyokogirl has a good blog on living in Japan.

I believe that learning to your own relaxer/braids/weave/etc. is a great idea, wherever you live, because it helps you to become more independent.

You can also look at some of these other websites:

Sista in Tokyo: http://sistaintokyo.blogs.com/sista_in_tokyo/2007/07/afros-coffee.html

Afro Sista Ground (the beauty links):
http://www.afrosista.com/

You can look at some Youtube videos on black haircare in Japan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wGbgiNm9gg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tCgBR1AZNk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVmS-gw0K5Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g_q0bSBwPU&feature=channel

this girl has natural hair, but her some of her tips might help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rje5AkxaGmM&feature=related
UPDATE: There's a website that sells Japanese hair/skin/bath products. Its like a Japanese Amazon store :grin:. You can look at the site in English or Japanese, so you can read the list of ingredients in each product. I think its based in the US, but I assume that you can find all of their products in Japan. http://www.webichi.com/en/

There's a line of Japanese hair products by KAO Asience. Their hair mask got a good review by someone with relaxed hair on Amazon.com.

*Whew*- OK, I'm done!!


HTH. :giveheart:
 
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Congrats OP on your new adventure....Ladies who have lived in Japan or China--Are beauty salons that offer steam treatments easier to come across in those countries?
 
I'll be in Japan this summer teaching as well. Great thread OP and great replies ladies! Thank you to all who are keeping this thread on track as well.
 
OP oh my damn, i'm so envious of you right now....i know that's terrible...but i dont care!!!!

You're going to have an amazingly wonderfully interestengly perfect time!

I have zero help about your question though....
 
I'm not sure if I can be of much help because I'm no hair expert myself. Before this board, I was flat ironing and hot pressing my poor hair to death. :wallbash:

I have been in Japan now for almost 6 years and can't tell much difference with the water. Everyone says that it's hard, but it seems fine to me. So I dunno about that. I will say that I came here natural and about a year or a year and half ago I got a Japanese straight perm, which I think is called thermal perm in the States. (Not sure tho)

Currently I'm not doing much to my hair and it has grown quite a bit. I deep condition and use a lot of Japanese products actually. I have found that living "American" costs more in Japan, than living "Japanese"--if that makes sense. I was buying so much stuff from back home, when I found that using Japanese products often gets the same--if not better results.

Tsubaki oil is fab (it's camellia) and I like Beauteen hair treatment. It's amazing on dry ends. You can pick them up at any drug store. Plus L'occitane, Aveda, Lush, Body Shop and a ton of other Western stores are here-so you can find stuff from them easily. Avalon Organics, Organix, Aubrey, Kerastase--and tons of other products are at any Tokyu Hands store or Sony Plaza. I even get Witch Hazel, NYX, Maybelline, L'Oreal and Vaseline stuff there.

I go to a salon referred to me by a girl who had hair similar to mine. The salon is far as all get out from my house but luckily I only go maybe 3-4x a year. the owner "studied" many hair textures and knows exactly how to treat mine. That's why I make the trek out there. But if you do come to the Tokyo area and want to go that route, I can pass the info along to you.

Also there's another salon in Tokyo with a fab stylist who speaks great English and does perms with American products. I can also clue u into her. I have never used Sakura Salon, which ironically I pass everyday on the way to work. I have seen many women of color going there tho, presumably from the military base. Their site is here:http://www.theroom806.com/ser.hair.html
I CANNOT say if they are good or not tho.

It all really depends on where in Japan you will be. If you are in Osaka, which is nowhere near Tokyo--none of this info will really help you. So it's prolly best to wait, til you know where you will be.

Also making friends with someone on a military base might be helpful, but bases are few and far between unless you will be in Okinawa--where there are like 13 bases lol! I guess the best thing is to bring your products with you. If you forget something, you can always have someone mail it to you or use a service like "myus" (mail forwarding) which I often use to buy stuff. They are really reliable.

If all else fails, Guam (which is American territory) is only a cheap 3 hr flight away, with the world's biggest Kmart. LOL. Get some hair products, eat Taco Bell and sleep on the beach. :yep:

***I'm no expert, but I don't mind helping where I can. You can also use the forums at Being-a-broad. It's for women in Japan and quite a lot of useful info there. BTW Sista in Tokyo rarely updates her blog, so I wouldn't be checking her for info. Not knocking her or anything, but just letting you know.
 
I have no advice about Japan but I will say that packing all/most of the hair products you will need for a year is doable

Take out all your hair products and really anailyze how you will take care of you hair. Are there things that can multitask? A jar of DC will last you a while so depending on the size you could bring two and be good.
I realized that its better to focus on things that will be hard to find (ex:protein treatment like Aphoogee) and realize that you can find general things like Shampoo and basic conditioner anywhere and they will all do similar things

hope that helps
 
Great thread OP - I am so jelly !!! :yep:

Japan sounds like a WONDERFUL opportunity. I travelled around SE Asia and yes the water is SUPER harsh but just stock up before you go and iHerb will also be your friend. :yep: Just get family to ship everything else over to you and there is always eBAY !!!

Also remember that what the water robs you of the Humidity will bless you with. I found that my hair actually thrived when I was backpacking bc it was so humid which made it so moist all the time. It was like having a steam treatment 24-7.

Have a great time over there OP and we look forward to your blogs when you get there. Sounds like a great adventure !

:grin:

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and people wonder why i get jealous of caucasian hair..

feel free to bash me..

:rolleyes:

Im entitled to feel what i feel about it.
I know alot of white people who want black features but nobody says anything about that...

I do wish i had caucasian hair or just a way looser texture.. And i do get jealous.. But tough luck.

OT again: Luckily we all are entitled to our opinion :)
I do wish i had a way looser texture.. No need for relaxers and buying all these products and tossing them out for not working...
Off course i would rather be healthy.. But the caucasians i know eat crappy food and still their hair grows fast and beautifully...

And yes the styling options are prob better with our texture but i dont think its pretty most of the time. And thats just my opinion


Not bashing you LANGT as I know you have your own personal challenges but I must admit that personally I found your comments to be ignorant and unnecessary and rude to the OP as they potentially could have de-railed what is a beautiful and positive thread.

I also find the comments rude to all the other beautiful black women out there whom like to think as our hair as a blessing and not a curse.

I would suggest you re-evaluate your attitude to your hair and then maybe you will reap its benefits.

Everything in life starts at the basis of self-love, acceptance and appreciation. If you spend your life wishing to be someone else you will wake up and old woman with MANY regrets that you wasted and burned your life.

I have tried to keep my real feelings in check when responding to your post if you get my drift so maybe you could respect the rest of us in the same way.:yep:
 
I think all of you who have had a chance to spend time overseas are so blessed! I think the OP can dig through the crap in this thread to get the info she needs to prepare to care for her hair while she's away :)

Sometimes we have to deal with the BS on LHCF to get the info, but its here...

No comments on the foolishness.

Have a great Saturday!
 
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