Here’s the major difference between a japanese hair salon and a western hair salon.
The cultural differences there is quite shocking. Very obvious is the care they take even when they just shampoo you. I’ve never been asked whether I was fine when they started yanking my head around during shampooing when I was in a western hair salon. According to people I know in the japanese hair styling industry, what you do as an apprentice is just shampoo hair and they have a strict code to make it a good experience. In a japanese hair salon during shampooing, they ask questions like ‘How is the temperature of the water? Is it too hot or too cold?’ and ‘Do you feel fine?’ during shampooing is basically asking you whether you feel alright as your head is tipping back in the shampooing sink and you might feel a little bit uneasy.
In fact, some places go to the extent of recording the temperature of the hot water they use for customers.
You have to try a japanese hair salon the next time you’re in japan.