Wonderful hairdresser

In the resumed effort to achieve my best physical appearance, the first thing I did was to look for an excellent hairdresser. Similar to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that bases the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, it is the framework that serves as the foundation on which other initiatives might pay dividends.

For human looks, the framework means firstly a fit body; and secondly a great haircut. Imagine a flabby Paul McCartney or a Rod Stewart with unkempt hair. In other words, if you stay fit and have the right haircut, probably seventy percent of your work is done.

Until recently, to be precise this past Sunday, the best hairdresser I had ever had was Ira, an Irish woman who worked at a Vidal Sassoon salon at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57^th Street in New York (apparently the location has changed.) I met her in the summer of 1999. Then she moved to New Jersey and I came home in Tokyo.

Later I had a famous hairdresser who developed the famous "Seiko-chan cut" in the 1980s. He was good, but different from Ira. Unfortunately he met a traffic accident and his son took over, but their salon went out of business.

After eighteen years, I was incredibly lucky again. In the website of a salon in Tokyo owned by an immediate apprentice of the very Vidal Sassoon, an art director noted that "Count on me if you're concerned about wavy hair; I'll make it nice and controllable." That caught my eye because that was exactly what I wanted. 

He was extremely attentive to my needs and said, “With the right cut, you just need to dry your hair completely without trying to style it; I will do my best so that you decide to come back.” 

The next day after shampooing I followed his advice and it was perfect.