My Hair Does Not Like Living In China.

I have exceptionally porous hair and have on occasion had a slight hairdressing issue in both the UK and NZ. I was definitely concerned moving to China about my poor hair. Unfortunately I have somewhat more grey than I would wish for and so colour is essential for me.

There are hairdressers that cater for expats and you'd think my hair would be in safe hands. Apparently this is not the case. Every colour I have had in China has gone wrong. I have now tried two different hairdressers and come out with problems every time. My hair has been patchy with colour not taking to all areas and or the colour that has been selected has come out completely differently on my hair than how it is meant to look. Currently my hair is a dull, flat mud brown colour and the colour selected was a rich, vibrant red/brown. There is definitely no red in my hair and apparently I would have to wait a few weeks to fix this. Great. Instead of waiting a few weeks I suggested an alternate plan to the hairdresser and have been back twice now to improve the situation and have to had to accept that it is nothing like what I actually originally wished for.

The first hairdressing disaster they offered to fix for free and I accepted. Sadly the fixing actually left me with worse hair than the previous mess which they had created. They offered to fix it again for free, however following 2 disasters I was reluctant to repeat this for a third time. On this occasion I was not charged for the colour as I was so instantly disappointed and the hairdresser recognised that it really was nothing like it should be.

What I am struggling to comprehend is why I appear to be the only expat and in fact person I know in general to have this issue. Evidently my hair has issues and despite always explaining that my hair is extremely porous no one ever believes me. Perhaps I should be a case study for hair dressing students as clearly I am one of kind.

My fear of going to the hairdresser is only increased by recent experiences. Beware of the hairdresser, especially if you are an expat overseas and maybe buy a hat and take it with you to the hairdresser.