Job Discussion Forums

jbeyak · Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Posts: 6 Location: Chilliwack, BC

Hello all,
I'm leaving for Hiroshima for a year to teach, and I was just wondering how easy it is to find mousse and gel in Japan.
Iv'e read other postings saying that conditioner and shampoo is pretty easy to find. I have really long naturally curly hair, and without gel, I think I might just scare the children with my big fro...
Also, does anyone know if it is easy to find contact lens solution?
Any help is much appriciated!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

All of those products are widely available in Japan.

Celeste · Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 11:50 pm Post subject:

I would not worry too much about the hair products. Unless you are very brand loyal, or you really need something that changes the hair permanently (dye, perm kits, straight perms) you can probably find it here. It may take a bit of experimineting to find a brand you like, though. I would certainly bring along enough stuff to get me through a month or two so you don't have a hair emergency your first weeks here.

chi-chi- · Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Posts: 194 Location: In la-la land

Glenski and Celeste, what brand of products would you recommend to the lady in question?
(Assuming you're a lady...if you're a guy, they have all sorts of hair products and tonic and it will even make your hair grow, or so I hear.)
I recommend Putti Sexi Chihoya Cherry.

easyasabc · Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 179 Location: Japan

You can get contact lens solution easily.

Mousse and gel here are available but it really depends on your preferences. Personally I've never found one that I like as much as the ones I used in Australia so I get my hair products like that from home or stock up when I'm overseas. In particular since you have really curly hair you may not find one that suits you because ver few Japanese have hair like that. As Celeste said above. I'd bring at least a couple of months worth of your favourite products then sample some stuff here to see if you like anything.

I live near Hiroshima city and go there often - PM me if you need to know anything about the area or where to find your hair stuff.

melirae · Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 145 Location: Korea

This falls a little more under hair equipment, but are hair dryers terribly expensive there? I'm thinking of bringing mine from the US, but I'm trying to be conservative with my packing (meaning I don't really have room for it!) but if they are too expensive, I will just bring mine with me.

Also in the US, plugs on electronics are polarized (meaning one prong is wider than the other). Will these fit into Japanese outlets without a converter?

madeira · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 182 Location: Oppama

Hey there. Your appliances will fit, as long as they`re only 2 pronged... but the power is a bit different and my dryer died swiftly here. Get converters or buy new stuff here. Dryers are cheap!

If your hair is already curly in your home country, it`s going to be wild-ass flying frizz here. My hair is almost dead straight in NA, and I look like I`ve got a cheap perm here. I`ve switched to a heavy shampoo/conditioner (Lux) and buy lots of Sebastian Smoothing Groomer.

I also found that my short bob was un-maintainable... and grew it out so I can put it up in a hurry.

Your results may differ!