Korean Job Discussion Forums

[LadyD]

Okay, so I know hair talk isn't the most interesting, buuuut...Yes, so I have have short wavy/curly hair, and I'm moving to Seoul in August. What kind of hair care products are available there? I'm sure that most Koreans have thick straight black hair, hair that looks good no matter what they use. Will I be able to find shampoo/conditioner/leave-in-conditioners similar to the ones out here in the states? Ones that deep moisurize and care for my tender locks? I tend to be a bit of an overpacker and want to nip that in the bud, but will I need to bring a years worth of my american shampoo and conditioner? It's worth it to me.

Thanks for your help!
doreen

[Tiny_Tibbo]

what brand do ya use? I know you can get good hair products on the army base....shouldn't be hard to make a friend that could hook ya up. Do you use Gel or mousse? I haven't tried any korean stuff. I've been very fortunate to refill on gel from the base. There's lots of perms goin on here so i think u'll be ok.....

[LadyD]

Well, I use neither gel nor mouse, Im looking for shampoos and conditioners designed for dry/curly hair, like Redken, Smooth down, or whatever lines they have. Basically salon stuff out in the US. Besides that I'm interested in leave in conditioner, Paul Mitchell kinda stuff. I'm not a brand name snob, I just want to make sure theres gonna be stuff out there that works, cause my hair IS curly and prone to dry out quickly. I know SKorea is humid, and I'm guessing whatever flys for the straight haired just wont cut it for me.

thanks

[tzechuk]

They do shampoos for curly hair. Pantene Pro-V, Vidal Sassoon etc. are available. I have seen Redken sold in Hannam Market.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I have curly/wavy hair, and yes, Pantene Pro-V is readily available. Any other products I'd bring with me. Some of the hairdressers have a lot of stuff but good luck communicating what you want, even if you have a Korean friend with you to translate (who probably also has no clue about western hair). I also sometimes use straightening gel and when I had somewhat longer hair it amazed the kids to no end that I could come in with the curliest hair one day and perfectly straight hair the next. They thought I was going out to get perms every week.

I think being a guy is even worse as they seem to resort to the default Kim Jong-Il cut. Their haircut photo books are useless as they have all these photos of longer metrosexual haircuts and nothing for shorter hair but the scalped-round-the-ears and then tapered out to an inch-and-a-half cut.