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Hair is very big with the Chinese, especially the young Chinese. There are hair salons everywhere and a lot of effort is put into the hairstyles. A lot bleach and dye their hair red or brown, and the young guys sport amazing puffed styles which are quite feminine to our Western eyes. (Though I do see it a bit of it at home nowadays.)
A haircut was way overdue so I headed off to a salon I'd noticed on the way to the shops. I felt a bit bad as I passed a couple of tiny ones just outside the university which I thought looked a bit rough, and went round the corner to one on the main street which was a bit bigger. The staff looked rather startled when I approached, but one jumped up and opened the door and ushered me in. Not sure if it was my practiced "wo yao xi jian chui" or the snipping motion with my fingers, but they seemed to know what I wanted. I guess there’s only one reason I’d come in anyway!
In a flash my coat and bag were whisked into a locker at the back, and the key strung around my wrist. I was helped into a gold and black dressing-gown and ushered to a seat. The girl squirted some shampoo onto my dry hair and proceeded with a delightful head massage which involved particular attention to the sides of my temples and the nape of my neck and other maneuvers which are too hard to describe but which I remember from Timor days. She then scooped the foam off and started all over again. Heaven.
Rinse off the shampoo then into anther seat and a cut and blowdry. All for the princely sum of 15 yuan (around $3). Once I’m a regular customer I might pluck up the courage to ask to take a photo of the salon and staff.
While my hair was being cut an elderly lady came and sat in the seat next to mine. I could see her out of the corner of my eye leaning right over to stare at me, but I didn’t dare move my head to say hello. By the time I left she was squinting at a magazine about an inch from her face and didn’t notice me go. We’re getting used to being stared at, there are surpisingly few Western foreigners in Lanzhou.
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