De-dreading the do

The cat after staying up all night watching me wrestle with my hair

My dreadies - we were inseparable for 2 years

After cutting them in half

After 12 hours of combing them out

A visit to the hair salon and I'm a new person (and I bet you were expecting me to be bald!)

Before moving to Korea I had dreadlocks and I loved them. After a lot of thinking I decided it would make my move to Korea easier if I got rid of them. In Australia I worked at a university which never had a problem with my hair. Actually they would never dare have a problem with the way anyone looked because that would be unPC. But Korea is a different story. I figured because Korea is a fairly conservative country and because I would be working as an English teacher, I figured my chances would be better if I went back to my usual curly hair. I also figured that eventually the dreadlocks would have to go and in a way it was easier having the decision made for me.

So after my first visit to Korea where the stares were impossible to count and after an Ajuma actually touched my hair, I decided to lop them off before my next trip to Korea. Note: the term Ajuma refers to married women, however it tends to be used more to describe an older woman.

With the help of the Internet, I researched ways to get rid of dreadlocks. It's a common myth that you have to shave your head to get rid of them. From experience I can tell you that this myth is busted and doesn't need to be featured on Mythbusters. I thought about trying to grow the roots but this would take a lot of time and because my dreadlocks were dreading on their own, it would prove challenging to try and keep the roots straight. So with a couple of inches of roots dread free, I wasn't satisfied. Not one to shy away from short hair, I was hoping for a bit more length. So I turned to some de-dreading products.

I decided to use Dreadhead HQ's Dread Zasta. I ordered two bottles and decided on the night I was going to do it (with an appointment waiting for me at the hair salon for 9:00am the next day). I started around 8:00pm with the first part, cutting my dreads to just past my ears so there would be less to comb out (I actually cried a few tears after doing this). Then I followed the instructions on the bottle and wet my hair thoroughly before applying at least half a bottle of the de-dreading solution. I let it sit for an hour and then started combing the dreads out from tips to roots. It was easy at first because the cut ends were frayed but once I got to the middle of the dread, it was hard going. I found it easier to apply a liberal amount of de-dreading solution to help guide the comb through.

12 hours later I had shoulder length hair (although very thin), a comb with 4 tines missing, a garbage bin liner full of knotted hair, a very messy towel and a cat sporting the oddest expression after watching me all night. Needless to say I was very tired walking into my hair appointment but at the same time very relieved. My hairdresser (who specializes in dreadlocks) was amazed by my hair and after a deep conditioner, a few highlights and a new haircut, I was back to looking like my pre-dread self.

8 months on I've moved to Korea, I'm getting a lot less looks and my hair is a little easier to look after. The only thing I've noticed since combing out the dreads is my hair is a lot thinner than it used to be. I'm not sure if this is from the dreads, the combing out process or simply because I'm getting older. I figure time will tell and hopefully my hair will replenish itself eventually.

Skin Food - a better bet than Body Shop

Example of the beautiful packaging

The more you spend, the more samples you get. I acquired all of these after only spending $30!

My apologies for the long delay between posts. After having a few hectic and rather undesirable weeks with other stuff, I'm back in the mood to write about some of my more positive experiences.

Skin Food is a Korean owned chain of shops that can be found all over Seoul. It's very similar to the Body Shop with all sorts of lotions and potions in delicious fruity smells. The difference is that Skin Food is a fraction of the cost, has exquisite packaging, top notch customer service and many of their products are much nicer.

My introduction to Skin Food was having a little basket thrust at me on the street with a free beverage inside. I was in a browsing and exploring mood so I figured, why not? I was so glad I went inside! Up until that point I had been to other popular Korean cosmetic stores such as the Face Shop and Nature Republic but there was something inviting about this beautifully decorated store with all sorts of lovely pots, bottles and tubs. I didn't end up buying anything but when I left the store, one of the sales girls ran after me to give me my free beverage and a few free samples. She clearly wanted a sale but I appreciated her effort.

So my next shower consisted of trying out my free samples. They were delicious! I particularly fell in love with the yummy scent of the Black Sugar Facial Mask. I even specifically went back to Skin Food the next day to buy a full tub of it. With this one little purchase I received another handful of samples. Same as the day before I tried them and of course there were more creams and lotions that I had to have.

Skin Food is smart in their marketing and customer service. I keep going back, my bathroom is stocked only with Skin Food products (which probably cost the same as anything you can buy in a western grocery store). I enjoy the pampering and the personal attention (not to mention the endless supply of free samples). For example one day I went in to buy only a couple of things so I didn't bother with a basket. As I was browsing, I picked out a few items I hadn't planned on. My arms started to get full and the minute I considered getting a basket, one of the sales assistants instantly appeared and loaded all my goods into a basket. Apparently only psychics are hired to work at Skin Food! ;o)

My personal recommendations are (and believe me, I'm an expert sampler):

-Black Sugar Facial Mask (wash off)

-Black Raspberry Eye Cream (wrinkle care) - this stuff leaves your face unbelievably soft!

-Honey Melon Hand Balm

-Orange & Mint Body Essence

-Grapefruit Refreshing Body Wash (the scent is to die for!)

-Black Sugar Deep Cleansing Cream (awesome for removing make up)

-Hop Beer Hair Wash and Conditioner (smells so good!)

-Honeypot Lip Balm (the best ever!)

What naturally goes with a pedicure? A manicure of course!

I realize this may seem a bit boring to some but I just have to write a little something about my first manicure in Korea. Which is also the most memorable and awesome manicure I've ever had (and believe me, I've had a lot!) It is commonly known that Korea is exceptionally adept at nail maintenance so it was only a matter of time before I tried it out for myself. The minute I stepped into a nail salon, I was given a pink velvety couch to sit on, a cup of tea and a very large book of nail art samples. I decided to go for the works, so I settled on a very fancy design with lots of bling! After pointing out my chosen design to one of the nail artists and after a brief consultation with her colleagues, she came over to me with a calculator and a very grave expression on her face. I started to worry, how much is this going to cost and have I been that naive in assuming it will be cheap because it's in Korea? Luckily my assumption was right, 50,000 won was punched into the calculator. For something that usually costs well over $100 in Canada or Australia, it ended up being around $50. This included an hour of hand massaging, the usual cuticle work and shaping with various oils. Once she started on the actual painting, I was impressed. I've only ever seen such precise work from an air brush but my fabulous manicure was all done free hand. I had unlimited beverages and at the end I had 3 women on hand to help me with my coat, handbag and the door so I wouldn't ruin my nails. I have a feeling this will become a frequent event in my life!

Dr Fish - an extreme pedicure

Ok, I know this technically happened during one of my earlier trips to Seoul and might not qualify for this post-move blog but it still happened to me, in Korea and is a beauty treatment.....of sorts.

It took 3 attempts for me to finally find a Dr Fish cafe because even though they are common throughout Seoul, they are hard to find unless you are fluent in Korean. Even though some directions can be found online, they are unreliable because they will undoubtedly use other establishments as points of reference instead of actual street names and numbers. This is common in Korea. You can probably understand how frustrating this can be when your original directions which read "walk 20 steps from Subway exit 6, right at the Burger King and down the alley until you find the red door" are quickly changed if the Burger King moves premises or the red door is suddenly painted yellow. Luckily for me I have a Korean friend who is naturally fluent in Korean but also doesn't mind the odd extreme beauty treatment.

So one day we ventured to Gangnam for a Dr Fish pedicure. This involves a cafe with a couple of tubs built into the floor with fish swimming around. For the cost of a cup of coffee (this includes free freshly baked bread, jam and cream) you also get a Dr Fish pedicure. So after we had our drinks and ate some lovely warm bread, we ventured over to the "tub" area. After a quick wash of the feet, we proceeded to stick our feet into one of the tubs. A timer was set for 15 minutes and from there I experienced one of the weirdest experiences of my life. These lovely fish started eating my feet. At first it was so ticklish that my friend and I were giggling non stop. After about 5 minutes your feet get used to it and it feels like a hundred tiny fingers are pinching your feet at once. It wasn't until after our pedicure was over that we realized we were given the big fish! At 2 inches long, our fish had very big mouths compared to the little half inchers that our neighbours were lucky enough to get. The result??? The smoothest feet I have ever had. The best bit??? My feet tingled for a good 30 minutes afterwards. Not bad considering it cost me only a couple of won and I didn't have to worry about how my feet looked. The fish really don't care!

I wouldn't recommend this for the squeamish or people with strong vegetarian beliefs (after all these fish are carnivores). But if you are ever in Seoul and looking for a unique experience, I would definitely recommend it. Directions to the Gangnam Dr Fish: exit 6 Gangnam subway station, cross street and it's on the second floor of one of the first buildings you come to. You'll know which one because the sign on the front of the building has a picture of a tree on it. The same one that's on the Dr Fish website.