One day after school Liz's friend Justine told us she was heading across the street to the Marco Polo Hotel with her ayi (nanny/housekeeper) to have her hair washed. Since Amanda had an after school program and wouldn't be home for another hour, we asked if we could tag along. Luckily there were two hair-washing stations so Liz and her friend could both be pampered at the same time with no waiting. Justine translated for me that the price is usually 45 Yuan, but they would give us a discount because they know her there. That brought it down to 35 Yuan, about $5. I think it's cheaper other places, but we'll cover that later! The ayi and salon staff got a good laugh at my picture-taking but I'm accustomed to that by now. After the girls we settled onto the beds, the washing ladies sat on tiny little stools behind them and got to work.
Liz enjoyed a nice head massage that lasted at least 20 minutes and included a bit of a neck-rub as well.
The shampoo was nice and sudsy but I didn't notice any conditioner so I was really hoping there wouldn't be too many tangles to deal with after all the massaging!
After the wash and rinse, James, the resident hairdresser, dried Liz's hair with the help of a round brush. This was the first blow-dry her hair has had since the first week of August since we didn't bring any driers with us! Good thing the a/c was working...still too hot to use a blow drier if you ask me. James speaks some English and I told him that we didn't have time today, but that next time I would have my turn with the head massage. He encouraged us to return to his salon since we are assured to have nice, clean towels that come from the hotel laundry, unlike other places that may have questionable cleansing practices. I realize that it is to his advantage to have return customers, but that bit about the towels really got me thinking! Before we left he said that I should come back soon and he could color my hair...another example of something that should not be said right to my face by a perfect stranger! Yes, my "silver" roots are growing longer by the day but I don't really need to be reminded of it. I asked him if he's sure he knows how to color my type of hair (read: not Asian) and he said that yes, he's familiar with naturally wavy hair. Hmmm, I'm still not entirely convinced and have read about extremely toxic, known carcinogenic chemicals showing up in Chinese-made hair color. Some one please tell me why I didn't know to bring store-bought color kits with me...I don't indulge in lots of luxuries (by American standards, anyway) but I do get my hair done professionally. This has actually caused a great deal of angst (one of the many nightmare-inducing circumstances of my life here...) and if you think that's trivial, you must be blessed with younger genes than I am!
The finished products! Both girls seemed happy with their clean, smooth locks (hence, the moms are happy too since there are too many hard days in China, we have to hold onto the fun and relaxing moments!)
One day after school Liz's friend Justine told us she was heading across the street to the Marco Polo Hotel with her ayi (nanny/housekeeper) to have her hair washed. Since Amanda had an after school program and wouldn't be home for another hour, we asked if we could tag along. Luckily there were two hair-washing stations so Liz and her friend could both be pampered at the same time with no waiting. Justine translated for me that the price is usually 45 Yuan, but they would give us a discount because they know her there. That brought it down to 35 Yuan, about $5. I think it's cheaper other places, but we'll cover that later! The ayi and salon staff got a good laugh at my picture-taking but I'm accustomed to that by now. After the girls we settled onto the beds, the washing ladies sat on tiny little stools behind them and got to work.
Liz enjoyed a nice head massage that lasted at least 20 minutes and included a bit of a neck-rub as well.
The shampoo was nice and sudsy but I didn't notice any conditioner so I was really hoping there wouldn't be too many tangles to deal with after all the massaging! 
After the wash and rinse, James, the resident hairdresser, dried Liz's hair with the help of a round brush. This was the first blow-dry her hair has had since the first week of August since we didn't bring any driers with us! Good thing the a/c was working...still too hot to use a blow drier if you ask me. James speaks some English and I told him that we didn't have time today, but that next time I would have my turn with the head massage. He encouraged us to return to his salon since we are assured to have nice, clean towels that come from the hotel laundry, unlike other places that may have questionable cleansing practices. I realize that it is to his advantage to have return customers, but that bit about the towels really got me thinking! Before we left he said that I should come back soon and he could color my hair...another example of something that should not be said right to my face by a perfect stranger! Yes, my "silver" roots are growing longer by the day but I don't really need to be reminded of it. I asked him if he's sure he knows how to color my type of hair (read: not Asian) and he said that yes, he's familiar with naturally wavy hair. Hmmm, I'm still not entirely convinced and have read about extremely toxic, known carcinogenic chemicals showing up in Chinese-made hair color. Some one please tell me why I didn't know to bring store-bought color kits with me...I don't indulge in lots of luxuries (by American standards, anyway) but I do get my hair done professionally. This has actually caused a great deal of angst (one of the many nightmare-inducing circumstances of my life here...) and if you think that's trivial, you must be blessed with younger genes than I am!
The finished products! Both girls seemed happy with their clean, smooth locks (hence, the moms are happy too since there are too many hard days in China, we have to hold onto the fun and relaxing moments!)
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