Kindness is drought level worldwide. Except in Taiwan. It’s abundant here.
Taiwanese people take it on themselves to show you, the foreigner,
their country as if they were official representatives.
While they’re probably more friendly with foreigners than fellow natives,
their kindness goes a long way.
My latest experience with this high-level kindness was in a Taipei hair salon.
My head was massaged to a distant astral plane and my ears were cleaned
smooth as a baby’s butt-cheek. Beyond the actual service itself, the smiles
and presence were top-notch.
After you read about my experience, you’ll include this activity into your
next trip to Taiwan.
Go here to get your head massaged. Get your hair clean.
And sometimes, maybe, get your ears cleaned.
Let’s dive in.
Hair Wash
Have you ever had your scalp melt into pudding? Well, there’s no better
time than now.
That’s what this hair salon experience felt like for me.
Walking in to the shop, the environment doesn’t necessarily relax you.
The lights are bright hospital white. There’s stuff everywhere.
The TV is playing some old-time drama. Not the peaceful environment
you’d expect to get pampered in.
Well, once auntie (my hairdresser) sat me down and wrapped me up
in classic salon gear, she began. She washed my hair while I sat up
as if I was at the barber. The specially designed shampoo foamed
without much water and was the perfect complement to her hand
movements.
Except, she had problems getting to my scalp. I’m growing out my
afro naturally. Which means that I don’t comb it, making the curls
quite tight and entangled. So, I was giving her wrists a workout as
she tried to get as close to my scalp as possible.
Black Hair
During my ascent up the stairway to heaven, she commented
that it was her first time with black hair. And as I’ve experienced
often in Asia, people compare the texture to what they know.
For auntie, my hair felt like soft carpet. My camerawoman, owner of
Homey Hostel, and sponsor of the hair salon visit, Kelly, compared
it to the wire sponge you use to scrub pots.
I’ve heard everything. Especially the “Can I touch your hair?” question.
I understand the curiosity though. But I’ve experienced people just reaching
out to touch my head. Curiosity doesn’t equal ownership. And this was
the exact reason I wanted to collaborate with Homey Hostel to educate
Taiwanese about black culture.
One of the biggest surprises for auntie and my camerawoman was my
hair product. They didn’t know black hair needs nutrient-rich product to
prevent dryness. Sometimes coconut oil. Sometimes shea butter.
According to auntie, Asians have lots of space between their hair follicles.
This allows easy air-drying and overall laid-back hair care.
Which is why, after washing out the soap in the sink (also heavenly), auntie
offered to dry my hair. I told her the towel was good enough, as I wanted to
keep some of the moisture locked in. Usually black people growing their hair
naturally will put in an oil after washing to keep the hair soft and healthy.
Ear Cleanse
After toweling my hair down, up next was the ear cleaning. Although I’ve had
a friend clean out my ear in China, I’ve never gotten it done at a professional shop.
It was a great experience. Thorough and euphoric.
But also somewhat tense, as one wrong movement could have ruptured my eardrums.
Which is why I’ve stopped using cotton swabs to clean my ears, as it’s not known to
be good for your eardrums. Auntie didn’t hesitate to tell me that my ears were full of wax!
One thing you’ll hear in the live video is my description of the exact phenomena
I felt during the last step. Hint: it has to do with snow.
Conclusion
All in all, Kelly and I got together to break the stereotypes surrounding black hair while
also bringing you a unique Taiwanese experience. We hope to continue showing you
my experience in Taiwan during my last days here in Taipei working with Homey Hostel.
So that when you visit Taiwan, you’ll have ideas for fun activities to brighten your stay.
To see the live video and catch all the bits I couldn’t fit here, head over to the link below now.
>>> Click here to watch the live video now
Address: Nearby homey hostel
Price: hair wash NT$200 / hair wash + ear cleaning NT250
Address: Nearby homey hostel
Price: hair wash NT$200 / hair wash + ear cleaning NT250