Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
GOT 5 minutes? Then you can change your hair style, whether from chin-length locks to long tresses a la Cher, or a cropped pixie cut to the bun-and-braid look worn by Madonna on her "Blond Ambition" tour.
Faux hair, long used by celebrities to lend star quality to otherwise normal, unruly coifs, are now available to mere mortals. These add-ons come in the form of braids, falls and scrunchies, and are naturals when it comes to dressing up your tresses, whether for prom or party or on days you're running late.
Simply make a ponytail, clip on a barrette complete with bangs, and go. Or pin your hair into a bun, and wrap braid, threaded on wire, around it. Such pieces are available for as little as a dollar through vendors at Maunakea Marketplace in Chinatown.
For girls, some Longs Drugs stores have 6-inch clip-on braids in bright yellows, Halloween orange and neon green for $2.99 apiece. Faux hair scrunchies are $1.79.
More realistic pieces can be found at E.J. Hair Studio on King Street, where owner Eun Ju Ha sells everything from children's braids with multi-colored tufts at the ends ($5) to 2-foot long cascades ($30).
Ha, who is from Korea, said the pieces she carries were inspired by movie stars and singers from Korea known for frequent hair experimentation. Because 80 percent of Ha's clients are from Korea, they often give her the name of the star whose style they want to emulate.Most important, the different looks are easy to achieve at home. One of Ha's customers, Young Nishio, owns about a half-dozen pieces that she started collecting when her hair was short. She hasn't abandoned them now that her hair has grown past her shoulders. Nishio said, "Before, it takes 20 minutes in the morning to wash and blow-dry my hair. Now, 5 minutes and I'm ready."
Longer pieces come in handy for those who like the look of long hair, but don't want to go through the trouble of taking care of the real thing. And those who may consider themselves klutzes when it comes to styling hair can have an instant updo in minutes.
Even so, Ha said, customers were slow to catch onto the hair pieces until she started wearing them herself. For a long time, she used a heavy braid for an Asian "Heidi" sort of look.
"It looks young. People says it looks good on me."
Most often, she'll simply wrap her ponytail in a scrunchy combining natural-looking synthetic hair with strands of a second highlight color. The highlight could be a natural-looking auburn also, or an obviously phony bright green or purple."People at the shopping mall ask, 'What did you do? Highlight? How can you have long hair and short hair?' "
The pieces that may look like dead animals hanging from a rod come to life when worn, giving wearers an instant lift.
"One customer, I can see scalp. She losing hair. Before, she had a complex. I said I can help her. I show her what to do. Now she is so happy, she comes by every day to tell me how happy she is.
"She tells me not to tell anybody else about the hair. It is her secret."
Ha said she's fitted teen-agers to 50-year-olds with the pieces, and although it's great for customers, it has cut into her salon business.
Translating and speaking for her, Ha's husband Nam Ha explains, "When times are hard, people cut down on unnecessary costs. One of them is visiting the hair salon. If they buy one hairpiece, it saves them from making several visits to a salon."
Pieces should last for about a year with care. Most of the pieces available at E.J. Hair Studio can be washed with a mild shampoo and brushed. Avoid using a blow-dryer, which can damage your newfound hair.
Click for online
calendars and events.
