Good News for Those with Thinning Hair
Published: October 29, 2019
If you are one of those people whose hair is gradually thinning or the parting on the top of your scalp is widening and you would like to reverse this process, but just aren’t up to donning a wig or going through the hassle of a hair transplant, then Hair Salon Déjà Vu may just have the answer for you – 3D ZōMō (“3D Hair Thickening”).
The salon sits on the ground floor of a modern-looking “designer’s mansion” in a side street off Eitai-dori Avenue, just a 4-minute walk from Toyocho station.
The salon is run by Mr. Akihiko Koyanagi who has been in the hair dressing business for over 40 years, 33 of them at the Toyo premises. People in the area have grown up with this as their local hairdresser.
Assisted by two staff, he offers regular hair treatment in the shape of cuts and shampoos, perms and hair colouring, to people of all ages and genders; kids are even catered to with the use of an iPad for reading manga.
What makes Mr. Koyanagi’s business special is the hair extension treatment which he provides. Whilst some hair recovery products offer magic gels which promise to restore that thick head of hair you once had, or a comprehensive hair extension make-over, but which costs eye-watering sums of money, Mr. Koyonagi offers his customers 3D ZōMō, a reasonably priced step-by-step approach to what can be an emotionally stressing problem – thinning hair.
3D ZōMō comprises strands of synthetic hair attached to a double loop. Each double loop is tied to individual hairs on a customer’s head and then pulled tight: simple, but effective.
Courtesy of Hair Salon Deja Vu
In the case of the hair extensions used by Mr. Koyanagi, each double loop consists of 4 strands of synthetic hair, which Mr. Koyanagi carefully and painstakingly threads onto a single strand of the customer’s hair using an eye hook and then pulls the loop tight. One set, totalling 50 loops or 200 strands, costs 6,800 yen (including tax), and takes between 20 and 25 minutes to complete.
This process requires deep concentration and must be tiring on the eyes; to assist himself Mr. Koyanagi slips on a well-known brand of magnifying spectacles at the same time as placing two pieces of white padding on the customer’s scalp to make the individual hairs stand out whilst he is working.
The “hair” comes in various colours and doesn’t comb out unless the real hair, which it is tied to, sheds. Once Mr. Koyanagi has secured his loops this new “hair” can be cut and shaped to fit with the natural hair.
According to him the natural hair with its hair extensions can be gently shampooed and dried with the extensions, which tend to last about one month or so depending on the condition of the customer’s natural hair, suffering no damage.
Mr. Koyanagi asserts that by using this method and adding to the existing extensions over a period of time, the gradual thickening of a customer’s hair will pass unnoticed. In this way a customer avoids the possible embarrassment caused by suddenly walking into the office one morning wearing a wig or major hair extension.
3D ZōMō is used by both genders: by men of all ages with thinning hair, by women, predominantly in their 60s, for daily life and attending those ubiquitous class reunions so common in Japan, and by both genders suffering from hair loss caused by stress or other illnesses.
Courtesy of Hair Salon Deja Vu
Word about 3D ZōMō being available in the Toyo area at Hair Salon Déjà Vu gets around via Mr. Koyonagi’s internet home page, by word-of-mouth, and by users of his regular hair dressing services taking the plunge and trying out his hair extension service.
So, if you’re concerned about thinning hair, or would like your hair to have a bit more “body” why not book an appointment to see Mr. Koyanagi and try out his extensions? In my case, we agreed that, unfortunately, my hair has gotten much too thin for 3D ZōMō to be of any help. ☹
Story and photographs by Jeremy Hutchinson
