You want to go to a hair salon in Korea, but aren’t you hesitating?
Maybe it is because you fear of “what to do if I get a strange haircut”, and the fact that you don’t know how to order a haircut.
So this time, let’s learn the minimum expressions to avoid failure in Korean hair salons.
Key points to avoid failure in Korean hair salons.
The trendy hairstyle differs from country to country.
Fashion and fashionable hairstyles and haircuts differ from country to country.
So you can’t get a haircut like the one you get when you go to a hair salon in your country.
If you are uneasy, you should go to a hair salon that can speak English.
But there are not a lot of hair salons in Korea that can speak English.
Therefore, It’s good if you learn how to order a haircut so that it does not fail.
How to show a sample picture.
We say “미용실” for hair salon in Korean.
At hair salon, when you get a haircut your seat hairstylist will ask you like this.
How would you like your hair done?
What hairstyle do you want?
When your stylist asks you what hairstyle do you want, it’s better to show photos of entertainers and models.
Prepare a photo in advance and show it.
If there is a sample, it’s quick!
And let’s say like this while showing the picture.
Can you make it look like this photo.
I’d like this hair style.
I’d like this cut (literally “style”), please.
In this case, “-(으)로” refers to the means and methods.
I think you’ll get the hairstyle you want.
How to order a haircut in Korean.
How much do you want to cut your hair?
Let’s order how much you want to cut your hair.
Please cut my hair to shoulder length.
길이 mearns ‘length’, when you tell “어깨 길이로” it’s a nuance of “to shoulder length”.
Please, don’t cut it too short.
When you don’t want to cut too short, you should tell your hairstylist to don’t cut too much.
How do you like your bangs?
Some people cut their own bangs.
But if you want to cut them in a hair salon, you should know the following expressions.
Please cut my bangs not to cover my eye brows.
We say “앞머리” for bangs, “옆머리” for side hair.
I’d like my side hair to just covers my ears.
It’s a word that you should learn akong with 길이(length).
What to do when you don’t know the words of shoulders, ears, eyebrows, etc.
Sometimes, you can’t remember the names of parts of body, such as shoulders, ears or eyes.
I’ll also introduce useful expressions in times like that.
Cut my hair to this length.
I’d like my hair this length.
It will be manageable, if you say “이 정도(about this, this much)” along with the body language.
Trim, thin out, and layer.
How to keep your hair relatively the same length.
If you want to trim your hair, let’s say like this.
Please cut the whole just a trim please.
Please trim the ends of my hair.
다듬다 means ‘triming’, this expression can be used when you want to trim the hair ends.
If you order a haircut like this, they will trim only the amount of hair that has grown.
How to thin out your hair.
If you want to thin out a little, let’s say like this.
I want it thinned out a little.
숱 means ‘amount of hair’, therefore ‘thin out’ is expressed as “숱을 치다”.
and we say “머리 숱이 많다” for thick hair, “머리 숱이 적다” for thinning hair.
By the way, in Korean hair salon they tend not to thin out your hair.
How to get a layered haircut.
I’m not sure if you’ll ever order a haircut at a Korean hair salon, but I’ll introduce some expressions.
I want some shorter layers, Please.
For layer cutting, use “층” which means a layer, and we say “층을 내다”.
I want it layered at the front side.
By the way, you can use 레이어(layer), and say “레이어를 내다”.
Coloring, perms, shampoo
What’s ‘color/dye’ in Korean?
We say “염색” for color, it’s a word that uses ‘Kanji’.
About 60% of Korean language is said to come from Kanji, and knowing Kanji will help you learn Korean.
I’d like to dye my hair.
You say like this when you want to have your hair colored.
Can you dye just the roots?
We say “뿌리염색” for dye the root of hair, and 뿌리 means ‘root’.
Can you dye my hair dark brown, Please?
When you want to dye for brown, for example combine 갈색(brown) with 어두운(dark) or 밝은(light).
If there’s a sample in the hair salon, it’s better you look at it and decide.
How to get a permanent.
We say “파마” for perm.
I’d like a light perm.
‘Straightened’ is “매직파마” in Korean.
And it’s better you learn ‘강하게(strong)’ and ‘약하게(weak)’ together.
I think if you want to perm in Korea, you should have a light perm.
This is because at Korean hair salons, they have relatively strong perms.
Shampoo? brush away the cut hair?
After the cut is finished, you can decide to wash your hair or just brush away the cut hair.
And your hairstylist will ask you like this.
Would you like your hair to be shampooed?
Brush away the cut hair?
감기다：shampoo, wash a hair,
털다：brush away
If you don’t understand the stylist’s words at this time, it’s no problem.
Because you will just have to wash your hair.
Learn hair style in Korean.
Long hair, Short hair in Korean.
You should learn hair style in Korean.
Hair style
| 日本語 | 韓国語 |
|---|---|
| Long hair | 긴 머리 |
| Medium hair | 중간머리 긴 단발 머리 |
| Short hair | 단발 멀리 |
| Perm hair | 파마머리 |
| Curly hair | 곱슬머리 |
| bald | 대머리 |
Ms. Sooyeon looks better with medium hair.
I have a natural curly hair.
Dad is worried about baldness.
Try to tie your hair back.
You look great with loose hair.
We say “머리를 묶다” for tying hair up, “머리를 풀다” for untying.
I think you should know these expressions as well.
‘bald’ may also be useful someday!