I am reaching out to ask if you, as a polyglot or language enthusiast, would have benefitted from a focused lesson on salon visit vocabulary? Specifically, if you’ve moved to a new location where your native language isn’t the most common spoken language.
As a hairdresser, I’ve realized that no one, generally, learns how to get a haircut, or other hair related service, when they are learning a new language. I saw many international students struggle to explain what they wanted when they were visiting the salon in the US for the first time. I am considering creating a video series of how to have a successful salon experience in every country that I can connect with. Mostly featuring vocabulary, but no translations, in a simple fashion, to make the salon visit easier.
Do you feel there’s a need for this? Would something like this be of benefit?
! I think that would be helpful, since I didn’t realised I needed that type of vocabulary or information for having what I want in my own country!
Usually I got my haircut at home haha, due I couldn’t make local hairdressers understand me enough on what I wanted, even showing them drawings or the photos of the celebrities that used them… . Only when I tried military looks I succeded.
There are many Mexicans who return from overseas and them along with foreigners who as me have realized that the “local styles” are too common that “new or foreign ones” are simply not understood by most of hairdressers. Haha.
Those *rare styles are:
-Men’s long hair, multi coloured or styles (as Jeremy Loops )
-Dreadlocks! (some blokes work their dreads too wide for me, others weave braids pulling too hard from your hair instead and insist *that is the same.)
-US styles (the most common thing missing here is people daring to shave too much inside the natural boundries of your hair, Ex: front head and : mohawk, fringes or an exactly delimited line as taken from a crown’s mark like Ice Cube’s ).
-I used to assume that tyles that I wished to wear as Ghali Amdouni’s would be the last thing a local coifeur would accept to do for me…
Now hindhead styles are more common, but when I was teenager hairdressers refused to help me in applying certain creativity in my own head and drawing good designs by shaving is now more common but still *I know, not a cheap nor easy service.
I think you should create a list of the names of the parts of the head according to each language or consider certain dialect or slang differences haha, & rasta Vs , , Dreadlocks xP.
I think that’s a lovely language learning project.
Years ago during my TESOL training, I remember looking at various ‘vocational English’ course materials/resources, to see what was available at the time for this type of ‘English for Specific Purposes’ (ESP).
I assume similar materials might be available for other languages in other countries for vocational training, e.g. by looking at vocational courses, doing online searches with relevant vocational keywords and phrases in the language(s) you are thinking of. This might give you a better idea of what might be out there already.
For example, a quick Google search with ‘vocational English hairdresser’ gave me these two resources:
You might also want to look for videos online for hair salon visits or at vocational hairdresser training courses in other languages. Using ‘Norsk frisør ord’, here are two for Norwegian (sorry, revisiting Norks at the moment ;-)), as an example: https://utdanning.no/yrker/beskrivelse/frisor and https://norskfrisorskole.no.
I think it is great to get comfortable and more confident in learning the language phrases and vocab relevant for very specific contexts/field of interests, so you can build your ‘language islands’, try to connect them, and further use/integrate it in your daily life.
I had a very specific lesson about hairs in Latvian but as I don’t want a woman haircut, this was kind of odd I must admit…
& yes it would be very useful, but I ùust say that I am in pain to explain what I want to my hairdresser even in my native…
@Jolien here’s a list of terms you may be able to help me with.
Anyone else have some translations in your native language, you could add them here. Thank you all in advance.
Haircut
Haircolor
Lightener(bleach)
Developer(peroxide)
Hair clip
Hair pin
Bobby pin
Scissors
Electric clippers
Cowlick(growth pattern)
Backcomb/tease/rat
Flyaway
Blow-dry
Blow dryer
Weave/highlight
Tone
Untangle
Curling iron
Layers
Fringe/bangs
Finger waves
Waves
Curls
Vintage style
Haircut = der Haarschnitt
Haircolor = die Haarfarbe
Haare färben
Haare tönen
die Dauerwelle (gibt’s auch für Männer)
die Tönung
Scissors = die Schere
die Frisörschere
der Stufenschnitt (meistens bei kurzen Haaren)
der Pony
der Fransenpony
Können Sie mir das bitte fransig schneiden?
Können Sie mir die Haare ein bisschen durchstufen?
Ich hätte gerne die Ohren frei / bedeckt.
Ich hatte gerne einen Bob. (= Frauenfrisur)
die Lockenwickler
Können Sie mir bitte die Haare glätten?
Können Sie mir bitte hinten unten die Haare abrasieren?
der Rasierapparat
Ich hätte gerne einen Kurzhaarschnitt.
Ich hätte gerne einen Stufenschnitt
Lassen Sie bitte meinen Pony lang.
der Mittelscheitel
der Seitenscheitel
Möchten Sie die Seitenhaare etwas kürzer haben?
Soll ich die Haare im Nacken lang lassen?
Ich würde Ihnen zum Beispiel die Haarfarbe “Mittelbraun” empfehlen.
die Koteletten = the sideburns (Am. English)
Schaue ruhig öfters in meinem Post über die Frisör-Begriffe nach, wenn mir neue deutsche Wörter oder ganze Sätze oder Fragen einfallen, werde ich die Liste ergänzen.
. Only when I tried military looks I succeded.
)
).
would be the last thing a local coifeur would accept to do for me…
and drawing good designs by shaving is now more common but still *I know, not a cheap nor easy service.
rasta Vs 
, 
, 
