[Sheelldaw]

Yep!...you got me there Nam... ..."we learn as long as we live, once we stop learning, might as well be dead"

[AngelinaLip]

aww cut her some slack

[Wr8dIAUk]

Nam Phyyng, I've also been wondering how poor Thais living without proper water supply manage to pull off those white, neatly ironed school uniforms and impeccably clean long hair.

[Wr8dIAUk]

I was just about to comment on semi-illiterate native speakers, but now I have a (safe?) job so I decided not to get annoyed about this issue after all.


btw, I'm not Thai, so who cares what I do, but I cut my hair myself. tried hairdressers a few times, but they have no idea what to do with thick curly western hair and have messed it up completely a couple of times.

[Golotop]

Anyone know anything about the kaffir lime thing? My Thai friend absolutely swears by it.

I have used that myself. It makes hair black and shiny.

[SOgLak]

A million hair salons would be 65 Thais per salon. Probably about right?!

[Hervams]

In response to the original post. There was a very popular Thai event in Thaitown USA recently which I heard comments along this topic.

First, my Thai friends and I were in a large group eating and having drinks. There was group of about 4 airline hostesses that joined us. 2 worked for EVA, 2 from Thai Airways. All just happened to be stopping over from Thailand and were good friends. My Thai friend who has been living here for 15 years now made the comment that he could tell these girls came straight from Thailand just by looking at them. I asked how and the first thing he mentioned was their hair. I agreed, there is this certain look/hairstyle that when seen here in the States looks out of place. Unkept compared to western standards IMHO.

The second comment came from my Chinese friend who has traveled around Asia. He said that the less well off a country is, the more the guys tend to have long hair. He didn't say this in a demeaning or authorative manner, but there is some truth to that as well I think.

I know I will take some heat agreeing with Hunsolo but I think if you step back, you might agree. I don't think the way they do their hair is because they don't care, however. More or less it's in fashion, trendy or more readily accepted. You go to Bangkok and you will see very few blonde Thai women, Lydia is now the exception . You go to Ho Chi Minh City and it is a very hot trend there. When I think about the Thai women I know, they usually wear their hair 2 ways. Straight down, or tied back. Sometimes the stylists will layer their hair and they will color it. But when a Thai girl has her hair really done, it stands out in the crowd.

[Sheelldaw]

Well Kathe, I don`t believe you that there are MILLIONS of salons in Thailand--that would be like one hair salon per 6 persons And my Kanjana still has a natural black hair, being 35 years old, so she does not need coloring,...but once in a while changing her hair style might help because she keeps it same always, combed straight to the sides. Now mind you I love her same however she might do her hair, because I love her person not just her hair, but as they say "Variety is the spice of life", ...you like to change your dress once in a while don`t you?...or paint your room differently?. But as she told me she likes it straight because its easier to care for it, and she is impecably clean...showering and washing her hair in the morning and in the evening, but I guess no imagination when it comes to hair dos.

[michael247]

Kiffir Lime ( Citurs hystrix DC, Leech lime, Porcupine Orange ) in thai we call * makrood. Thai knows makrood as for extra balsam for hairtreatment, but this kiffir lime also against stomach ache, against throat ache and many more.
Some cook this lime in boil water, later use this lime oil for hairmask, as for a healthy and shining hair. Thai also using this fruit for scrubbing skin.


KIFFIR LIME
A very thorny bush with aromatic leaves. The oil from the rind of the rough, bumpy fruit has strong insecticidal properties. Well suited to container growing. The green lime fruits are distinguished by their bumpy exterior and their small sizend the hourglass-shaped leaves (actually, the leaf and the leaf-shaped stem or phyllode) are widely used in Cambodian, Thai, and Lao Cuisine.

The Oxford Companion to Food (ISBN 0-19-211579-0) recommends that the name kaffir lime should be avoided in favor of makrut lime because Kaffir is an offensive term in some cultures, and also has no clear reason for being attached to this plant. However, kaffir lime appears to be much more common.

[SOgLak]

Badfish - re your post #19. Whatever words come to mind in describing Thai womens' hair, "unkempt" is not one of them. Thai women (and in fact the Thai people as a whole, but particularly urban Thais) are very careful about their personal appearance and generally maintain very high standards of grooming, hygeine and appearance. In my opinion they go to greater lengths in their appearance (often under difficult circumstances) than most other cultures, including my own. Its quite humbling in the morning to see a young Thai woman exiting her thatch-roofed and oil drum-walled home in the poorer areas of BK in a smart western style skirt with sharply ironed pleats, crispy white blouse, sparkling high heels and nicely bobbed hair. Its really quite silly to make comparisons between people living in that environment and affluent Farang women who can pay for a fancy hairdo without even thinking about the cost. Who cares if Thai women aren't up with the latest Paris hairdos? Whenever I walk down Silom or Sukhumvit I am struck by the neatness, slimness, gracefulness and stunning beauty of nearly all the Thai women I see.

[timmybrown]

Well Betty, how could I know any Thai jokes if I don`t read Thai alphabet?.?

You really have a serious observation problem.

..and how can I prove that I was in Thainland (2 times, and soon to go 3rd. time)?

So was it the first trip or second trip where you met your current "Thai wife" (who don't know about cemetary) and was it first trip or second trip you married your "Thai wife"?

If I had never been in Thailand, would I know about "Ancient city" in Bkk.??

Which part of Bkk is this "Ancient City"? I've never been to China but I know there's a "Great Wall Of China".

I just learned how to do that-how to e-mail fotos from my p/c. so I am eager to practice....?....

You must either be a 8 years old or in your 60s.

Iany way I surely was in Thailand.Oh, the comedy films?...well I `m not much of theater goer, we went only once to a movie we saw SPIDERMAN III I believe-it was her choice......so there ...you need any more proof of my trips to Thailand?....

Not necessary, I just find all your questions about Thailand ignorant and suspicious. Next time you come Thailand you probably should open your eyes bigger and observe better. Have a nice trip.

[Wr8dIAUk]

I don't have the same impression at all. women are very conscious of their hair. once they are out of secondary school, they are so happy to get rid of the compulsory ponytails!
maybe not very posh hair saloons, but for example my soi is a few hundred metres long only, and there are 3 small hairdresser's. the kind of small place where the owner puts the baby down in the cot when you enter. and always lots of patrons too.

[Ladbarbastirm]

"Beauty-Repair Shop"

[Sheelldaw]

I watched from my hotel room as Thai girls were passing on the street, down bellow,..then it struck me, that they practicaly all have their hair done same way, combed straight down on sides. My wife`s hair is same-always (only when we got married she went to hair salon and done it professionaly, and WOW!..was she gorgeous. ) I may be wrong but it seems to me that Thai women don`t care as much about their "Crowning Glory" as do western women. My wife has her friend cut her hair, and so do several of her girl-friends, when I asked her why she does not go to a salon to cut her hair, she said it expensive in Bkk. (now mind you, it does not affect my feelings for her, how her hair is done and by whom...) I have nothing against frugality and saving few Bucks/Bahts but I always get my hair cut professionaly, and think it is a good "Investment" . So is it only me, who noticed this about Thai women and their hair?...or am I wrong in my observation? (All you Thai ladies, and others, feel free to correct me, if I be wrong )

[Junrlaeh]

Well, to add my two satangs to this interesting thread, it came as a surprise to me that not all Thai women come by their "typically Thai" sleek, straight, silky hair naturally.

In my small circle of friends, at least two young women seem to go to the salon just about every day to get their naturally somewhat curly or wavy hair washed and ironed to achieve that "look." And I noticed the wash and iron routine was being performed on several young lovelies the last time I got my locks shorn (much too short as usual) at my favourite salon. I asked one of my friends about it, and she said a visit to the salon was part of her morning routine. Mind you, a neighbourhood place that charges only 20 or 30 baht, but still... every day. She has a sales job where appearence is important, but even so.

The thing I wonder about though is the older hi-so ladies with the hair that looks like it was sprayed in place with the plastic stuff we treat our floors with. How can they possibly think this looks attractive? At what age do they trade the youthful loose-hair-around-the-shoulders for this look? :-)

[Golotop]

I think almost all of your observations are wrong. Where were you in Thailand? Were you staying in a hotel all the time and watching TV? Thai women spend a lot of money each year for beauty.
Having hair done in BKK is not that expensive if you dont go to hi-end salons, and you can afford it. :-)

[Arkadiyas]

Two sisters have never been so different when it comes to our hair. My sister Jood goes out to have her hair washed and set and dried... just like Lucille Ball or heck, my mom. I'm a wash and wear kind of gal, and she is so disappointed in me!

[shemadagaswer]

however i think thai boy hair stye is look same and look kind of stupid(don't look at me like that)
thaifood owner in texas told me that he knew the boy who came to his resterang is thai because his hair stye

[Wr8dIAUk]

I only know of a few schools in Chiang Mai where they still keep girls' hair short.
in most schools, looks like two braids up to Mattayom 3, then one ponytail (that's when they shed their dek ying status and change to miss, or nang sao). at my school, white bows are compulsory, some schools have blue or red. even for Mattayom. would love to see a European teenager who is willing to walk in the street with a white bow in her hair!

[zlopikanikanzax]

Ok, speaking on behalf of a native thai girl who've never been abroad yet, most of Thai girls are very careful about their hairs (some are too much like my close friend at uni. When someone took a pic of me and her, and if i touched her hair by accident, she would yell at me "Don't touch my hair!". As if nothing happened, she would smile to the cameral leaving me §§. LOL)

At some schools, girls are not allowed to wear long hair so their hair styles come out pretty the same. Even some with curly hair straighten it making it not to look funny. As you know, curly hair duzn't look as appealing as straigh hair when shortened. At soome schools, girls are allowed to wear long hair. Cannot make any fansy hair style either. So, their hairstyles still come out pretty the same, straight and shiny (the nicest way--the process of getting that isn't tht easy--to be allowed to do at the schools)

There are very lil of Thai girls whose hair is naturally beautiful with just a hand combing it. A lot of Thai girls, who have straight hair, still straighten it and i don't know why. Many girls are their own salons. Some girls cannot stand having a few hairs pointing out from the rest, and would run to the restroom to manage her hair. I understand some that wash hair and dry it but i don't for some that straighten it after drying. I don't understand why they prefer wearing hair that looks like millions of pins hanging down from their head. I wish you guys could understand the life of living among girls (even though you sometimes wish so too lol). Many girls get up early in the morning just to spend over half an hour on the make up and hair things. lol

Well, my hair?... forget about it.lol