Miho Suzuki: Random Thoughts from a Conversation at a Hair Salon

The other day, while I was getting my gray hair dyed at a hair salon, I overheard a conversation between a customer at the next mirror and the hairstylist. The two, who seemed much younger than me, were discussing the pros and cons of taking supplements. The customer argued loudly, "Why do supplements even exist in this world? Shouldn't people just eat a normally balanced diet?" and went on to dismiss teas that lower blood pressure and yogurts that lower cholesterol one after another. If it were me, I would have wanted to talk back, asking, "What exactly is a 'normal diet'?" or "Does the tea you drink contain no additives?" However, the hairstylist gave skillful responses, drawing out the customer's personal theories. Gradually, the topic shifted to skincare, and the customer began introducing various cosmetics to the hairstylist. I felt impatient, thinking, "Cosmetics are the ultimate artificial chemical substances, which contradicts your belief in promoting natural foods," but once I reconsidered that "overall, this is just a health-conscious person," I suddenly felt a sense of fondness. I was also impressed by the hairstylist's listening skills.

The next customer appeared to be slightly older than the hairstylist and was talking about baseball using more polite language than the previous customer. At first, the customer seemed a bit bothered, choosing their responses carefully, but they gradually got into the hairstylist's rhythm. The hairstylist, who had been a complete listener with the previous customer, took the lead this time, and the speaking time for each person was about fifty-fifty.

After returning home, I couldn't stop thinking about this hairstylist's communication techniques, so I searched for academic papers using a database. I found a study showing a correlation between the improvement of a hairstylist's listening skills and an increase in the number of requested appointments (Matsumoto et al., 2014). It was noted that no clear correlation was found with small-talk skills. The primary work of a hairstylist is the technique of "beautifying appearance through methods such as permanent waves, hairdressing, and cosmetics" (Cosmetologists Act), and it seems that training facilities do not provide much education on communication. Certainly, whether I would request this hairstylist again depends on my judgment after having my hair cut. It seems necessary to reconsider why nursing basic education emphasizes communication, what listening in nursing entails, and what its outcomes and measurement methods are.

I certainly wasn't eavesdropping. Passing the time while waiting for hair dye to set is also quite pleasant.