Undeniable Charm

娘に「バレンタインデーだからハートの髪にしたい」とリクエストされ、ネットで調べて髪を結った。

左右の髪を後ろでまとめて内抜きし、上向になった髪の束を左右に分けて三つ編みにして先端を結ぶ。最後は、頭のかたちに沿うように形を整え、菓子箱に付いてたリボンで仕上げた。

見た目の割にかんたん。学校で先生や友達に可愛いねと言われた娘は、とても嬉しそうだった。

それにしても、娘の髪が茶色い。

もともとサラサラで細い髪ではあったが、ロンドンに住むうちに日本人離れした栗色になってしまった。たぶん水道水のせい。

私の髪は違う。硬くて太くて多くて、同じ水で暮らしているので多少は色が落ちてるのかもしれないけど相変わらず黒い。この年でも白髪がないのは、ありがたい体質かストレスがないからか。

子供のときはずっとおかっぱだった。昭和はそれが普通だった。親が髪を結ってくれた記憶はない。

髪質が異るとだいぶ雰囲気というか、印象が違うものだなと、顔立ちは自分に似ているはずの娘を見ていて思う。

同じクラスに、みんなの髪を結うのが好きな子がいるらしい。でも娘の髪だけは「サラサラすぎる！どうやってまとめるの？」とギブアップされるらしくて、娘は「ママはすごい」と思っている。

欧州人の髪は、だいたいウェーブがあって柔らかく、無造作にまとめやすいからね。ロンドンでは、女の子は小さくても髪をしっかり伸ばしている子が多い。黒髪も、栗毛も、金髪も。どのクラスにも、1人くらいの例外はいるけど。

男の子でも、肩くらいまで金髪を伸ばしている子がちらほらいる。息子も影響されて少し伸ばし始めたが、彼の毛質は妹のとはまた違って、真っ黒で、少し伸びるとクセが出て毛先がクルッとなる。親バカなので、それもかわいいと思う。

そういえば前の学校では中東アフリカ系の子が多かったから、コーン・ロウにしている子もいた。それも可愛かったけど、流石に髪質が違いすぎると子供にもわかるのか、やりたいと頼まれたことはない。

もし日本の学校だったら…と考えて、愕然とした。

息子は「男の子の長髪は禁止、襟足も前髪も短くしなさい。」と言われるだろう。娘も「前髪は眉毛の上で切り揃え、長い髪はふたつに分けて三つ編みに」と言われるかもしれない。「リボン禁止」も言われるな。担任がハズレだったら、「髪の色が明るすぎるので、黒く染めてきて下さい」とさえ言われるかもしれない。

ぎょえー！

…人の髪型にケチ細かい注文をつけない国に住むのは、本当に楽である。

★

My daughter asked me to style her hair in a heart shape for Valentine's Day, so I looked up tutorials online and tried it.

I gathered her side hair into a section at the back, looped it downside up, and then separated the strands into two braids, securing the ends. Then, I adjusted the braids to follow the curve of her head and added a ribbon from a candy box for the finishing touch.

It wasn't as tricky as it looked. My daughter was delighted when her teacher and friends at school complimented it.

It's funny how her hair has turned so brown. It was always fine and silky, but living in London has given it this almost non-Japanese chestnut shade. It's the hard water, I guess.

My hair type is quite different. It's thick, coarse, and plentiful. Even with the Thames Walter, it's still stubbornly black. I'm grateful that I don't have many grey hairs at my age.

In my childhood, most girls had short bobs. It was the style of the Showa era. I don't even remember my mum ever doing anything with my hair.

According to my daughter, one of her classmates loves to do everyone's hair, but she gave up on my daughter's, saying it was too smooth and she couldn't get it to stay put. "So mum, you are amazing!" she told me.

London is so diverse, but it's interesting that most schoolgirls tend to have long hair, whether black, brown, or blonde. There are always a few exceptions in each class, though.

I suppose it's because non-Japanese hair tends to be softer and wavier, making it easier to style. That might also explain why it's so hard for Japanese expats to find a good hairdresser here.

I found some boys have hair down to their shoulders especially bronds. It's quite lovely so my son was inspired to grow his hair out. His hair is totally different from his sister's. It's thick, jet black, and gets a cute, slight curl at the ends when it gets a bit longer. Of course, I think he's adorable.

Some children wore cornrows at their former school, which had certain number  of pupils from African countries. That's lovely too - though my kids didn't ask me to do that to their hair, probably because they knew it wouldn't have worked well with their hair.

Well, what if my children were in Japan with their current hairstyles?

the teachers would probably tell my son to go to the barber immediately and have his bangs and neck fuzz removed.

My daughter, meanwhile, would be forced into a two-braid regime, and her bangs trimmed to her eyebrows. Ribbons? Absolutely not. And if she dared to have hair that wasn't the exact shade of black approved by the Ministry of Hair, I might be forced to invest in some industrial-strength hair dye.

Hair rules in Japanese schools? Ugh!

It's so liberating to live somewhere where people don't get their knickers in a twist over every little hair out of place.