Rugs and spray-on hair

Japan seems to have a bit bigger problem with balding than the US. It's not that more people are bald, actually there are quite a bit fewer bald men here I think. But those that are bald seem to have a bigger problem with it. Comb-overs are very common, they are called "bar codes" here. And occasionally you will even see the classic "blown off comb-over" where it's sticking straight up in the air, or in the opposite direction than it's supposed to.

But bar codes are not the worst of it. There are also many people with rugs, most of which are pretty bad. Usually the giveaway is the sudden transition from normal black hair to black mixed with grey, or straight hair to slightly wavy. Today's rug of the day though was pretty bad. In addition to the two above giveaways, the wig and real hair were slightly different colors, and you could see the netting!

Japan's also got a large array of hair enhancing products like the powders and sprays that could be seen advertised on TV 10 or so years ago in the US. I actually saw one of them in use the other day. There was a man who's head was spray-painted black, and since it was a hot day, a drip of paint mixed sweat was running down his fore-head.

It may just be that I notice these things since I'm packed like a sardine into a train every morning, but it does provide some entertainment for the otherwise dull ride to work and back.