Posted on by Jules Chan

How to NOT look like a Japanese or Canto Popstar….

After living in Asia for several years, one of the things I noticed was how unattractive guys with longer hair looked. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against guys with longer hair, in fact I love it normally, so why is it I found these guys to be so unappealing?

After careful studies of haircutting and techniques and style in Asia I came to a conclusion that satisfies my query.

The method to hair cutting that is predominantly used in Asia is done with a razor, as we all know the razor is a great tool to use on thick coarse hair but the problem arises when the hair is OVERly razored…. resulting in a Japanese or Canto popstar look!!!! (Canto stands for Cantonese)

No offense to these popstars but in my opinion, one should aspire to look more like a ‘rocker’ rather than a ‘Japanese/Canto Popstar’. Overly thinned hair not only looks dated but also too ‘girly’ and ‘feminine’, the exact opposite of what is desired. In other words – Passion Killers!! See below for examples of what I mean……

Now in order to achieve more of a rocker look, the hair should still be razored but in a more controlled way. Hair should look piecey and not too wispy, unkempt yet not gelled looking, done yet not look done! There is such a fine line between the 2 that to some peoples eyes, I could be just talking a load of rubbish, but for those in the know, those subtle and slight differences in hair techniques make or break a look.

And for me,(and I’m sure alot of other women) they make the difference between: Rocker V Japanese Popstar, Cool V Cheesy, Funky V Feminine, Good V Bad and Sexy V Ewww!!!! As seen below……

So for all you guys out there, make sure you ask your stylist to give you a style that give you all of the positive traits and not wonder why women/men are not looking your way !! You have been warned!

7 Replies to “How to NOT look like a Japanese or Canto Popstar….”

  1. To be honest with you Helen, I dont think they actually ask for the orangey-yellow look, I think its a matter of bad color jobs!! As in, bleach isnt left on long enough, and no toners to take off that nasty yellow tone, yes, but definite passion killers!!

  2. I've never quite understood the appeal of the bleached orangish-yellow look, as in the first picture on the left of Passion Killer examples. I see this look emulated by other young-ish Asian guys. I notice how the men in the Rocker photos opted for natural or close-to-natural hair color.

  3. Thanks Brian, it seems its a good job I used Takeshi as an example, everyone seemed to notice much more, good one, I enjoyed putting this one together.

  4. 'Passion-killers' – LOL! Well posted, this needed to be said…

    And I'm sure if you are trying to pull off this style (or any other style for that matter), having looks like Takeshi Kaneshiro certainly doesn't hurt!

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