Everything I know about shukumo kyosei — Japanese permanent straightening — after eight years of doing it in Tokyo and Shanghai. What the treatment actually does to your hair, how to protect it in the first 72 hours, when to touch up, and which shampoos will not undo the work.
KINUJO publishes airflow, ReFa publishes temperature, and neither brand sells a dryer on Amazon.com. A Tokyo hairdresser compares both ranges, names the only model from each that runs on US power, and answers the Japan question separately.
Ichikami’s Amazon listings hide four lines under a dozen names. A hairdresser maps them, explains the sulphate-free cleansers, and picks one for each hair problem.
How to find a genuinely sulphate-free shampoo in a Japanese drugstore: the characters to look for on the back of the bottle, why medicated (薬用) labels break the usual rule, and the four I would buy.
Shukumo kyosei (縮毛矯正) is the Japanese name for Japanese hair straightening. A Tokyo-trained straightening specialist explains how it works, the 72-hour rule, and the three costs that come after: shampoo, dryer and touch-ups.
A Tokyo hairdresser compares the Dyson Supersonic and Panasonic nanoe dryers you can buy on Amazon US — one controls the air temperature, the other spreads the heat — and says which hair each one suits.
The ReFa SMART W is a light, 100–240 V Japanese dryer that keeps the air under a temperature ceiling — but it reads the room, not your hair, and it is not sold on Amazon US. A hairdresser on who should import it, which model numbers to avoid, and what to buy here instead.
Panasonic adds moisture to the air and spreads the heat; ReFa caps how hot the air gets. A Tokyo hairdresser explains which Japanese dryer suits your hair — and which one you can actually plug in in the US.
KINUJO sells six flat irons, and three are Japan-only 100 V models. A straightening specialist sorts the line-up, explains the Silk Plate, and says who should buy the KINUJO W.
A hairdresser breaks down what Japanese hair straightening costs in the US in 2026 — full head, touch-ups, why the quote moves, and how to tell good value from too cheap.
KINUJO, Panasonic and ReFa flat irons compared by a licensed hairdresser — all dual voltage, so the question is the plate, the temperature you set, and which ones Amazon US actually sells.