Japan is known in the fashion industry as being really edgy and being the trendsetters for every country around the world. They brought us a trend called Harajuku. Harajuku is a place in Japan, near Tokyo, where young people go to socialize and wear the edgiest and most fashion-forward outfits. These outfits, or costumes, are very bright and extremely unique with neon colors, gloves and patterns. Gwen Stefani then brought it over here to America when she started her own fashion line called Harajuku Lovers that launched in 2005. There is a new beauty trend Japan is now known for called the bagel head. The name of it pretty much says it all. And who knows, maybe it will be brought over to the U.S.
The bagel head trend is exactly what it sounds like, a bagel on your forehead. No, not literally getting a bagel and sticking it on your face, but actually going through surgery to produce a bagel or doughnut-like shape on your forehead. Weird? Absolutely! All it is, is a saline solution that is being pumped into your forehead. You pinch your forehead together and stick a needle through the skin that injects 400 cc’s of saline solution into the middle of your forehead. Japanese people who have done this treatment say that it is a soothing process and feels good, but also gives a lot of pressure and stinging sensation at the same time. This does not sound too pleasant to me. After about two hours of sitting there with saline being pumped into your head, your forehead then looks like it has a big lump in the middle. Since that lump is fresh and is full of saline, this is the easiest time for the doctor to put pressure onto the middle of the lump with his thumb. The pressure from the thumb allows the skin to go down and creates an indent. That’s it. Your bagel is now complete.
You are probably wondering, “Why in the world would these people put a bagel on their head?” My thoughts exactly, but the reason they do this is because they want to be “in.” Instead of buying a new pair of skinny jeans, they just get injected. Bagel heading for them is like us getting tattoos. This is the way the Japanese deal with body modifications. The only bad thing, I guess, would be the time limit for the bagels. They only last up to about 16 to 24 hours and then the swelling starts to go down. Once the swelling has gone down, the forehead goes back to normal and looks like nothing was ever there. On a positive note, if you hate it you can just wait it out for a day and it will be gone, but then if you really like it and want to stay fashionable you have to repeat the process over and over again and that could be very dangerous.
People undergo intense surgeries that require more than a needle through the skin, but the bagel head trend can be detrimental. The human body can absorb saline, so that is not the problem. However, if the saline is too concentrated, the body can become very dehydrated and won’t allow the body to process all of the salt. Another danger that the Japanese need to worry about is the sterilization of the saline. If the saline isn’t sterile it can be harmful to the body and can create a bacterial infection. This sounds a little scary. Oh, and not to mention the stretching of the skin.
Tokyo is great for its fashion trends, and it’s awesome that Gwen Stefani brought over some of the Harajuku spirit over here, but please Gwen, I think it’s safe to stay that we can leave bagel heading over there.