Inspired by a celebrity, our reporter tries a simple solution. 

Our Japanese-language reporter Kouhey dubbed himself the “Thinning Hair Writer” seven years ago, and in that time he’s tried everything under the sun to promote new hair growth and restore his locks to what they once were. But even after all he’s done, though he hasn’t seen any major decline in his hair, he also hasn’t really seen any major improvement, either.

Obviously, it’s great that the thinning of his hair hasn’t gotten worse, and at some point, it’s probably best to love his hair for what it is, but to him, it would be nice to have something to show for all the hard work he put into improving his hair. That’s why he came up with one more thing to help combat the obvious thinning of his hair: getting a perm.

The idea was that if he curled his hair, maybe it would look more thick and voluminous, and although the chemicals used in perms are rumored to be bad for your scalp, Kouhey was willing to take this risk.

Kouhey’s inspiration for this experiment was the Japanese comedian Cunning Takeyama, who was once known for his thinning hair. “Was once” is the key term here, as for several years now, Cunning Takeyama has been perming his thin hair, and it looks much thicker than before. No one can know if in conjunction with his new hairstyle he’s doing AGA or other hair growth treatments, but looking at him now, you would never think he’s struggled with thinning hair.

▼ Cunning Takeyama and his perm

【🌟本日のオススメABEMA バラエティ🌟】

・深夜0時 カンニング竹山の土曜The NIGHT
#198～ 海外風俗ライターJOJO～
▶︎https://t.co/PPMESpNEYG

※放送後も1週間無料で見られます！

— ABEMAバラエティ (@ABEMA_Variety) November 5, 2022

So…why wouldn’t a perm also be effective for Kouhey? Kouhey made a reservation at a hair salon and awaited the day of his experiment. But before we get to the results, let’s see what Kouhey’s hair looked like before.

The top of his head, as you can see, had some pretty clear spots where his hair was thinning and his scalp was visible. Kouhey couldn’t help but wonder how different his hair might look with a perm. On the day of his appointment, he arrived with time to spare at his local beauty salon.

Before beginning the procedure, Kouhey asked his stylist to take pictures of more angles of his head for him. First is the front.

Next, the side.

And finally, the back.