We live in an age where technology pushes us to be faster, more efficient and more connected than ever. We make phone calls while walking down the street. We send e-mail messages from handheld electronic organizers. We have oceans of informations just on the other side of a mouse click.

Despite all of this time-saving technology, supposedly designed to make us more efficient and life more enjoyable, it has still not helped me find the answer to one of the more vexing questions that has arisen during my time in Tokyo:

Where are the good hair stylists?

More importantly, how can I find one without suffering the endless humiliations that results from blindly stumbling into mediocre salons? As any woman or salon-savvy man will tell you, there's nothing more humbling than walking into a salon to get a "few blond highlights" and walking out with a few green or orange strands of strawlike hair.

Yes, it can happen to you. But -- for only the cost of this paper -- you can avoid this embarrassment.

How, you ask?

Because over the period of a year I have sacrificed my hair (changing it more times than Madonna) so that you, dear reader, could avoid the sobering aftershock of a frightening hairdo.

In a bustling megalopolis like Tokyo, where fashion takes precedence over comfort, one would think that professional beauty services would be as ubiquitous as udon shops. And indeed they are -- that is, if you favor looks such as the gray or chartreuse locks that have become a favorite among Tokyo's teens (read: hair color gone awry).

So here is my pick of Tokyo's best stylists, masters who are dedicated to making you look gorgeous. On the next Style page (March 16), I'll profile the city's top esthetic salon/spas, the perfect places to pamper your body.

At Panorama, located a few hops from Harajuku's trendy Laforet, stylist Kaz Taira has earned a reputation as something of a color doctor for answering all the 119 beauty emergencies that come pouring in.

"When people come here, they're really nervous because they've had bad experiences at other Japanese salons," says the reassuring, London-trained Japanese stylist, known to his clients as Kaz. "Some even come in here crying because the other salons have just poured bleach over their hair, because they don't know what highlights are. Also, many Japanese stylists use color made for Japanese on Westerners -- and that's always a disaster."

Admittedly, I was a bit nervous, but once the friendly Kaz pulled out the hair-color chart for Western hair (which he orders from the U.K.) and told me that everything would be "koo" (cool), I knew we were speaking the same language. Both color and cut were ultra hip without being hysterical -- and best of all, he didn't turn my brown eyes blue.

Doctor Kaz's RX: "Come here first and you don't have to go through the agony."

Panorama is located at 6-5-2 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. Call (03) 3400-3901 for an appointment. Consultation is free and welcomed.

Some people were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Independent stylist Marco, however, was born with silver shears in his hands. A former stylist on the Matrix hair-care design team, Marco, who has trained with some of the industry's best, is Tokyo's answer to superstylists such as Manhattan's Garren. (Amazingly, Tokyo's fashionistas have managed to keep this hair guru one of their best-kept secrets.)

A New Yorker who comes from a family of Italian barbers, Marco's positive attitude and passion for his art are an unexpected delight in an industry known for its prima donnas. After only 30 seconds in his chair, I had already given him carte blanche to completely re-work my locks.

The result: My hair went from heavy shag carpet to positively shagadelic (and before a recent issue of Vogue declared the shag the sexiest in-look for spring) -- a nearly impossible feat with my thick, wavy hair. The litmus test: Marco's cut made a male friend blush the first time he saw it -- well worth my hard-earned yen.

If you're not feeling so adventurous, never fear: Despite Marco's own style of funky dreads with blue highlights, he can do the basics just as easily. Just ask his conservative Italian mother, who won't let anyone else touch her hair.

"My job is to make you as beautiful as possible," says Marco, who often uses a razor blade instead of shears to add texture.

If you haven't discovered him yet, book quick, because the word is his appointment book is filling up fast.

For an appointment, contact Marco at (03) 3496-6050 or (090) 4707-2394. He's located at 3-14-6 Aobadai, Meguro-ku. He will also come to you.

When Toni & Guy's Lincoln Wood took a sabbatical over a year ago to return to his native London for a few months, his loyal clients were in fits over who else could properly manage their tresses. Lucky for them Lincoln returned, and all was once again well in the world.

Trained by the world-renowned Toni & Guy team in London, which handles many of the runway shows during London fashion week, Lincoln fuses up-to-the-moment Toni & Guy looks with real-life wearability. A favorite among trendy young things and expat wives alike (who are smitten by his boyish good looks and trademark baggy cargo pants -- sorry ladies, he's got a girlfriend), he's got the kind of face that you would trust to handle even your most drastic makeovers.

Being the martyr that I am (what I do for you readers), I let Lincoln whack my mid-neck level mane into a chic short cut that even my short-hair-phobic man loved. While Lincoln doesn't turn water into wine, he did also manage to make my washed-out locks look healthy and lustrous again.

Book an appointment for Lincoln at Toni & Guy, (03) 3797-5790. The salon is located at 5-11-24 Minami-Aoyama.

What looked to me like an overgrown bush on my head that was in desperate need of pruning, looked to Mitsuko Endo at Daikanyama's Ash salon like an expertly trimmed bonsai that only needed an experienced touch-up.

After quietly musing over my hair for a while during our initial consultation, picking up the locks and studying them from all angles, Endo declared my grown-out cut sheer genius. "Who gave you this cut?" she demanded. (As it turns out, it was one of the above stylists.)

Endo, who trained at Vidal Sassoon in London, cuts with the precision of a plastic surgeon. No strand is left untouched by her artistic hand. Her patience and attention to detail are Sassoon trademarks, but she's also full of creativity and offers much more than the classic Sassoon bob. She spent hours highlighting my hair and cutting it to work with its natural texture, not against it. (Much less time fussing with it in the morning).

While Endo is more of a quiet type, she inspires confidence with her technical knowhow. Fellow Ash stylist Yoshiki Shirai is also a fellow Sassooner, and together they promise that you'll leave the salon looking amazing. After all, if you don't look good, they don't look good.