Many people are desperately seeking ways to escape the summer heat, and businesses are cashing in with new services to help them cool down.

A shaved ice machine at the hair salon Asai in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, whirs as owner Takanori Asai, 37, mixes the shavings into shampoo to wash customers¡¯ hair with it.

Calling it the Shaved Ice Shampoo treatment, Asai started the service in 2011 after noticing that the shampoo bubbles didn¡¯t change with or without the ice.

¡°It feels refreshing, like taking a dip in the pool, and it feels amazing when you walk outside into the heat,¡± said university student Hirotaka Miyamatsu, 23, after the ice wash.

The shaved ice shampoo is available with any haircut for an additional ?315. But customers can also opt for a treatment that uses carbonated water at the end for an additional ?525.

Another item that¡¯s becoming popular is the ice sauna at Executive Spa and Capsule Wellbe¡¯s Sakae branch in the city of Nagoya.

The sauna, which fits three, is chilled by a pipe that releases cold gas inside to ensure it stays at a frosty temperature of minus 5 degrees. And its blue-white lighting makes it look just like a commercial freezer.

Sweaty customers look invigorated once they enter the room. According to sales representative Hidenobu Wada, 46, the ice sauna helps tighten one¡¯s skin and boost metabolism.

¡°It¡¯s a great way to battle summer lethargy,¡± he added.

In other parts of the city, a restaurant in Atsuta Ward has come up with the ¡°ice pot dish,¡± a pot of cold soup topped with ice, cooked cucumbers, tomato, corn, pork meat and other items.

The Kanayama branch of Akakara, an ¡°izakaya¡± (pub) in the Kora Group, added the dish to its menu on June 10. It recommends adding noodles to turn the item into a bowl of spicy cold ramen with various toppings.

Since the restaurant normally specializes in ¡°hot pots,¡± business tends to suffer in the summer. Hence the idea of adding a cold dish to the menu.

¡°I¡¯m sure this ice pot will tempt even those who have lost their appetites (in the heat),¡± said Akakara employee Yukihiro Furuta, 40.

This section, appearing Saturdays, features topics and issues from the Chubu region covered by the Chunichi Shimbun. The original article was published July 13.