Perms are so 80’s… until it became a thing again recently. Perms are synonymous with tight curls sported by a lot of celebrities (or even your mom or aunt) back in the 80’s era. Beach waves, balayage services, permanent straight, or Brazilian blowouts weren’t a thing yet back in those days.

One thing is for sure: all perms look the same. This is because the technique to achieve the perm was the same. Hence, you will know if someone had a perm just by looking at her hair. Nowadays, you can choose how tight or lose you want your curls to be. You can even have hair extensions if you don’t want a perm on your natural hair.

Should you get a perm?

First of all, we need to understand what a perm is. Like a hair rebond or permanent straight hair, a perm also uses chemicals to change the hair’s texture and structure. This means a perm will permanently turn your straight hair into a curly ‘do. Among popular perms nowadays include a Japanese perm and a digital perm.

The former uses a special process to soften, smoothen, and straighten the hair. Meanwhile, the latter use heat styling tools and chemicals to add curls or waves to hair. There is also what we call spot perms which specifically concentrates on the roots of your hair. This is perfect for those who want to add volume and definition from the roots down to the tips of their hair.

Aside from hair, perms are also applied to lashes. An eyelash extensions salon may offer lash perming services as well. Perming and hairstyling in general have already evolved over the years. You can get a keratin treatment by a hairstylist from a trusted hair salon near your place.

Old school vs. modern perm

A traditional perm normally uses plastic rods and wraps the hair around them, transforming your hair into tight curls. After wrapping the hair around the rods, a perm lotion will be applied to let the curls set. Let it sit for a specified time before rinsing and blow drying it. A neutralizing product will also be applied to complete the curling process.

That was the traditional way of curling your hair. For one, hair salons now use rods of different sizes to create different types of curls (tight or loose, depends on your choice). Having said that, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all for perms. You can have the curls you want without feeling like you have time-traveled from three decades ago.

How to take care of a perm

There are a lot of hair treatment options that you can choose from. You can go to a keratin treatments salon or a hair extensions salon if you want to add volume and length to your hair. Speaking of hair extensions, you can actually do a lot of things including adding curls to it.

The perming process usually takes around 2.5 hours or even longer depending on hair type and length. Perms can also last from 3 to 8 months, again depending on the hair length. It can even last longer than that depending on the amount of care you give to your permed hair. Here are some tips to care for your permed hair.

• Let your hair air-dry instead of blow-drying it. This will help prolong the curly texture of your permed hair.
• When using heat styling tools, make sure to keep it on the lowest setting. Otherwise, it will prematurely loosen the curls.
• Use a wide-toothed comb instead of a bristled brush when removing tangles.
• Choose hair products specially made for wavy or curly hair.
• Do not tie hair tightly. If you cannot help but do so, use silk hair ties or scrunchies instead.

Conclusion

Anyone can get a perm. However, you should do some research first before trying this hair treatment. You might need to take extra precautions before perming your hair if you have color-treated or chemically-processed hair.

Thankfully, perms are no longer the one-size-fits curls your mom, auntie, or grandma used to have. You can choose between tight or loose curls, or get some nice hair color in a hair highlights salon in Olney MD.