I’m usually quite adept at home hairstyling techniques and have done most of my own coloring, highlighting and cutting, but I’ve never quite got the knack for home perms.
First off, I’ve tried them several times over the course of my life, and each time the curl seems to drop out within minutes after rinsing the solution out. My hair is really fine and was quite long at the time, so it tended not to hold much of a curl.
Currently my hair is fairly short, but seeing as it’s still fine it doesn’t do much other than lay flat on my head. I’ve had some success with a curling iron by flipping out the bottom layers and putting a little body into the top layers, but it takes about an hour and a half – time I really don’t have to dedicate to fixing myself up in the morning. Thus, I’m thinking a perm might be a good solution. So I ask you, humble dopers, what’s the deal with perms and why haven’t they worked for me?
Should I give up on this idea as it hasn’t worked for me in the past, or do you think that I might have more success with shorter hair? What are the best products out there, and are there any tricks or techniques I should know about?
You might not be able to do it yourself. Just the thought of rolling your hair perfectly, saturating each rod with solution, leaving it on the correct amount of time and neutralizing, leaves me to believe I’d mess up my hair. Do you have any friends or neighbors who could help you? Maybe you need a second pair of hands and eyes.
I have very thin, fine hair. I have it a little longer than shoulder length, but it’s cut in long layers. I use a fat curling iron and spray gel to give it body and lift. And I have highlights, which make it look lots thicker.
I’d give up on the perm idea. They’re murder on fine hair, and you might not be happy with the frizziness. You’d have to curl it out, in that case. But if you decide to go with it, I suggest getting a professional perm. They can roll it evenly and have better chemicals. But they’ll still fry your hair.
I wouldn’t even try. And perms don’t necessarily fry fine hair; I had a whole series of really bad perms in my early teens, and I have incredibly thick AND fine hair.
It’s worth the money to get somebody to do it for you, I think.
I mean, the perms were bad, but they didn’t damage my hair that I remember. My mom once got a perm that was the opposite of what she wanted that DID fry her hair, but our current hair guy is really good.