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View Full Version : Growing out Perm...HELP!!!



CoveredByLove
February 9th, 2013, 07:43 PM
I need some suggestions on how to deal with growing out a tight curly perm! I don't use heat...not even a blow dryer. I CO wash or use Nature's Gate shampoo and conditioner. No cone gel. So, in other works, I keep my hair routine as gentle as I can now that I have discovered how to properly take care of ones hair. (You guys are awesome :o I have learned so much on here!) My hair is currently at BSL and I have about four inches or so of non permed straight roots. I've tried using foam rollers at night to smooth out the perm, but when I take them out in the morning it turns into a frizz poof. Is there a non damaging way to losen these perm kinks?! Or am I just going to have to live with it? I'm thinking about henna for its many benefits, one of which is loosening curls. Will this work on my perm? At least a little bit? Or is there some sort of miracle straightening stuff out there that doesn't fry your hair? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :o

Shermie Girl
February 9th, 2013, 10:30 PM
I don't know how henna would effect permed hair. Henna does relax wave and curl for many users but as far as I know, none that I have heard of had a perm.

If you are thinking of using henna just for the possible curl relaxing, I would advise thinking again. Henna is fabulous stuff but it is permanent. I am talking a nuke won't bomb that stuff out of your hair, permanent. So, unless you know for a fact you want to be a henna red head, I would suggest you find another solution.

Maybe a good hairdresser could help you with a relaxer or reversal process that will smooth your hair? It may be damaging but if done right it might not be too bad then you could grow and trim it away while enjoying straighter, smoother hair, in the meantime.

Shermie Girl
February 9th, 2013, 10:30 PM
Ooopsie! Double post. Now, how did I manage that? :p

<3OnHerSleeve
February 9th, 2013, 10:42 PM
I permed my hair 5 years ago. The longer your hair gets, the more it weighs down so eventually it's not going to be as frizzy. It sounds like the main problem is that you need lift at the roots so that the difference isn't so obvious until the perm "falls out". Which is an inaccuriate term by the way, my perm never "fell out", it grow out and I cut it out. CO sounds the way to go, intensive conditioning treatments to help weigh down the curls and the length will also start to weigh it down somewhat.

If you do anything chemical such as bleaching or another permanent treatment, the hair will go VERY dry and frizzy. I'm afraid the only real way to get rid of it is to cut it out gradually or all at once. If it's not too dry or damaged, it should be fine but it's mostly weight that will straighten out the curls or if you use foam rollers make sure you hair is very damp when you put them in if you put them in overnight. This I've found, retains the moisture as it dries into a curly position and the hair remains soft and lifted rather than dry and frizzy.

jennafrogg
February 9th, 2013, 11:34 PM
I went to beauty school when I was younger ( never graduated though ) and one of the worst things I saw happen to hair, was when someone attempted to do a perm on someone that had henna in their hair. it was melting off, and it was a total disaster. I'm not sure how it would work doing in the opposite way, but I imagine that combination of chemicals/henna on the hair is not good for it either way.

Oldfashioned
February 10th, 2013, 12:29 AM
Keep in mind I haven't tried these but they are non-damaging options. Using milk to relax hair (like a leave in) and also milk of magnesia is supposed to do some relaxing on african type hair so I'd imagine it would help. I was just doing google searchs for straightening natural hair since I'm a wurly girl and that's where I ended up! Lol. Hope this helps. :shrug:

Allychan
February 10th, 2013, 12:34 AM
If you are going to go the henna route, I'd try doing a test patch on your hair to see if it is going to cause further damage. I personally have henna'd over a perm, bleached, straightened hair and chemically dyed hair (yep I have tried it all...), I never had any melting problems. BUT, doing a test on your hair is highly recommended. Don't be tempted to straighten the perm with more chemicals, I tried that too and my hair went to 'triangle head' straw! Cutting it out gradually may be the best solution if you want it to stay healthy and not exacerbate more problems.

cindy58
February 10th, 2013, 03:17 AM
A long time ago I used to perm my hair -- I found that when the perm was fresh or too tight, washing with the Pantene that was shampoo/conditioner in one relaxed the curls. It also loosened the curl of my sister who has naturally curly hair. The effect only lasts while you're using that product, it doesn't really change your hair.

Mesmerise
February 10th, 2013, 04:55 AM
I went to beauty school when I was younger ( never graduated though ) and one of the worst things I saw happen to hair, was when someone attempted to do a perm on someone that had henna in their hair. it was melting off, and it was a total disaster. I'm not sure how it would work doing in the opposite way, but I imagine that combination of chemicals/henna on the hair is not good for it either way.

I think this is probably because the person had used "henna dye" rather than pure henna. Henna dyes are often formulated with metallic salts to give colour variations and these can react VERY BADLY with chemicals indeed! However, pure henna isn't a problem, and you can perm it, straighten it, bleach it, colour it etc. etc. and it won't melt the hair!

Iku-Turso
February 10th, 2013, 05:50 AM
I've permed my hair a couple of times, and I had quite tight curls (they were made with the smallest curlers they had in the salon). After a year I still had those tight curls, so sadly loose waves were just a dream for me. Like <3OnHerSleeve, I had to cut the curls out to get rid of them.

When the curls started to grow out, and the straight roots vere starting to be visible, I learned to hide them. This made living with the perm more tolerable. Mam_abshire, maybe you could try these (root lifting) techniques? People often assumed that I had taken new perms, because the curls just didn't seem to grow out :)

Couple of months after the perm, I started to make small loops with my hair. I just pinched some straight hair from the roots between my fingers, and tied one soft hair elastic around it. You actually don't need to do all your roots this way, just the hair around your parting.
When I had about 3-10 cm of straight hair, I twisted these kind of small bantu knots in my roots only, after every time I washed my hair. I let them dry over night.
And, when I had 10+ cm of straight hair, I started to bantu knot the lengths also. I never used heat, but sometimes I added hair mousse to the roots.

jacqueline101
February 10th, 2013, 07:32 AM
I grew mine out naturally and I'm glad I did. It aloud me to see the progress.

spidermom
February 10th, 2013, 08:43 AM
When you do roller sets, don't brush or comb the curls out; just let them fall into place. Do deep conditioning treatments and trim regularly.

lunalocks
February 10th, 2013, 10:08 AM
I would try large rollers (2 inch diameter or more) on your damp hair, and finger comb when dry if you do anything at all and you may get large waves. This worked for me once, when I had mid back hair and permed it without layering. Eventually the curl loosened on it's own and bit by bit I trimmed it off until, at one point I cut to chin, and then it was all gone.

lapushka
February 10th, 2013, 10:11 AM
I would "respect" the curls you have, and do the curly girl method until it grows out enough that you can cut the curls out. If you have wavy hair growing it out is fairly easy. That's how I did it.

mzBANGBANG
February 10th, 2013, 12:49 PM
I know I have the most obvious answer, but I think it's pony tail time. Put it up and forget about it for a year. Also, some oil and cones might weigh it down a bit. Maybe Mane n Tail conditioner. It's full of heavy ingredients.

biogirl87
February 10th, 2013, 01:36 PM
I know I have the most obvious answer, but I think it's pony tail time. Put it up and forget about it for a year. Also, some oil and cones might weigh it down a bit. Maybe Mane n Tail conditioner. It's full of heavy ingredients.Seconding cones suggestion. Some members on uTT have said that Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth actually straightens your hair. The shampoo/conditioner is not too expensive and I'd use a heavy coney conditioner on your length to get the length that was permed to lie straight. Faster and easier (in my opinion than trying to get the roots to be curly).

CoveredByLove
February 15th, 2013, 03:05 PM
Wow! A HUGE thanks to all of you! Sorry for the delayed reply (I didn't recieve any notifications so I thought no one commented!) I will give these suggestions a try. :) The LAST thing I want to do is something drastic, like another chemical process. I've had half my length break off before because of heat damage and I'm just now reaching BSL and I don't want that problem again! Unfortunately, there is a huge difference between my natural hair and the tight curly perm...my hair is fine and pretty straight...like baby hair but maybe not that fine. I love the root lifting techniques you guys suggested and conditioner recommendations. I've got some henna coming in the mail too! First time for that! My hair is darkest brown so I'm reading up on how to achieve that "cherry cola" result. Anywho...thanks again! And with a little patience I can slowly cut this perm out. Goal #1: trim out perm Goal #2: reach TBL!!!
Thanks everyone! :happydance:

UltraBella
February 15th, 2013, 11:08 PM
My suggestion is a Caruso Mollecular Hairsetter. Non-damaging and was a lifesaver when I was growing out a perm as a teenager. Smoothed out my perm, gave great body and soft curl to my roots.

Cowgirl16
February 18th, 2013, 10:17 AM
I had a tight perm I was trying to grow out too so the last perm I had I permed my hair straight. My hair was almost to my shoulders; best thing I ever did...