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View Full Version : Hair permed twice, and now it's an ugly mess. Help!



PermProblems
June 28th, 2015, 08:40 AM
So for several years now I have been perming my hair every year to get some nice curls. I have always loved it and I would get it done from the same salon with the same stylist who knew how to do it.

I moved to another country last year and my perm grew out. Last week I took a chance at a new salon who claimed to know what they were doing. Long story short, my hair ended up looking like a poodle's hair. The curls were too small and frizzy. Went back after a couple of days to demand my money back but opted instead to let them correct the first perm with a second one for free.

The result was better than the first one. But I noticed that it only looks good when damp. Once my hair is completely dry, the curls look stiff and straight. More liked crimped and stringy rather than the soft curls I was dreaming of.

Any advice on what should I do? I really really regret my decision now and would like to undo the perm. I bought this product called One N Only Curly Remover normal formula online. But it won't be here for another couple of weeks. I read great reviews about it and how it undid perms so your hair gets straight again with no damage. What do you guys think? I cannot live with this stringy mess for a month much less the time it will take to grow it out. :-(

Btw, my hair didn't break off after the second perm. But it feels really dry now.

Quasiquixotic
June 28th, 2015, 08:47 AM
i would suggest a protein deep conditioning treatment to repair what you can, and then follow up with lots of moisture/conditioner. Look into LOC (liquid, oil, conditioner) on this site and in general baby your hair.

Hugs, it will get better!

Stormynights
June 28th, 2015, 09:12 AM
Use some oils and conditioners only. More chemicals will not fix problems caused by chemicals.

lapushka
June 28th, 2015, 09:22 AM
I would suggest not touching it *any* *further*, or you might stand to lose a lot of hair. Hair can only be "damaged" a few times. Like after 3x bleaching... you pretty much know the consequences (breakage, chemical cut probabilities).

I had a perm done years ago, after 4 months I had it done again. I know - too soon, but I did so anyway. My hair was riddled with white dots and damage - which is grown out now. I just let it grow out. I think that's the best you can do.

Meanwhile, I left the salon a poodle, but at home I did a modified CG method and my curls were magically revived. I say try the curly girl method first and see what that does for your curls! It can be found online. Just google "curly girl method".

meteor
June 28th, 2015, 09:46 AM
i would suggest a protein deep conditioning treatment to repair what you can, and then follow up with lots of moisture/conditioner. Look into LOC (liquid, oil, conditioner) on this site and in general baby your hair.

^ This, absolutely! :agree:

PermProblems, could you tell us how your hair strands feel if you stretch them? You could try it on a strand or 2. If it stretches too much and then doesn't seem to return to normal shape, you need more proteins, but if it snaps right away - you need more moisture and elasticity (humectants, occlusives, emollients).
Chances are, you need both proteins and moisture after 2 perms: hydrolyzed proteins (silk, keratin, oat, etc) followed up with lots of moisture (SMT + LOC). For proteins, I'd recommend something like Aphogee 2-step reconstructor (http://www.sallybeauty.com/Aphogree-treatment/SBS-670567,default,pd.html) or DIY gelatin mask (http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/04/gelatin-protein-treatment-recipe-update.html).

Also, pre-poo oiling with penetrating oils (e.g. coconut) should be helpful because they add elasticity to hair and prevent too much keratin loss that can happen during washing: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/03/oil-pre-shampoo-or-pre-wash.html

Also, I'd for sure go back to the salon, telling them about the extreme damage - they should be able to do a deep treatment, e.g. Olaplex (thread on this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=124721)), which was created for reducing perm damage originally. Or at least they should refund you or something. Do not let them do any perms or other damaging chemical treatments like that again. They shouldn't have done it the second time - it's like adding damage on top of damage. :(

Above all, treat your hair super-gently now - NO heat styling, sleep on silky materials, keep hair up as much as possible, use seamless wide-tooth comb, don't manipulate hair too much, don't overwash it, but condition it quite heavily. :)

Best of luck! :D I hope it will get better soon! :flower:

Kiiruna
June 28th, 2015, 10:09 AM
I know that feeling. I took two perms within a month (January - February), which was not very smart. My hair is quite resilient, but it was too much. Even with the best care I could provide, my ends went rough and splitty.
Now perm has worn off a lot, it's not nearly as curly as it used to be, it's more easy to manage and much softer. It'll still be a long journey to grow it all out.
Just be patient - I know it's hard, but that's all you can do right now. :)

PermProblems
June 28th, 2015, 10:53 AM
^ This, absolutely! :agree:

PermProblems, could you tell us how your hair strands feel if you stretch them? You could try it on a strand or 2. If it stretches too much and then doesn't seem to return to normal shape, you need more proteins, but if it snaps right away - you need more moisture and elasticity (humectants, occlusives, emollients).
Chances are, you need both proteins and moisture after 2 perms: hydrolyzed proteins (silk, keratin, oat, etc) followed up with lots of moisture (SMT + LOC). For proteins, I'd recommend something like Aphogee 2-step reconstructor (http://www.sallybeauty.com/Aphogree-treatment/SBS-670567,default,pd.html) or DIY gelatin mask (http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/04/gelatin-protein-treatment-recipe-update.html).

Also, pre-poo oiling with penetrating oils (e.g. coconut) should be helpful because they add elasticity to hair and prevent too much keratin loss that can happen during washing: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/03/oil-pre-shampoo-or-pre-wash.html

Also, I'd for sure go back to the salon, telling them about the extreme damage - they should be able to do a deep treatment, e.g. Olaplex (thread on this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=124721)), which was created for reducing perm damage originally. Or at least they should refund you or something. Do not let them do any perms or other damaging chemical treatments like that again. They shouldn't have done it the second time - it's like adding damage on top of damage. :(

Above all, treat your hair super-gently now - NO heat styling, sleep on silky materials, keep hair up as much as possible, use seamless wide-tooth comb, don't manipulate hair too much, don't overwash it, but condition it quite heavily. :)

Best of luck! :D I hope it will get better soon! :flower:

Hello! So I did a strand test and the hair was able to stretch for a few seconds and even felt a bit elastic before breaking. I will definitely try the hair care tips you guys have recommended. But I really wanna look for a remedy. This is the product I was talking about.

http://www.folica.com/reviews/hair-care/hair-treatments/one-n-only-curl-remover?ssw=s

I know another chemical treatment is the LAST thing my hair needs right now. But a lot of the glowing reviews were from women from the same boat as I am. They got a perm and hated it, and the product seemed to undo the perm with minimal damage. I admit that this gives me real hope. Has anybody tried it before? You think I should give it a try?

meteor
June 28th, 2015, 11:06 AM
^ I've never tried this product.
But just one look at the ingredients list is telling me, I'm afraid, it's a relaxer, chemical straightening treatment, basically another perm - only to straighten hair, rather than curl it. I would highly recommend against doing a third treatment like that.

Ingredients

Step 1 Formula:
Ammonium Hydroxide, Ammonium Thioglycolate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Diammonium Dithioglycolate, Fragrance, Laureth-23, Mineral Oil, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Water.

Step 2 Neutralizer:
Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteth-20, Disodium Phosphate, Hydrogen Peroxide, Methylparaben, Mineral Oil, Oleaklkonium Chloride, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Wat



There are ways to straighten or smooth out hair without any heat or chemicals, basically focused on wet-setting: e.g. banding hair with scarves, hair-wrapping, setting it in jumbo foam rollers, etc, etc. I'd highly recommend going this route for manipulating hair texture, because it's not damaging, especially for hair that's been through a lot. :flower: