Perms

[lapushka]

I've been growing out a perm for a few years now, a perm which I got for practical reasons. If I were to have the perm cut off right now, my hair would be between chin and shoulder length, which is about the length it was when I had it permed. I'd be back where I started. Not going to happen. My hair's about half an inch away from WL right now.

Are there people out there who had their hair permed before? How did you get rid of the perm? Did you patiently grow it out, all the while keeping your hair long, or did you sacrifice length to get rid of it all at once?

I've been growing my hair since getting it permed, having the odd trim, but not losing sight of my goal length(s). It isn't so bad right now because I have quite a bit of length left that's permed versus virgin length and so the perm is still very practical. However, it's going to get to a point where there's actually more virgin growth versus permed length at which point I might have to sacrifice the length depending on how it looks. I'm just not sure if I can have it all chopped off at once.

And so I'm wondering... How did you do this?

[andrea1982]

Usually (from the perms I've seen) it seems like the curl loosens enough that it's not too noticable to grow out a perm. Also, because of your hair type, you'll probably get away with it no problem. You could also try braid waves, or wear a lot of up do's. (Up do's will protect fragile ends while you're growing out as well).

[erika_d]

Well, I;m not in that situation right now, but Ive been there. I had my hair permed at about chin length and then it popped up to ear lobe length with the curl. I immediately started growing it and as it grew, I had to straighten the remaining permed hair every time I washed i or else it looked hideous. I have poker-straight hair normally, though so it looked awful.

I cut mine regularly once it reached chin length again and waited for it to grow out there. in the meantime, like I said, I straightened it.

But also, like I said, my natural hair is poker straight and it looked terrible to just leave it. I would say if your hair looks ok with the ends permed, and you've been happy with it growing out up until now, just keep trimming until it's gone. Do you have any pictures?

[Sammich]

When I had my perm, I let it grow out with trims.
Like above poster said, curl loosens, and I was able to look fine growing it out. I enjoyed it actually.

[DARKMARTIAN]

Perms, for me,.... can go into the "Smells that instantly put you in a bad mood' thread......:o

[lapushka]

andrea1982 -> Yep my hair type's pretty okay with it, except the length and weight does pull my waves out more than normal for some reason. Sometimes I do wear braid waves and they're really great. Maybe that's the key to just letting it all grow out gradually.

erika_d -> Sorry, no pictures.

Sammich -> The curls do loosen just not when it's freshly washed then the curls are back to their natural, freshly permed, state. They only get looser after wearing updos.


Perms, for me,.... can go into the "Smells that instantly put you in a bad mood' thread......:o

In the eighties they sure did smell horrible. This one was pretty much okay, though. The perm solution didn't smell as strong.

[DARKMARTIAN]

In the eighties they sure did smell horrible. This one was pretty much okay, though. The perm solution didn't smell as strong.

Yeah...I gotta admit, I havent gotten a whiff of one in a long time...I do remember it being offensive though....:p

"80's perms"....oh my gosh.....LOL

[1hunky5monkeys]

I'm growing out a 2 year perm. Virgin hair is about APL. My hair has enough wurl I can scrunch and blend it so it really isnt noticeable. Why did I get one in the first place??? :confused:

[SpinDance]

Several million years ago, back when I had my hair permed (high school and university), I always just let it grow out. I've enough movement and the curls loosened enough that it wasn't terrible, and braids hide a multitude of sins.

[pepperminttea]

My hair was around MBL when I cut my perm off - all at once, up to chin length, several years pre-LHC. I hated the cut, but I really did like having 'my' hair back again. The line between unprocessed hair and permed was a lot more noticeable for me, since I'd dyed it several times as well. It'd faded to a kind of pinky orange damaged mess. If you've got a more subtle line of demarcation, I'd just trim it - maybe pause at waist length and maintain it for a while until you're perm-free?

[lapushka]

If you've got a more subtle line of demarcation, I'd just trim it - maybe pause at waist length and maintain it for a while until you're perm-free?

There's a visible difference, sometimes more than other times and the curl pattern does loosen with updos (which is great because then it looks more natural). It's not that bad yet so I'm not complaining at this point. I first thought I'd stay at BSL for a while until it all grew out, and I ended up growing longer. I'll decide once I get to WL what I'll do. Maybe it won't be difficult to go beyond WL. I've had a lot of breakage due to the perm and some split ends but S&D helped hugely!

There's no such thing as a quick perm, though. I've learnt that much. This perm's been on my head for a couple of years now (and I'm still glad I got it at the time). It looks like it's going to take at least a couple of years more to get it out of there completely, at least if I want to keep some length to my hair.

Thanks for your input so far you guys! :)

[TinaDenali]

My DH has curly hair and when I met him he used to buy this stuff from Target that was an at home relaxer and it worked really well. He couldn't be bothered by his hair now, so I'm not sure if it's sold anymore - it was about five years ago now.

Anyway, it was really gentle on his hair. It was like a five step process (I did it for him a few times before he stopped) and even included a protective oil for the first step to protect the hair from the chemicals. It seems you might be able to apply this sort of thing to your permed ends to create an easier transition?

Though, that would just mean more chemical damage and I'm not sure where you stand on that. Just wanted to throw that out there. :D

ETA: Apparently this is a lethal combination.

[Laurenness]

I got a perm on slightly past shoulder length hair in February (before I knew all this wonderful, great stuff for my hair.) It looked cute at first, but in the summer it drove me crazy! No easy, quick styles like with straight hair!!!Right now my hair is shoulder length and the permed part starts at a low-chin length. I was thinking of cutting it just a tad shorter next time just to get rid of more of it!!! It seriously bugs me now, because it looks ridiculous if I leave it to dry without doing anything. 2/3 of my hair is stick straight, and that bottom part is curly! Blegh! Let's just say, I can't wait to get my hair back!!!

[twopoints]

which I got for practical reasons?

There's a practical reason for a perm?

[hazelnut]

My mom used to get perms from a family friend who was a hairdresser. After a few months, my mom switched hairdressers and the second hair dresser told her that she really didn't need a perm. She was told that a flatiron would most definitely suffice. So she stopped getting them. She had to let her hair grow out gradually and trim while she grew it out to get rid of the perm.

[kwaniesiam]

My DH has curly hair and when I met him he used to buy this stuff from Target that was an at home relaxer and it worked really well. He couldn't be bothered by his hair now, so I'm not sure if it's sold anymore - it was about five years ago now.

Anyway, it was really gentle on his hair. It was like a five step process (I did it for him a few times before he stopped) and even included a protective oil for the first step to protect the hair from the chemicals. It seems you might be able to apply this sort of thing to your permed ends to create an easier transition?

Though, that would just mean more chemical damage and I'm not sure where you stand on that. Just wanted to throw that out there. :D

The chemicals in perms and the chemicals in relaxers react horribly when mixed together, please never do this.

[TinaDenali]

The chemicals in perms and the chemicals in relaxers react horribly when mixed together, please never do this.

Geeze, sorry. I didn't know.

[kwaniesiam]

Geeze, sorry. I didn't know.

That's okay, just a warning to anyone that may consider it :) Relaxers are made of sodium hydroxide typically, and perms contain ammonium thyioglycolate. When mixed together on the hair it can literally cause the hair to melt away.

[pinchbeck]

I once got a horrible poodle perm at a hair dressing school. The teacher was the one to recommend it. To get rid of it, I bought a perm kit and permed my hair straight by applying the perming solution to my hair and using a fine toothed comb to straighten it. It actually worked!

[LawyerGirl]

I got a perm out of curiosity and hated it... so I chemically straightened it (several weeks later) and it was much better :-P I was worried it would be doubly-fried but it felt better being straightened than permed.

[HoneyJubilee]

My perm curls only lasted about a month so I didn't have to worry about growing them out, but I was still stuck with the damaged hair. I was able to let the damage grow out with 2-3" trims once or twice a year instead of chopping it all off at once.

It was irritating because at the time I thought my straight hair was sooo boring. I was also nearly in tears the whole way home because the stylist had whacked my waist length hair off to about shoulder length before perming it when I had asked her to only take off a couple of inches (I think she wanted to use less goop but still charge me for a long hair perm). It probably looked fine, but since I was expecting to have curls/waves at or just above BSL I was devastated. I've met some great stylists since then, though, and have given up on having curly hair.