PDA

View Full Version : Get a perm or not?



angela123
March 30th, 2011, 02:24 PM
okay so im trying to grow my hair out. but i hate the way my hair naturally is, its frizzy and dry looking but its not dry.. its also curly but its not the full curls that i want.. so i was thinking maybe get a perm and it mess it up once and just put gel and stuff in it and wear it like that or keep flat ironing it?!?! and ruining it everyday. im also growing it out so i figured if i didnt use heat it would grow. but right now my hair is kinda on the short side actually its really short.. its about 3 inches from bsl... so pretty much what i was wondering is do any of you ladies have advice or have done something similar to this.. my x boyfriends little sister cut her hair shorter then mine back in 08 and she got a perm and just wore it curly everyday and didnt use heat (let me add that she doesnt color her hair either) now her hair is all the way to her waist.. lucky* is what she is.. lol

so any advice on this will be good!

Hotrox
March 31st, 2011, 12:33 AM
Hello and welcome :D

Can I suggest that before you get a perm that you read through the wavy and wurly thread and the conditioner only washing thread in the main forum. You may have curlier hair than you realise, often with the right washing and drying techniques you can learn to bring out your own curl without having to chemically damage your hair with a perm.

MeganE
March 31st, 2011, 12:50 AM
Welcome!

I think it's a good thing that you found this site before you permed it! I've seen a couple people join right after making a big hair decision, and then they get more educated about hair and often wish they hadn't done it. So at least this way you can research it a bit before making a decision.

Since you asked for advice, I would go ahead and suggest that you not get a perm, since your goal is to grow your hair out. Perms are damaging to the hair, and damage is bad for hair growth. And your hair sounds like it's already damaged from heat styling every day, so what it needs now is lots of TLC!

Like Hotrox said, your hair will probably start to look a lot better on it's own once you learn some of the great tips on here about how to maintain healthy curly hair. I know the site can be a bit overwhelming at first (I've been on here every day for a couple weeks and I still have barely scratched the surface!), but take your time and read as much as you can about your hair type.

A good principle is that the better educated we are about our hair, the more we'll know about how to take care of it and maximize it's potential. :)

Eolan
March 31st, 2011, 02:32 AM
If you find your hair frizzy now, a perm will get it even frizzier. I got a perm back in '97 and trust me, that stuff DRIES your hair out. If you want to grow your hair out I strongly advice you to not perm it. Instead look at the suggested threads above and you might find a routine that makes you feel better about your hair. It might just need moisture. I just cut my hair back to APL and I know how it is to feel akward about your hair. I can assure you that once your hair is longer it won't feel like that. Just be patient and hang in there!

NouvelleNymphe2
March 31st, 2011, 08:53 AM
Welcome :). I totally agree with the above 3 posters, you just got a bunch of really good advice there. I can only add a couple of personal experiences. First, perming my hair destroyed my hair. And second, that once I learned how to better care for my hair I have developed almost a 1c wave, and I thought I was a straighty before.

spidermom
March 31st, 2011, 08:59 AM
I agree with Hotrox. Frizz often means hidden curl. Experiment with how to bring it out. I find that wetting my hands, rubbing styling gel or aloe vera gel over and between my fingers, and then twirling strands of hair really gives me great curls, or at least it did before my hair got so long.

Even when perms come out good, after you get 4-6 months of grow-out, there will be a big difference between the permed and unpermed hair for most people. That's a styling PITA!

morecowbell
March 31st, 2011, 09:22 AM
I agree with Hotrox. Frizz often means hidden curl. Experiment with how to bring it out. I find that wetting my hands, rubbing styling gel or aloe vera gel over and between my fingers, and then twirling strands of hair really gives me great curls, or at least it did before my hair got so long.

Even when perms come out good, after you get 4-6 months of grow-out, there will be a big difference between the permed and unpermed hair for most people. That's a styling PITA!

^This is great advice!
I've been recently considering a perm to add waves to my hair (my Mom is amazing and perms my sister's TBL hair twice a year into spirals), and the only thing that is stopping me is the grow out. I know I won't want to put stinky chemicals on my hair my whole life, so at some point, I'll have to grow it out, and that would stink.

I second (third? fourth?) the suggestion of trying out some methods for styling curly hair, you might find you already have the curls! :)

anemix1005
March 31st, 2011, 09:48 AM
My advice:
DON'T!
I hated my wavy/curly hair because it had so much volume and fizziness, so I did a permanent straightened and at first it was awesome having controled hair all the time ... then when it started to grow ... :( you can tell ...
my hair wasn't that damaged because I never put anything on my hair like a dye or anything, but it looked waful some months after I did it and I regreted not having ejoyed my length at that time (I could have done dsooo many wonderful things with my natural hair!)

Firefox7275
March 31st, 2011, 11:05 AM
Welcome! :) Do complete your profile including current routine and hair type as it really helps people tailor advice to your needs.

When you say frizzy do you mean that your hair is fluffy/ poofy/ flyaway? If so chances are this is down to you not having found the right products or routine. Going by your avatar I agree you may have better curls than you realise - mine has got curlier and curlier each wash now I am not trying to force it straight! :p Twenty years ago I had a couple of perms and now I realise that was a complete waste of money and damaged my hair needlessly. It was this thread on naturallycurly (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/47609-post-your-before-after-cg-pics.html) that made me try scrunching my hair, as several of the before shots look strangely like my hair. :o

angela123
March 31st, 2011, 12:55 PM
Thank you ladies so much.... When my hair was long it curled good.. i wish i could put pics up but i guess because i havent posted enough i cant.. it wont let me do anything to my profile??!?! let me try to add links of how my hair use to be and when i cut it

*natural no color..
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/18338_414304050607_508355607_10596658_7693606_n.jp g

*highlighted
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/18338_414304220607_508355607_10596679_8271647_n.jp g

*for some reason it curls better when highlighted
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/40125_10150323202950608_508355607_15831996_1775702 _n.jpg

*biggest mistake of my life
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/18338_414304150607_508355607_10596671_29136_n.jpg

*grew back out
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/18338_414304300607_508355607_10596690_5214322_n.jp g

http://a2.l3-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/102/836db7574fd843ef875baac87be0f482/l.jpg

*went back to natural color sortof!
http://a4.l3-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/83/94cf882a4dd240abba6c4e5980557d27/l.jpg

*this i did this dumb mistake!!!
http://a1.l3-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/94/88fad8610187459795bf3f824e5fab5a/l.jpg

*may of 2010
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/30798_10150185660335608_508355607_12386694_3613054 _n.jpg

*feb 2011
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/185708_10150413826460608_508355607_17391206_640017 1_n.jpg

but ive just been wearing my clip in extensions which i learned how to scrunch last night and that match my hair perfectly.. lol!

i know its alot of links to look at but its kinda depressing to me.. my hair use to grow so fast.. when i cut my hair to that first bob it was like aug 07 and the next pic after that was in jan 08.. idk what happened i guess when i was younger my hair grew faster.. but after that pic with the brown hair that was around april 08

angela123
March 31st, 2011, 05:14 PM
i learned how to do it now!!!
but this is my hair with extensions..
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/196955_10150484438225608_508355607_17967927_790713 6_n.jpg

and this is how i want my hair
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/196272_10150452233615608_508355607_17841100_468005 0_n.jpg

DoubleCrowned
March 31st, 2011, 05:39 PM
I just wanted to point out that it took seven years for me to get rid of damage from my last perm. That's seven years that could have been growth, but it all got chopped off instead.

With M/C ii/iii hair that already has some wave, I agree with the others that you may be surprised at how much curl you can coax from your hair once you concentrate on nourishing it and babying it with a cleansing method that brings out its best qualities.

It would be cool to have that model's hair. It would also be interesting to know how long the hair dressers fawned over her, how long her curls had been out of the rollers, and how long the curls stayed like that...

spidermom
March 31st, 2011, 05:51 PM
Whether your hair is permed or not, you will need a roller set to get the kind of sproingy curls in the picture you posted. So why not skip the damage of a perm and pick up some rollers and setting gel instead? You might need end papers, too, since it's absolutely essential that the ends go onto the curler completely smooth. Pin curls might work, too.

honeybunny_1996
March 31st, 2011, 06:05 PM
A perm will damage your hair and will only slow down growing out your hair. If i were you i would just accept my hair and wear it naturally, wearing it in updos and such to make it look nice.

angela123
April 1st, 2011, 11:12 AM
okay..... i think i said i wasnt gonna get one now..

Funwithsharps
April 1st, 2011, 11:17 AM
I am quite anti perm! All of my attempts to do so were not only expensive but they failed miserably! It looked ok for about 1 day...then no matter how well cared for...it turned into an 80's looking frizz ball. It takes a long time to grow out too. Not to mention the damage that they cause.

jojo
April 1st, 2011, 11:19 AM
I agree with Hotrox. Frizz often means hidden curl. Experiment with how to bring it out. I find that wetting my hands, rubbing styling gel or aloe vera gel over and between my fingers, and then twirling strands of hair really gives me great curls, or at least it did before my hair got so long.

Even when perms come out good, after you get 4-6 months of grow-out, there will be a big difference between the permed and unpermed hair for most people. That's a styling PITA!
listen to this lady! she taught me a lot! I still use the wet hands AVG method and it works.

elbow chic
April 1st, 2011, 11:21 AM
It would be cool to have that model's hair. It would also be interesting to know how long the hair dressers fawned over her, how long her curls had been out of the rollers, and how long the curls stayed like that...

It would be REALLY interesting to know how much photoshopping went on after all that fussing. A magazine photo is an expensively, elaborately produced image. It's just not real.

BrightEyes7
April 1st, 2011, 12:24 PM
okay..... i think i said i wasnt gonna get one now..

So glad to hear that! I'm sure you'll be glad you passed on getting a perm. I have yet to see or meet anyone, here or IRL, that said "Gee, I'm really glad I got that perm".

Stick around here, I'm sure you'll be able to learn a bunch of new things that will help you get the hair you want, the healthy way.:)

spidermom
April 1st, 2011, 12:55 PM
Hooray for not getting a perm!

Chamy
April 1st, 2011, 01:03 PM
Nooooooo, dont do it. It is one of the most damaging things you can do to your hair. And it often ends up a mess. I have several friends that have had a perm, and the first week it looks good, but then it sort of falls out and looks bad. And some of them have even gotten a perm and then noticed that it didnt take on the whole hair, so some of the hair is still straight and hangs below the curly hair.
If you do decide to do it, think about it long and hard, and carefully select the best hair-stylist for the job.

ladydiane818
April 1st, 2011, 01:08 PM
I guess I'm in the minority, I always *loved* my perms. But I have very strong Asian type hair.

Just from your photo, I'd say you don't need a perm. The right products and techinque will go a very long way! I used to fight with my curls & waves, but now I embrace them, and we are all much happier!

jojo
April 1st, 2011, 07:45 PM
Glad to hear it, natural is always the best!

angela123
April 2nd, 2011, 12:36 PM
thank you ladies so much... yeah i wanna know exactly what to do i tried to read the curly wurly thing but way to many pages and not enough info on what to do exactly so maybe someone could point me in the right direction to define them and what to use!