Hair Perm FAQs #101 - Do It Yourself Advice
Posted: Monday, May 22, 2006
by Mickhael Cannon
Best Beauty Products Supply Stores
Learn More About Permanent Waving Your Own Hair!
Want to change your hairdo? Aside from a mohawk, one of the most exciting ways to alter your look is with a "perm" or permanent wave. It can increase the fullness of soft, fine hair, put a curl or wave into straight hair, or simply make your hair easier to style.
The key to success in home perming is choosing the right product for your hair.
Curls 101
- Hair is curly or straight because of complex physical and chemical bonds. A permanent changes hair by breaking those bonds. You use rods to reshape the hair, then neutralizer to let the bonds reform.
- Make sure to treat your hair with the proper conditioners prior to the waving process.
- Sectioning and blocking involve dividing your head into uniform working areas. This requires a lot of practice and is a big advantage of a professional perm.
The strength of the perming solution used to curl the hair is measured by pH, which can be either alkaline or acidic. Ammonia-based compounds are added for greater alkalinity or removed for greater acidity.
Alkaline perms are good for strong curls, they process quickly, and they work at room temperature. They usually contain ammonium thioglycolate.
- If your hair is resistant to styling.
- If you want a strong, tight curl.
- If past perms relaxed too quickly.
- If your hair is delicate or fragile.
- If you want a soft, natural look.
- If you want to create body rather than a strong curl.
Breaks the original chemical hair bonds so the hair can be shaped to the curves of the perming rods. Can be used to create gentle or strong curls and waves. Adds body to fine, thin, or limp hair.
Alkaline compounds
Alkaline compounds are basic substances that cause hair cuticles to swell. These chemicals then penetrate the hair and break the chemical bonds that make hair curly. This allows the hair to be restyled into a new form.
Bases
Bases protect the skin from the caustic chemicals used in the relaxing process. They are inert emollients that cover the skin around the hair.
Neutralizers
Neutralizers stop the oxidization reaction that breaks the chemical bonds in hair. They also restore the pH of hair and reform the chemical bonds to conform to the new style.
| Alkaline Compounds | ||
|
Ingredient |
Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Ammonium hydroxide | Raises the pH to open the hair cuticle and dissolves the chemical bonds that make hair curly. | |
| Ammonium thioglycolate | An alkaline reducing agent, it's used to break the chemical bonds in hair. It's also caustic. | |
| Glyceryl monothioglycolate | An alkaline reducing agent, it's used to break the chemical bonds in hair. Though not as strong as ammonium thioglycolate, it's still quite potent. | |
| Sodium hydroxide | The strongest alkaline agent in kits, it breaks the chemical bonds in hair. It's also a strong base that does not require preshampooing. | |
| Bases | ||
|
Ingredient |
Description | |
| Petroleum | Used in sodium hydroxide relaxers to protect the user's skin and scalp during the straightening process. It also protects previously processed hair. | |
| Neutralizers | ||
|
Ingredient |
Description | |
| Hydrogen peroxide | Neutralizes the alkaline substances and reforms the broken hair bonds into a new formation. | |
- Hair that has already been chemically processed may need a cream conditioner applied to protect the hair before perming.
- Use protective gloves when applying chemicals.
- When wrapping hair around rollers, each section must be wrapped smoothly and evenly, without stretching the hair too tightly.
- After thoroughly rinsing out the permanent solution with warm water, a neutralizer must usually be applied for five to eight minutes to set the curl.
- Remove rollers and then rinse off neutralizer thoroughly with cool water.
- Hydrogen peroxide in permanent solutions can cause reddish highlights in dark hair.
- Frizziness can result from perming too aggressively or too frequently.
- Those with fine, thin hair may end up with uneven curls.
- Damaged hair can break easily after perming.
- Solutions can irritate the scalp.
- Do not use if you are allergic to any ingredient in the product.
- If any chemicals or rinse water gets in your eyes, rinse thoroughly with warm water and direct the stream of water away from the scalp rather than toward it.
- Use protective gloves when applying chemicals.
- Avoid contact with eyes, nose, and mouth.
- A permanent should not be attempted if the scalp is already irritated.
- Increasing the concentration of chemicals beyond the manufacturer's recommended directions may cause excessive damage to the hair and chemical burns to the skin and scalp.
Best Beauty Supply Store Cosmetology Staff
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More commentsThis was just what I was looking for. Thanks.
Thanks for the information ..it explained some very good things to me ..Any suggestions on best way to roll Home perm..I have soft/fine hair and years back when i had a perm ..for about a month after getting it ..Rod marks were still noticeable ..and no it wasn't a homePerm :) ~I actually paid very Good money for it .Warmest greetings Shelley!
Fine hair has less outer protective cuticle that adds tensil strength (ability to stretch without breaking) and less thickness than other hair types with more natural body and movement. Therefore, although fine hair can benefit most from permanent wave services in terms body, movement and ease in styling, it is more fragile and more easily damaged by salon chemical services than any other hair type.
That said, many salon chemical service technicians that provide chemical services may be tempted to place more fine hair on a perm rod than is required causing the rubber perm rod band to permanently mark the hair as the hairshaft swells thicker during the chemical processing service. A rule of thumb for fine hair, when sub-sectioning the hair for wrapping, is to only place the amount of hair on the perm rod that comes from a section of hair that is the exact length and width of the perm rod being used.
Another issue is the selection of the actual perm solution itself - there are buffered permanent wave products that are specifically designed for finer, more fragile hair types. i.e. - Quantum Insite Perms for Fine Hair. Many newer chemical service technicians may select a firmer perm solution designed for other hair types out of fear of fine hair not taking a perm well - this is a mistake that will result in over-processed/damaged hair as the end result.
Thank you so very much for your kind question and for allowing me to be of service to you!
Sincerely,
Mickhael Cannon
ok so i dyed my hair then gave myself bleach blonde highlights about 4 weeks ago, now i want to perm my hair so i went and bought a perming kit for colour - treated hair i was wondering if it was safe to do this or will my hair fall out :(Warmest greetings -
Just as you would get an assessment or written estimate from a automotive repair shop, you may wish to consult a licensed hair color / permanent wave technician at a reputable salon for free. They will assess your hair's condition and may even ask to take a small sample of your hair to test overnight to see if it has the tensil strength to withstand a permanent wave process using a perm specifically designed for highlift bleach blonde hair types. Sometimes they will give you a few deep condioning treatments over two weeks alternating between protein and moisture treaments if they feel your hair was not yet ready for a permanent wave service.
In your kind service,
Mickhael
Hi Mickhael. I was wondering if you could give me more suggestions on which professional perm solution to use. I'm getting my first perm done and I wanted to have it done right and with the least damage so I want to make sure that the solution I'm getting is the right one. I'm having a stylist come to my house and do it but I have to get the materials... I have lots of hair and its healthy and not too thick, so i thought of using the fine hair one, but i also want the curls to hold.Thanks :D
I did a perm on a friend but didn't use all the solution. Can I use the left overs om me a couple of days later or does the solution oxidize? How long will the solution last?
Hi Mickhael, I want to do a home perm with a friend helping. I’ve gotten perms for 30 years, but lately the salon perms I've gotten aren't that nice (although I’m pleased with the coloring I get, very gentle). I have fine, straight, soft hair, somewhat sparse (especially on top), not much swing. But in past when permed it was nice. Before I started coloring my hair, my former hairdresser (no longer available) used white rods, and L’Oréal Paris acid-based perm; she said my hair took longer than usual for perm to take: 30 minutes. (Does that mean I have “resistant hair”?) . My more recent hairdresser uses pink rods but I feel they're too thin, giving me spirals rather than curls. Last time he didn't condition my hair before giving me perm as he had previously. It came out like a frizz. He probably left solution on 12-15 minutes (rough estimate), the curls were nowhere near tight enough. He only briefly rinsed out perm solution before applying neutralizer, which I suspect is insufficient. Now several months later, my hair is in good shape and I want to do a home perm. Could you give me overall advice? What kind of prior conditioning treatment to use? When to use it? Do you agree re using white rods? Should I also use those long sticks you put on each rod to keep the curl tightly on the rod while perming? How to decide how long to leave perm solution on hair? I found two possible perm products; what do you think? 1) L’Oréal Paris Première Perm for color-treated hair; 2) Quantum Insight Perm: (Which one to choose from their long list?) Thanks so much!
I got a perm yesterday morning, can I wet my hair or should I wait the 72 hours?
Hi, my friend gave me a perm last week, using a loreal perm for treated hair it had been coloured about 5 weeks prior. I looked great and the she put a conditioner on. The curls then dropped and when it dried I have a head of frizz. What do I do ? Can I reprem it if so how long do I have to wait.Please help. Frizzy in B.C.
Hi Michael, My hair is naturally gray with little color upper back. Around the face and back my curl takes pretty well. The top either does not take the curl or retain it. Within a week to ten days the curl is already gone and so is the body when I curl it on the curling iron. I have tried shampooing with baking soda the night before, they have used clarifying shampoo at the salon, but nothing has helped. Can you help me? I have thin hair on top. I really need the body and curl to help with height and this only makes things worse. Thanks.
Hi, Can you give me the names of some home perms that are acid based please? I normailly use L'Oreal Velvet and have used both the normal and the colour treated pack. I am wondering if the colour treated version is acid. Many thanks Irene
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