I have mid length, virgin, wavy/slightly curly hair. I've been looking at getting a perm but the salon I'm looking at's pictures of perms all look like the first and second pic, like someone brushed out and drenched the hair in hair spray. How can I get more defined ringlet curls like the 3rd picture?
well, that turned out surprisingly well. I agree with this comment -find someone that specializes in this area.
Your perm looks great!
This was my hair after my first perm. Ignore everyone else they do not all look crunchy and frizzy. Yes if you get perms frequently it will kill your hair but if you treat your new curly hair like anyone else with curly hair would, then they’ll look healthy. Loads and loads of products, shampoos and conditioners specifically for curly hair. A weekly hair mask etc.
This is what my French friends perms look like!
And don't wash the perm too often with shampoo. Conditioning only between shampoo
I have naturally curly hair, but my family mostly have straight hair and this is always how it came out when they tried perms. I haven't seen too many (that I was aware of), but all of them always looked dry and permed curls/not natural ringlets. If your hair is already wavy/slightly curly with the right haircare routine you can probably get the curls you want in a healthy way. I learned a lot from r/curlyhair and me included didn't realize until later in life how curly my hair naturally was because i was using the wrong products/styling methods. Good luck! Check out the curly girl method.
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/a34292024/curly-girl-method-how-to/
I do do the curly girl method and that's exactly what gets me to slightly curly 😅. Without it I'm 100% wavy. I shampoo, put conditioner on, rinse, put curl styling balm in on soaking wet hair and then curl mousse but the curls only last about a day or two (I wash my hair about once a week). Sometimes I use a seasalt texture spray to freshen up the "curls" mid-week but it makes my hair look a little dirty imo.
Edit: I wanted to add that my main problem with my natural hair is that it's a lot curlier on the right side than the left so I can never get it to look uniform so that's what's making me want a perm
I'm 37 still trying to figure out my combo of products (it's always changing with weather and age). The people on the curly sub are very knowledgable and probably can recommend some products. Sounds like you may put too heavy of products that weigh down the bounce but they would know better over there. I was like 13 and still brushing out my curls because I thought I had frizzy straight hair lol It's been a struggle ever since.
Have you gotten a curly cut/dry cut? Sometimes sides lay weird because of the way it’s cut. Also look up the bowl method! It’s too time consuming for me but when I do it I come out with curls that are 🤌 and I’d describe my hair as wavy at best on its own.
I've tried the bowl method but maybe with the wrong products because it didn't really do anything different to my hair than my usual routine. I have curl cream now so I might revisit it. Also I don't know if and how to find someone where I live that knows enough about curly haircuts to do that
Curl cream works wonders for me! Also ooo do you have hard water? Getting a filter helped too. Idk where you’re located but looking on Instagram for curly salons is how I found mine.
I do have hard water, also I live in Bulgaria. I'll check out to see if I can find any salons in my city that have posted perms on insta
I did check out Instagram and I found a whole lot of crunchy hair, spoilers for the finale of the show I'm watching 😂😂 and one salon that I consistently like the results of but is on the other side of the country
The third pic is natural curls. And yes perms always look like the first 2. No matter what they tell you.
Do they at least look less crunchy after a while?
My Korean friend gets perms and they look amazing and natural but I think they only work for a very specific hair type and also don’t work well with dyed hair. You could ask a Korean salon or a salon that does more “modern” perms.
I live in Bulgaria (not even in the capital) so I don't have a very wide range of options for where to go. I don't believe there's a Korean salon here and I don't really know how to look for salons that do modern perms
They have to be well done. The first time I got a perm it was crunchy and gross the entire time. The second time (different stylist) it was a world of difference. The first week it looked crunchy but after that it was phenomenal. My hair straightened out a little when I was around 7/8 and then it’s been two textures of straight up top and wavy the bottom half. Getting a perm really helped the curly go all the way up.
It’s not the perm that looks crunchy. It’s the fact that you need soooo much product to define the curls and cut the frizz. Don’t you think that if a perm looked like pic 3 that everyone would be getting them? And that people wouldn’t talk to negatively about perms?
I have no idea about the negative things that people are saying about perms. I've only seen videos of people that were happy with theirs and I don't know anybody that's recently got a perm irl. Also I'm aware that curly hair is frizzy, I'm at least somewhat prepared for it since my natural hair it already frizzy so I have purchased a lot of products to tame it (my natural hair), like a mousse, a gel, a curl cream, a curl styling balm.
Sounds like no matter what anyone says you’re going to do it anyway. So why ask?
They do. When they're "fresh" they tend to have a tighter look. Three months in and they're much looser. I do not currently have one, but I've tried them out in the past. How natural they look does depend on the rods and placement. Body waves are also an option if you're just looking for some fullness.
They don't always look crunchy. The first 2 look over processed
Not all perms look like that speaking from experience
All perms have the same nature
It seems like you just don’t like perms with is totally fine, but they don’t all look like this. Depending on which rods you use you will have different curl patterns. Going to someone who specializes in perms will mean you’re more likely to get a perm done that matches your hair. Shorter hair using bigger rods will have more natural looking curls
No that’s not how it works. The different size rods don’t give you a curl that resembles natural curl. A larger rod just creates a curl that hangs looser. I have so much experience with this, which is why I say not to listen when people say they can look natural. Stop trying to make people believe that. I understand that being earlier in your career you find it necessary to people please.
It entirely depends on how you wrap them tough too. You can achieve a more nature curl depending on their hair, the rods, and how you choose to place your wrapping.. Also why are you assuming the previous commenters were early on in their careers and/or trying to people please? That reads pretty hateful.. just saying.
Hey friend, you aren’t the only hairstylist in this conversation. You are not good at doing perms is all this comes down to. Theres nothing wrong with it, but using different rods with different wrap styles and brick lay can produce natural looking curls. There are in fact people who specialize in it who do it daily. Please stop telling clients something isn’t possible just because you can’t do it.
No I can do it, I just have taste. Good hair is subjective to some and objective to those with taste. Have you seen that at least 50% of posts on here are people complaining about frizz and have no clue what to do with it? Curl pattern is not the issue. You have to be able to understand the bonds and the structure of the hair that are broken down and restructured during the process and how the hair texture, density etc play a role. There are physics involved that make it so that performance wise - the permed hair can not duplicate that of natural curls. It’s literal science.
Natural curls also have frizz. The problem is stylists who don’t tell their clients that they have to style it and it’s not something that they can just wake up and brush like straight hair.
“I have taste” no you’re a judgy stylist who thinks anything that you don’t personally do is bad. Theres plenty of people in the comments who get perms that they love so you are literally wrong. Have a great day bc I’m done arguing with someone who thinks their shit don’t stink
Yeah that's just not true. If you look after your perm by maintaining it with the /r/curlyhair routine you can easily get natural looking curls. I've had them for years now and it always looks like the last photo.
Professional hairstylist with 15 years in the industry...
Perms mimic curls. They are ALWAYS dryer and "crunchy" looking. You can get a perm maybe twice a year without causing too much damage. They also "relax" a bit after. So you can basically start with super tight curls, that soften into waves, but by the time it's what you want, it's frizzy and grown out.
The only time I recommend a perm is on my "cotton ball" ole ladies. Their resistant gray hair never holds a curl without a perm. They'll wear that cotton ball all week if they have a perm, and just keep shelacing it with spray 😂
I have a question. what if a person with natural curls or waves put the perm solution onto their hair and scrunched up their curls really good and let it process? would that 'lock in' the natural wave?
Hahaha "scrunch" them? Absolutely not. Perms only work bc they are rolled on something to give the hair it's final shape. You could roll curly hair on larger rods and "soften" the curls, but you'll still end up with perm curls that don't look natural
I was just curious what would happen if you put perm solution onto already curly hair. would it do anything or just dry it all out?
Again, putting perm solution on hair will "lock in" whatever shape the hair is in while wet. So if you put zero rollers in the hair, just applied perm solution, let it process, it will just take the shape of however that hair is laying while wet with solution. It will also dry the hair out, as will any chemical application.
No perm will get you picture 3 results
Not true. If you adhere to the curly girl method you can get results like the 3rd pic with a perm. It's not hard. You just can't treat it the same as straight hair.
digital perms girl. they can do any shape you want- from hella curly to light waves (just to give shape and volume). i was in shanghai last month and they can even do like perms that mimic 90s blowouts now
Sounds great but I just don't think I could find that In Varna Bulgaria on a reasonable price. We're a country who's very behind on everything 😭
I have a friend who got a perm and it looks very natural and well defined. I think it depends on how strong your hair is and how well you know how to take care of it.
Sleep in rollers. Less damaging
Don’t get a perm. It destroyed my hair. It never looked natural either. If there isn’t product in it every day it’s super puffy and frizzy. When your natural hair starts growing out it looks super weird and awkward since the rest of it is permed too. If you get another perm on top of it to keep up with the style, it will damaged the already permed hair so much more. I ended up shaving my head and letting it grow back out so I didn’t have to deal with it, my hair was also falling out from medical related issues too so I wasn’t too beat up over it
You can definitely get #3 with a perm, but the rollers have to be the correct size and the parting has the be right, you need slightly bigger rollers rolled spirally. You also need someone who can style curly hair! It’s the product and styling that makes it look so dry and crunchy
I thought it might just be the styling but I still wanted to ask to be sure
These are my PERMED curls, I was asked all the time if they were natural. If it’s done right they can look natural🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
That's a nice perm!
I personally got curls almost exactly like #3 with a perm. They just have to use multiple sizes of rods. Also I have naturally very thick hair so if yours is thin I'm not sure.
i’ve gotten my hair permed at about that length before and i gotta tell u dont listen to these ppl telling u it will never look natural. people think i have natural curls all the time and it really all depends on ur hair’s natural moisture level and toughness. if u have a good head of thick healthy hair and a stylist who knows how to perm well + how to help you care for it your hair can easily look like the third pic. being 100% real tho, ur options are limited if the stuff i just mentioned isnt possible for u
I do have thick healthy hair so I might just plan a trip to the capital to find a proper salon 🤔
If you have a place that does digital perms, they use heat together with perm, so loose curls holds longer. But perm is super drying. I don’t recommend. it’s annoying but curling irons make the prettiest curls anyway.
Thank you for this post, I have the same doubts 
spiral wrapped w bigger rods probably would get a better result
but if your hair is already curly there isn't much of a point? you could just experiment w styling bc any perm at all is gonna be a little damaging since it breaks the bonds in the hair
The point is to get curlier hair that has a more uniform curl pattern. Mine is only as curly as I like it 1-2 days out of the week and even then one side is a lot straighter than the other
I always got spiral wrapped perms for body and it wasn’t natural looking by any means but still much better than the regular kind. I gave them up by the late 90s but often tempted to try them again. I miss feeling like I have more than three hairs on my head. But the damage and the frizz. 😩
You can try a wet set style. I do mine in pin curls but you can do rag curls too!
my problem with those is that I do everything really slow so it'd probably take me hours to do every night and I have a very low frustration tolerance so I'd probably say fuck it and stop midway through
No unfortunately. It’s a shame that perms have been advertised as a way to get natural looking curls forever now because even with the best perm it still looks like a perm.
maybe try different rollers, im pretty new at cosmetolegy so im probably wrong
Its done tight because they eventaully do fall out.
I’ve seen Korean perms all over tiktok but idk if they’re available all over the world. It’s very natural beautiful waves
I have naturally curly hair and my hair looks like the third photo
They can use a diffuser for a bouncy look
The first two are how they look right out of the chair and when people don't look after them. Yes you can get gorgeous ringlets from perms.
I've had perms for years, the trick is that you ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT treat it the same as straight hair. You must adhere to curly hair routines (/r/curlyhair) including using the correct products and methods. Do not brush it, use a plop, squish the condish, scrunch the crunch all of it.
People assume that you get a perm and just wake up with ringlets, not even naturally curly hair is that maintenance free.
Idk but I’ve always wanted a perm!
An influencer I follow on IG (@garbo.zhu) has a perm that looks really natural to me. I do think it's possible.
(if you treat your permed hair like natural curly hair)
How long do they last?
This is what my natural hair looks like
Yes, I didn't want to look like a poodle or Bozo the clown, so told my beautician soft waves, not heavy curls. If she didn't listen, I went home and washed my hair, it softened the perm a little
Ngl, that first one was a bit of a confusing jumpscare.
It looked much better as time went on.
Do not get a perm.
They only look natural on a very slim minority of the population that have some natural existing waves. That specific hair type will have a natural appearance after a Perm. Otherwise, no, they either turn out crunchy or Bingo Parlor-esque.
Girl no and don’t let them lie to you. I went to a really high end and highly recommended salon and showed them pics very similar to the third one you have here (natural curls) and they swore they could do that with a perm. It literally came out looking like the second pic. Afterwards, when complaining, some hairstylist experts told me that that look could only be achieved through natural curls (gods favorite I guess but go off) or a curling iron - but a perm could not be used to replicate it. I’ve heard that many times since. Broke my heart but I wish the salon had been honest with me before I spent so much money & time & cooked my hair..
All perms look like the second pic the day you get them. But if you maintain them with the curly girl method you can very easily get third pic looks. You just can't treat it the same as straight hair. You have to protect your curl pattern.
I did and people are shocked that my ringlets aren't natural.
Maybe it’s by hair type then :-( my hair is already somewhat curly in a weird way so I had used the curly girl method and curl-specific products for that routine but unfortunately it still stayed the second pic for me. But I’m happy (and VERY jealous lol) that it worked for you! I was just passing along to OP what everyone told me after I was disappointed with my results because everyone told me it was impossible to expect those natural ringlet curls with a perm :/ even thought the salon said yes!
What is wrong with people
Same could be said about you. Your comment is so unhelpful and rude.
You get from life what you put into it. Life can be beautiful and fun and filled with love. You just have to put that out to others. I hope you can find some positivity in the future.
Have a great rest of your day!
I just feel bad for ugly women im sorry
This is what my hair (link to photo) looked like with my last perm. I have no product in my hair in the photo. Make sure you confirm ahead of time that the stylist you choose knows how to do a perm. I think it's not done very ofter these days so not every hairdresser knows how to do it correctly.