Perms a practical option for control and volume

The purpose of this monthly column is to share my hairdressing experience with you, as I have with my clients over many years. It will be published on the second week of each month. I hope you will find it useful and feel free to send in your questions.
This month I will talk about perming hair. This is one of my favourite hairdressing services and I have quite a bit to share with you. Perming is very practical for control, holding a style and creating volume which in turn makes the hair look thicker. Here is some information, as well as a few words of caution.
Perms/body waves Many clients have asked the difference between these two. In the late 70s and early 80s the term "body wave" was introduced in hairdressing to describe a looser perm in an attempt to attract a younger clientèle. The fashion began to change from setting hair on rollers to wash-and-wear perms, hence the need for looser curls. By introducing a new word, clients began to inquire about it. For the hairdressers, it meant that we would use bigger rollers to achieve a looser curl.
Personally I have always thought of styling, colouring or perming as specialties. There is a lot more to learn in each of these fields after completion of our apprenticeship. Not every hairdresser develops a real passion for all hairdressing services. I have worked with many hairdressers, both here and overseas, who say they don't particularly enjoy doing either styling, colouring or perming.
Caring for permed hair It should be relatively easy to care for permed hair. You need to use a quality mild shampoo and a good conditioner, usually labelled for coloured, permed or chemically treated hair. The shampoo needs to be rinsed to a stage of "squeaky clean" before conditioning, but a bit of conditioner left on your hair will be nourishing and give it more control for styling. When applying the conditioner you feel the hair becoming silky and soft. If time permits, the conditioner should be left in for one or two minutes before being rinsed out, just to the stage before the "squeaky" feeling returns. By doing this your hair will stay slightly coated and protected from over-drying. In fact this conditioning method also prevents static in the hair. You may want to use a small amount of styling product, half of what you would normally use. No need to be heavy handed with products until your perm has grown out.
Wash & wear perms Washing your hair twice or three times a week should be sufficient with permed hair. Using a spray bottle to dampen it every morning will revive the curls and the styling product you have in it. Applying a little bit of styling product (mousse or styling cream) will hold the curls in place while drying and the result will be much nicer for a wash-and-wear perm. Without a styling product you may find that the hair flies out of place while drying, even just while walking if you have fine hair. Once completely dry (not damp, very important), you can lift the roots with a rake comb where you want more volume, trying not to comb right through to the ends. If you normally use hairspray, you will find that you need less than your usual amount.
For a support to blowave or set Permed hair is a great support for styling and helps with keeping the style in longer. To save a bit of time for a blowave, the hair can be dried slightly first. The use of a hot air brush (tongs) is fantastic to finish off the drying and roll it into place at the same time, much easier than using a blow dryer and round brush. Once your hair is blowaved or set, you need to stay away from the rain (or shower dampness) to avoid the perm curls returning.
Perming long hair Even though we can use big rollers to create a looser wave, the fact is it would not be as loose as the "long waves look" we see on TV and magazines at the moment. That look is achieved with special tongs. Realistically, what can be done with long hair is a spiral movement. Depending on your type of hair and the length, a looser spiral may not hold very long as the weight of the hair stretches it. Perming long hair is also time-consuming for the hairdresser so you would need to consider the cost versus the time it would last in your hair. An experienced hairdresser should be able to advise you during a consultation.
Perming coloured hair
Whether you have long or short hair, if you've had "pre-lightening" or "lifting" colours done in your hair, as in blond foils or streaks (including some vivid colours), your hair will get destroyed by the perm solution. The same may apply to home-done colours or excess colouring. That's just the way it is with chemicals; some can be mixed but others simply can't. Good-quality perming solutions should not damage healthy coloured hair but fading is to be expected, nor should it damage natural healthy hair. It may dry it out a little but the use of a good conditioner will compensate for that.
Lack of experienced hairdressers in the perming field
Once again, waves are being revived in hair fashion. If you never see people having perms in the salon you go to, the chances are that the hairdressers there may not have much experience (or interest) in doing them, specially if they have trained in the last 15 years or so, and have not worked in salons that do perms. There are so many factors that contribute to the success of a nice perm and lots of experience is the most important one, followed by good advice on how to care and style permed hair.
In a nutshell, it's perfectly fine to perm natural or coloured healthy hair to make it look fuller or to give it body and control. Today no quality perm solutions should dry the hair out excessively when done the right way, but you must be honest with the hairdresser as to what chemical work has been done to your hair in the previous year, or more if you have long hair. Perms are fantastic when done right but keep in mind that the term 'perm' comes from the word 'permanent'. That means until your hair grows back.
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Most experienced hairdressers will be able to help you understand these simple guidelines. Keep in mind that hairdressing is an artistic field as well as a trade, which means that you may hear a variation of opinions and ideas from your own hairdresser. Email your questions to paul.brooks@wanganuichronicle.co.nz