How To Choose Who'll Perm Your Hair

By Author: Dave Roth
Total Articles: 126
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You'll have to make some decisions if you decide to get a permanent wave � which a lot of people just call a perm � in your hair. Sure, you'll have to figure out whether you want some body and waves or a lot of tight curls, or maybe something in between, but you'll also have to figure out who's going to do the job. It will cost you a lot more if you head to a salon. If you do it at home, it might not quite turn out the way that you'd hoped. This could still happen if you go to a salon, but there is less of a chance that you'll have a problem. The stylists who work in salons don't guarantee what they do, but they have experience with cuts and colors and perms that most people don't have. With that in mind you'll have a better chance of getting the results you want and the stylists will do a good job. It's important that you go to the right stylist, too, if you're going to go to one at all. However, if you decide to go it alone at home, you'll really need to get someone to help you out. No matter which you choose, there are things to consider, so talk them over with others, do your research, and take your time. Like ...
... getting a bad haircut, getting a bad perm means you mostly just have to put up with it while it's there, and it can take a while to leave.

If you decide to go it alone, there are a lot of different home permanents on the market. You need to be careful of how harsh they are, because some of them can burn your hair. You should also pay attention to whether you can use them with other chemicals. If you dye your hair, for example, is using that brand of perm ok? If you can use it, how long do you have to wait between coloring and perming? If you don't follow the directions well, what kinds of problems can you have? It's important to know these kinds of things. You don't want to find out that you're going to have a bad reaction to a chemical after you've just put it all over your hair. It's another reason to do a patch test, as well. Usually you swab a bit of the solution onto the inside of your elbow and leave it there for a couple of days � the instructions will tell you how long. If you have no reaction to it, then you don't have to worry about it damaging your scalp. A strand test is something else that you might also want to do. To do this, you'll need to snip off a small piece of hair and put the perming solution on it for a required period of time. If you do this you can see whether the solution will curl your hair in the way that you expect, to help avoid surprises.

If all of this sounds like a bit too much for you, you might want to just go to a salon and let the professionals handle it. Certainly it will be a lot more expensive than doing it yourself at home. It will also be safer for you and your hair. You won't have to worry as much about bad chemical reactions, the frizz that you might get if you permed it at home, and other issues. Stylists are usually pretty thorough about how they check for hair coloring and adverse reactions. You won't need to worry because they'll do tests to make sure you aren't allergic and it won't damage your hair. Avoiding the hassle of home perming and just going to a salon to have it done if you can afford it is usually the way to go.