Health News / August 2007
Permanent Press
 According to Consumer Reports, in 1938, getting a permanent wave was “almost a national pastime” and the price had dropped to a dollar
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Hair permanents can be awesome or awful. The trauma of a bad perm is a memory many women carry, clearly and painfully, into their golden years. Despite improvements, permanents are still fraught with peril.
A permanent wave is a process that creates curl in the hair shaft by altering its internal chemical structure. Permanents must disrupt the structure of hair to be successful. To create curl and volume, permanent waving agents first break the disulphide bonds that give hair shaft its structure. Hair is then put into a new shape and ‘neutralized. In neutralization, chemical bonds are re-formed in new positions, a process that fixes the hair permanently into the new shape. The secret of great perms is in the manufacturer’s formulation and the stylist’s expertise. Considering their chemical complexity, it’s a tribute to the skill of stylists and technicians that so many permanents are successful.
Women have been trying to curl straight hair for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian women applied a mix of soil and water to their hair, wrapped it on crude wooden tubes and then baked their muddy hair in the sun. Their results were not that different from those of contemporary women who set their damp hair with rollers. Today’s women save time with blow dryers but, just like the Egyptian ladies, their hair goes back to its original shape at the next wash.
Permanent waves first became available in 1920. The waving lotion was heat-activated from an electrical device, but early models didn’t have thermostats, and the temperature was difficult to control. Early perms were harsh and drying, and left hair in tight, frizzy curls, but women still embraced them.
The cold wave was introduced early in the 1940s and is basically the same process used today.
In expert hands, permanents can create wonderful effects, but they aren’t an easy option or the best option for many. New, straight hair grows back about a centimeter every month, so the perm must be repeated or allowed to grow out. Some hair can stand repeated perming but some can’t and not all hair is suitable for perming.
Because it has the smallest diameter, and needs the minimum amount of perming solution and processing time, very fine hair is very difficult to perm. Red hair has a characteristic structure that makes it less likely to ‘take’ a perm. Some hair is naturally resistant to the chemicals in permanent solutions. Often, it’s an inherited tendency that requires using stronger chemicals, which can severely damage the hair shaft.
Hair continues to form new bonds for two or three days after the perm is applied. Shampooing during those first days can interrupt the ‘curing’ process and spoil the curl or lead to hair breakage. And, incorrect application of chemical solutions can dissolve the hair fibers or lead to hair breakage close to the scalp, days after the application.
Amateurs who perm at home without basic knowledge or experience, can create disasters.
Alkaline perms, the strongest, longest-lasting and strongest-smelling, are best for hard-to-curl hair and creating tight curls. Acid-balanced perms containing a gentler chemical with a lower pH are good for fine, thin hair or previously processed hair, although they must be left on longer or processed with heat.
The traditional perm involves curling the entire head of hair with horizontally placed rods. A body wave involves larger diameter rods for a natural, soft wave instead of a tight curl. A reverse perm is a form of straightening naturally tight curls into relaxed, softer, larger curls.
In a spiral perm, hair is rolled vertically rather than horizontally, creating ringlets or corkscrew curls. Some women maintain their style with a root perm, where rods are placed only at the root area to curl or give lift in that area only. For a spot perm, rods can be placed in just specific areas. A soft curl perm requires a two-part styling process using a relaxer to reshape natural curl.
All hair that has been treated chemically with a permanent is actually damaged to some extent and at greater risk of damage from daily hair care. Special conditioners and other protective treatments for permed hair can help. But, women with perms should shampoo gently, use wide toothed combs rather than brushes on wet hair, towel-blot hair after washing and use a diffuser for blow drying. They should use conditioners specifically for permed hair. Ordinary conditioners may over or under condition permed hair because of its varying porosity.
Ideally, coloring is only done after, not before, a perm. Subjecting hair to the two chemical processes can mean weeks, or even months, of bad hair days. PL
Copyright © 2007 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
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