Surviving a Hairtastrophe: The Bad Perm

Perms can make your hair curly without the effort of rollers or the luxury of being blessed with natural curly hair. Unfortunately, perms can also ruin your hair and leave you in tears if a stylist doesn't know what they are doing. When you are getting a perm you should keep a couple things in mind.

The first thing is that you need to get the right perm for your hair. The smaller the rods used on your hair, the tighter the curl in your hair. It honestly has only a small portion to do with the length of the time the solution is left on your hair. However, you should not allow an inexperienced person to put a perm into your hair. With the lack of experience, you can run the risk of having your perm come out poorly or being over processed. Then you will find yourself in a world of hurt by trying to repair the damage.

It is not uncommon for a perm regardless of the rod size to be really curly after the process. However if you do not want to wait and can't live with the kinky curls you can use Cholesterol conditioner to loosen up the perm. Cholesterol is available at beauty stores, Wal-Mart and some grocery stores.

There is of course another way to loosen your hair by using canola oil. If your hair is too kinky you can leave the canola oil on your hair for an hour or more. You will want to pull your hair up during this process and possibly place a bag over your hair. After an hour or two of letting the canola oil sit on your hair, you will want to make sure that you get all of the oil out of your hair. You will want to use a good shampoo, to remove the oil, followed by a conditioner. You can use this method for up to one week's time. If you find that you are still unhappy with the results of your perm you may want to consult your hairstylist for chemical options.

If you must go this route be prepared for high expense. You thought getting a perm was expensive just wait. Chemical hair straightening can cost $600.00 or more depending on where you go to have it done. You will also be left with less than stellar hair and must condition your hair to try and save it.

You should think long and hard about getting a perm, as it takes a long time to grow out, if you have long hair and can be a pain trying to keep it looking good as it grows out. As the perm grows out, the curl is pushed from the roots downward and may look awkward depending on your hairstyle. A perm is not something that should be done spontaneously.