The problem was that I love having long hair, and the thought of cutting it was too sad. After some deliberation, I decided to try a perm. I’ve never had a perm in my life, but I figured I couldn’t have that much too lose. I always envied my younger sister’s naturally curly hair, and after all, a perm isn’t really permanent.
I called on a Saturday to try to make an appointment for the same day. I have a tendency to talk myself out of hair-related changes, and I wanted to go in before I could change my mind. My stylist was completely booked for the day, and she scheduled me in on Tuesday.
“The perm might not last long,” Jolene warned me. “You have such straight hair that it could wash out in just a few weeks. Are you sure you still want to do it?”
I nodded. If I hated it and it washed out in a few weeks, it would be gone before the holidays. And if I loved it, I could always come back.
The whole process took four hours, which I wasn’t anticipating. Fortunately, my very stylish friend Kristen came to encourage and keep me company for part of the process. Jolene first washed my hair (no conditioner) and then began wrapping it with orange curlers. Once my hair was wrapped and sprayed with the perm solution, we waited twenty minutes. She then rinsed my hair, put in a neutralizer, and began unraveling the curlers. She trimmed my split ends, blow-dried my hair slightly, and made me promise not to wash it for forty-eight hours.
I’m not sure if my insecurity was caused by bad dreams, but the next morning I woke up terrified about my new curls and, yes, washed my hair. When I was cohesive enough (anyone who has every lived with me knows my thinking processes when I first awake are not the best ones to act out on), I started to regret washing it. It looked fairly straight, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.
This morning I washed it again (a safe sixty hours out from the perm). I used the yummy-smelling Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship shampoo and conditioner in hopes of getting rid of the nasty perm smell. After showering, I scrunched a mixture of Bumble & Bumble Curl Conscious Defining Crème and Holding Foam into my wet hair. I then diffused it.
The curl is not completely what I had anticipated when I got the perm. I was hoping for a body wave, but I got something a bit curlier. However, it has definitely given me a different looking without having to sacrifice my long locks for it. And it has also given me the volume that I always longed for but could never get on my own.
My jury is still out on the decision, but I’d love to hear what you think. Yea or nay?
