BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Hair Reviving a perm or a new one?

I want to talk something over with my hairdresser conserning the perm decision I intend to make. But I wanted to ask for advice here first. This weekend, I looked into some hair care and hair style books. In one of those books, I found a perm rejuvinating (I hope I'm writing this correctly, sorry if I'm not) methods that consists of using a product to rejuvenate your permed hair, applying it after a shampoo and conditioner, together with the help of a diffuser. I wanted to ask if this is going to be better to do then perming it again.
In the book, it mentioned that this method is extremely helpful for people who had a perm a long time ago and were dealing with outgrow that is flat and limp, while half of your head is still curled because of the perm you set that long time ago.

I wanted to perm my hair in June, (just before the holiday, that's why) but I'm afraid it will be hard to wait so long. Doing it now seems like it's too little too late, since there should be 3-4 months before reperming it. Together with that, one more difficulty, but with a nice bonus: I've asked my hairdresser just after New Year to apply a hair glaze, which worked very well on me. My hair is very shiny.
However, it's a semi-permanent coloring, and perm after color= NO-NO

What should I do??? I've thought about different things, but while reading the procedure in this book, I wanted to know if it would be worth it. I got pictures of my hair as well (photographed my own hair myself and it looks better then I always thought it would) so if you want to see what my hair looks like, I can send a picture if you like. You won't see my face on it anyway.

Any tips, advice? I'm at a dead end right now...
Help?!?

When did you get your last perm? I remember us chatting about it but I've lost track of when that was.
Semi-permanent hair color is usually safe to perm over, except that you will lose the color.

I know you want to keep your hair long, so I suggest that you try to work with your perm as long as you can. If you have only been washing and letting it dry by itself, there is so much more you can do.

Last perm was in 05/2006.

There is so much more I can do? Your right, I only wash it and let it dry, nothing more.
What could I do? I'm interested. The only thing I can think of is a perm + a color a week after the perm.

Since your perm was 9 months ago, it is grown out at least 4 1/2 inches so you won't have any on top.
I saw your pictures, there doesn't seem to be any perm in there.
You could try scrunch it dry, using mousse or foam and a diffuser.
This is an article that describes scrunching and -at the bottom - tells about a short cut.
How to scrunch

Yeah, I noticed the curl being almost out of it, but the pictures were taken just after the glazing, so it could mean that it flattened them down. Should I reconsider getting a perm then? I really got one, I asked for it explicitely and I could tell by the smell that I had a perm. It was on benders, so no tight curls there. Maybe I should do it again?

I don't think a new perm would hurt your hair at all. If the ends are dry, extra conditioning can be used on them. If you want more curl this time, talk to your hairdresser about it before hand.

THe first time, the perm may have not processed long enough, or not fully neutralized or the wrapping may not have had enough tension or... there are many variables. Since your hairdresser knows what she did the first time, she can alter it.

Thanks. I'll ask my hairdresser for information first. Would it be best to ask to use rods instead of benders for this perm?
You put my mind at ease for this decision, thanks. If the perm I surely intend to get before the holiday is far away enough I can get one now and another one to reperm the outgrowth in June.

I always intend to be nice for my hair and take good care of it, but when I still want to perm it, I would like it to be perfect and hastle free so that corrections and adjustments don't have to be made, making the process worse and more damaging then it originally is.

I think that using regular perm rods would give you more curl than the benders. But, I think you should discuss it with your hairdresser. She knows what she is comfortable with and where her talent is.

I did remember saying to the hairdresser that I wanted to try a perm for adding volume to my hair, not curls. I think she handled it this way, so that I wouldn't have too much curl at all. I already tried coloring and liked it, but because of the outgrowth, I decided to quit coloring for a while and focus on perming, since it would last longer and give volume over nice curls, which I didn't want immediately. If the curl would have been too big or my head would be full of little curls, I wouldn't like it, and I would be stuck with it...
So I asked to go slow with the first perm, no rods and no tiny curls so I didn't turn into frizz...

The perm gave me big curls and lots of volume, while reducing the length of my hair a lot, but that was taken into account, so no problem. They were big and loose curls. I didn't want to go overboard at first and liked it. But now, I would like tighter curls that last throughout each wash. I think a successfull series of perms could do this.

But for the first perm... after all those months, I noticed my hair getting looser and looser, it does look flat with a bit of curls left. The curls are visible very much when I washed my hair, but after 2 days, they are gone again, until the next wash...

I started to fall in love with the curls and now, after all those months, I like the idea of having permanent curls that look nice and don't fall out/become more loose that much.
I really liked the volume, but I especially liked the curls. Those I had then could be a little bit tighter and should be there permanently. They look sexy on me and I feel good whenever I see them in the mirror.

I always wanted long hair that curled a bit, but after getting the perm, I wanted long curled hair, regardless of the fact that it wouldn't be possible to get rid of them. Well, until I cut my hair off, that is...

Thanks for all the advice Lynne. I'm going to talk everything over with the hairdresser and see what she has to say. I'll keep you informed.

In case I decide to do it, I want her to at least take her time for it and use rollers so that I have more curl this time, which hopefully stay in my hair forever. That's what I want anyway, nice curls, not extra small but not waves either. What size of rods should be used?

Should I perm it 2 times a year after that or even less then that? I don't really mind the outgrowth.