Perming your hair

Many men and women who are experiencing hair thinning opt for a
perm to give their hair a fuller look. You can find more on ways to
conceal hair loss in Chapter 8.
Perming your hair correctly is an art. The process is actually quite
intricate. Chew on this info when sitting in the salon next time you
get a perm!
Permanents use strong alkaline chemicals to break down the disul-
fide bonds in your hair and open the cortex of the hair fibers
within the cuticle so they’re able to take on water and reshape
themselves anatomically. After the bonds are broken down, the
hair can be reformed by using perm rods (the wider the rod, the
looser the curl).
Neutralizers that reset your hair in the new curled pattern are
applied after rinsing away the setting agent. The neutralizers con-
tain oxidizing agents like hydrogen peroxide, which harden the
cement that bonds the hair fibers with its keratin and reform the
disulphide bonds to their new shape.
When setting agents are on your hair, your hair is very vulnerable
to damage. Changes in the temperature (a person running out of
the salon to say hello to someone passing by in the street) can
cause damage. The longer the chemicals are in the hair shaft, the
more chance there is of damage to the cuticle, and a damaged hair
cuticle can leave hair more susceptible to damage from the
perming chemicals.
Although the setting agent is washed out before your hair is neu-
tralized, some of the solution will remain in the cortex and con-
tinue to have an influence on the hair bundles. For this reason, it’s
important not to wash your hair for three days after perming, or it
may lose the perm prematurely.
Fine hair is more likely to be damaged by repeated perming treat-
ments because the cuticles are thin and the shaft cement and the
hair bundles don’t contain much bulk for repeated reshaping.
Some people just don’t perm well; their hair is resistant to the
process, requiring more chemicals and possibly more risks in the
perming process. Stronger chemicals increase the risks, so expert-
ise is critical. Permanent damage to the hair and to the growth
center below the skin surface increases in probability as stronger
chemicals are used to perm or relax the hair. (The next section
covers relaxing treatments.)