[lesparkley]

i've had stick straight, asian hair for pretty much all my life. for the past 4 years i've been working the layered hair, side-swept bangs look:


(that's me)


it's a nice look that works but i kind of want to experiment with my hair while i'm still young. that being said, i'm considering a digital perm which comes out looking something like these ladies:





i know it requires more maintenance to make curly/wavy hair pretty but i think it will be a nice change. the perm isn't supposed to be as damaging since the machine used to do it regulates the temperature very rapidly and it's supposed to be pretty easy to revert back to straight for a day with a hair iron.

thoughts?

[frostedcouture]

I've seen a lot of girls do this, especially in Korea. I love how pretty the waves are, but for me..it would be easier to just use a curling iron to create the waves. I don't like it for everyday. That's just on ME though. If you love the look, you should try it! It's sounds convenient. Roll out of bed and apply some leave in conditioner or some kind of product and it looks perfect already! man I would love that..I hate styling my hair but I have to or else I look really weird.

[MJDaisy]

i would get it! i have gotten a perm before because i wanted waves like that, and although mine didn't come out as pretty as that, i had a normal perm. also my hair is not asian hair (idk if that makes any difference). but i am glad i got a perm. if i blow dry my hair, it's straight. but if i throw some curl gel in it, it is wavy. i love it. i got it permed a year and a half ago and the perm still is there (was only supposed to last for 4-6 months).

[scarlet*rose]

Dumb question but what is a digital perm? I have never heard of this.

[lesparkley]

Originally Posted by scarlet*rose

Dumb question but what is a digital perm? I have never heard of this.

a digital perm is a new perm technology. they use a perm solution that's much less harsh than the standard perm and curl your hair on ceramic rollers that are attached to a machine that strictly regulates the temperature of the rollers so that it causes much less damage to your hair. the result is a healthy perm that's looser and creates more of a "wavy" look (like the pictures i posted above) rather than a tight spiral perm. it's very popular in asia and probably hasn't been made available in a lot of american salons as of yet. =]

[scarlet*rose]

lesparkley ~ Thank you! That's really interesting and great that it's less harsh for the hair. I wouldn't mind trying it when it starts becoming available here. Anyway, i had long layered hair like yours (but not as pretty) and recently cut it short, so it'll be awhile until it grows out again!
I think you should do it; it'll be very pretty and your hair is perfect for it! Like you said, it's something different to experiment with and you can easily make it straight. Also i think it should be easier to manage? Just put a little product in and air dry.

[Pursegrrl]

Perms have come a long way!! Lesparkley, you are absolutely stunning and your hair is incredible, but if you want a change this looks perfect! That's cool you can do it straight while you still have the perm if you want. How long do they last? Can you highlight your hair as well (if you wanted to) or can you not with these perms?

[lesparkley]

Originally Posted by scarlet*rose

lesparkley ~ Thank you! That's really interesting and great that it's less harsh for the hair. I wouldn't mind trying it when it starts becoming available here. Anyway, i had long layered hair like yours (but not as pretty) and recently cut it short, so it'll be awhile until it grows out again! I think you should do it; it'll be very pretty and your hair is perfect for it! Like you said, it's something different to experiment with and you can easily make it straight. Also i think it should be easier to manage? Just put a little product in and air dry.

i think i'm going to do it. they do have the perm IN the states just in asian salons (or at least i've yet to see any of the salons in beverly hills with the equipment needed to do the perm). you should definitely see if there are any asian salons in your area that do it. and yea, it's supposed to be pretty easy to manage. you can let it air dry but from what i've heard the best thing to do is run a small gollop of glossing cream and blow dry with a diffuser. that should really only take about 30 minutes at most though. =]

Originally Posted by Pursegrrl

Perms have come a long way!! Lesparkley, you are absolutely stunning and your hair is incredible, but if you want a change this looks perfect! That's cool you can do it straight while you still have the perm if you want. How long do they last? Can you highlight your hair as well (if you wanted to) or can you not with these perms?

thank you for the compliments.

you can definitely highlight with this perm! i don't know if it's a good idea to do it on the same day as the perm since that might be a little too much frying in one day but almost everyone i know who has gotten this perm has highlights. i've heard that the perms last about 6 months but i assume that it probably varies based on how quickly your hair grows out. what's great though is that it look a bit better as it's growing out (like the girl in the second picture) so there's no funky middle ground.

[Pursegrrl]

^^ sounds great all around...go for it!

[frostedcouture]

lesparkley, you are gorgeous!

[CleoCouture]

I think you should go for it! I'd never heard of a digital perm before now. The result is gorgeous! I'm pretty anti-Perm for my own hair, but this is something I would really like (if I ever grow my hair back out). You should definitely try it and let us know how it turned out for you! Good Luck!

[MsTina]

I say go for it since it doesn't seen that damaging. I want my hair to look like that all the time but right now I'm still growing it out, its right at my bra strap now.

[ilovehoneybleu]

Oh my God...that looks amazing!!! I get my hair straightened, but I'm kinda tired of the look. I wonder if they can do the perm on hair that has been straightened without the hair being destroyed completely...
Lesparkly...do you recommend someone in LA I can go to for a consult?

[fufu]

I think you will look good in digital perm :) Give it a try.

[lesparkley]

Originally Posted by ilovehoneybleu

Oh my God...that looks amazing!!! I get my hair straightened, but I'm kinda tired of the look. I wonder if they can do the perm on hair that has been straightened without the hair being destroyed completely... Lesparkly...do you recommend someone in LA I can go to for a consult?

definitely! the salon i go to is hills beauty on western off near melrose. it's a korean salon but there are a lot of stylists and many of them speak some english. just make sure you DO NOT GO ON A WEEKEND as they are SUPER busy and will most likely be doing hair/makeup/nails for 4 different bridal parties. i think they will probably recommend you let your straightened hair grow out before you try the digital perm as this is exactly what they told me. =]

if you decide to do it, jenny yoon is my stylist and also happens to be the owner of the salon. i highly recommend that she oversees your perm; her english isn't very good but she really knows what she's doing and i don't think there will be much to explain (besides, i think the stylist she's training speaks fluent english and should be able to walk you through anything that needs clarifying). if you can't get her, ask for rachael as she's also very good (and always has the funkiest outfits!)

hope that helps!