Chapter 10 - Salon Vs. Home Permanents

Should you roll your own or budget for a fine salon permanent? Before you go into competition with a beauty parlor, consider the pros and cons.

Pro Salon

• The woman who can afford the economy of the very best should  consider a  fine  salon  permanent  first.  A twenty-five dollar permanent, four times a year, comes out to about twenty-five cents a day.
• A beautiful permanent is an art as well as a skill.  Sometimes, you can get the very best in a small, independent shop where the owner takes great pride in his ability to give natural-looking, non-drying permanents. But it is often the better part of beauty to go to a fashionable salon for the latest style and then have it permanent-ized by a patient artist.
• A good stylist, too, is able to effect a compromise between the right permanent-wave solution for your hair and the correct solution for the style you have in mind.
• A good stylist will also create custom-blended solutions, mild ones for fine and fragile, slightly bleached or tinted  and   damaged  hair,  and  even   milder  ones  for bleached, tinted, or extremely porous hair. He may also recommend pre-conditioning or permanents with built-in proteins, lanolin or humectants.
• The pre-permanent shampoo is an extremely important step. Too strong a detergent will irritate the scalp and made hair too porous. Too mild a solution will leave hair coated and unable to take a good permanent.
• There  is  an  art,  too,  in  rolling  curlers.  Just the right tension must be attained. Allowance must also be made for the swelling of the hair which may cause curlers to be too tight. Hair that is fine and fragile, porous, bleached and tinted must be handled gently. Normal, resistant and coated hair should be wound firmly but with out stretching.
• A certain unevenness in curling often results from home permanents because of the time lag between the first and the last curl. An expert works more rapidly.
• And just as it takes an experienced eye to judge the porosity of hair before deciding on a waving solution, experience is necessary to know what to look for in a test curl.

Pro Home-Permanents

Today, any woman who can read instructions and can set her own hair can give herself a home permanent.

And just as there are salon permanents for every type of hair so are there home permanents for normal, fine, coarse and damaged hair, and even age permanents for children's resistant and older women's fine hair.

A home permanent has three major advantages. It is moneysaving, timesaving and convenient.

The least expensive salon permanent costs about $7.50. A home permanent ranges from $1.75 to $2.50. Curlers are additional in most cases and cost about $1.50 but they can be used indefinitely. Then, of course, there are the hidden savings—no baby-sitter or parking fees.

While you must allow at least two and a half hours for a salon permanent you can give yourself a home permanent between house-cleaning chores. And with the newest pin-curl permanents you can set your hair with a permanent-wave lotion just before you go to bed and wake up with a brand-new permanent wave.

Which Home Permanent Is For You?

Simply read the labels. They'll tell you. In addition to special permanents for children, for gray and white hair, permanents usually come Regular, for normal hair, Super, for hard-to-wave hair, and Gentle, for a loose curl and for bleached, dyed and soft, fine hair.

Know Your Curlers

Rod permanents give longer-lasting and firmer waves and are best for long hair, but they require skill in the sectioning and rolling. A deft-fingered friend should be called in to assist, especially for back-of-the-head rolling. If your hair is in good condition, a rod permanent, well-   given, should last three months.

Pincurl permanents are considerably easier. Any woman who can make a pincurl can be sure of a permanent wave for the next two months. Still another advantage, pincurl permanents do not have to be reset.

But do not use a pincurl permanent on tinted or bleached hair unless directions specify it can be used. Choose instead a permanent with a separate neutralizer. With rod-type permanents, curls can be unwound and neutralized at any stage of the waving process. Pin curl  permanents also make it difficult for damaged ends to be tenderly wrapped into end papers.

A home permanent should last two to three months, but always remember that your physical condition, excessive shampooing, too much trimming, coloring and immoderate use of lacquer can effect its lasting qualities.

Spin curls give firm curls; fat rollers, soft curls. Pin curls   create body and fluff. Midget curlers should be used only at the nape of the neck. In general, largest curls should be placed above forehead. Curls further back on the head should gradually decrease in size. Never use old bobby pins for sectioning hair. There is always the danger they may stain it. Use instead a piece of white ribbon.

How To Give Yourself A Home Permanent

• Read instructions carefully no matter how long you've been putting in your own permanent waves. Methods do change and improve. Don't improvise.
• Always wait until your most recent color job is at least two weeks old.
• Any scalp scratches, infections and irritations must first be cured.
• Have hair cut and shaped before you permanent. Be sure all split ends are removed. Never permanent over an old wave.
• Shampoo  thoroughly  to   remove  lacquers,  temporary rinses, sprays and dirt. These will act like coatings and prevent your permanent from  penetrating evenly. Rinse well. And wait at least three or four days after a new permanent before shampooing again.
• Remember the size of the rod helps determine the shape of the final curl. Large ones give soft, big waves which tend to relax in two or three weeks. Medium rods give tighter waves. Midget curlers are for nape only.
• Always take a test curl.
• Hair reflects your emotional and physical condition. Postpone a home permanent until after a cold or menstrual period. If your general health is poor, go to a salon. What to look for in a test curl: If the test curl has the same circumference as the curler and a good bounce, all is well. But if, after the proper timing, it has no spring and practically no circumference, call the permanent off until you and your hair are in better physical condition.
• If test curl omens are good, section hair carefully into areas about 1 1/2 by 1 inch. Make squares smaller where hair is thicker. Too much hair weakens a wave.
• Start at nape. Neckline hair is much more resistant to curling. This way it gets a head start.
• Apply wave  lotion  to  each  strand  of hair  to be wrapped by working across the new growth at scalp, then down to the ends. Squeeze combs and saturation trays which come with some kits make this job easier.
• Comb each strand of hair straight out from the scalp at a 90-degree angle using the wide teeth of your comb. Comb hair only once. Hair must be saturated again after each  curl has  been  wound.  Hair should  be  saturated evenly. Avoid dripping lotion directly onto scalp. Should this occur, absorb with dry cotton. Do not rub into scalp.
• Spread  hair  out  across  length  of  curler  to  avoid bunching. Smooth, even winding is essential for wave success. Avoid pulling hair to a point.
• Wind hair under rather than up no matter what the hair style is.
• Wrap ends of hair gently. Then wrap more firmly as you wind up to the scalp, but do not stretch or the result will be frizz. Fine and gentle, porous, bleached, and tinted hair should be wound very gently. Normal, resistant and coated hair should be wound firmly, without stretching.
• Continue wrapping without interruption. Loosen any curls that are too tight.
• Obey timing instructions implicitly.
• Rinse wound curls with hot water to get off all waving lotion. Rinse thoroughly to be sure all waving action is stopped. Blot dry with towel. For some permanents, head must be wrapped in a towel turban for a specified length of time.
• Neutralize. It is impossible to over-neutralize. Neutralizer locks in the wave and makes it last. Rinse well again, unless you have used a permanent in which the air does the neutralizing.
• Unwind curlers gently to avoid stretching. Curls have not had time to be fully locked in by the neutralizer.
• Rinse again and set hair as you normally do after a shampoo.
• Don't save permanent-wave solution for touch-ups; it deteriorates. Buy a small-sized kit for this purpose.
• When giving yourself an end curl, apply lotion and roll as far up the shaft as you wish curl to go, plus one extra turn.

How To Home Permanent Bleached Or Tinted Hair

This, really, is a job best done in a salon. But if you feel you must, or finances say you must do it yourself, allow two weeks after you color before you give yourself a perm, and then let another two weeks go by before you tint or bleach again.

Bleaching and tinting make hair extra porous and if a home permanent is not correctly given it can result in frizz.

• Be sure your hair is well-conditioned. Don't attempt to permanent if hair is rough and extraordinarily brittle.
• Trim off the remains of any old permanent.
• Action may be faster as a result of increased porosity.

Postpone wave if hair changes color or if lotion starts to curl hair within ten minutes. Rinse well with water to stop curling action. Permanent-wave chemicals applied to coloring chemicals can break hair shaft off at the five-inch mark.

• Unless directions specify, never use a pin curl  permanent for tinted or bleached hair.
• Use a gentle lotion.
• Now that you have both a permanent and color job you must really coddle your hair.

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