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Choppy, wavy, bobbed perm wanted!

21 replies

ShoesAndPsychology · 12/10/2014 00:49

I have poker straight, mid length, boring mum hair Confused I'm 39 & fancy a change. Does anyone know if a perm would produce results like this: 1.bp.blogspot.com/-m6mZFaOzJBQ/Th6M3wIAg0I/AAAAAAAAA6g/MApZ3x1MCVE/s1600/Scarlett%252Bjohansson%252Bhair%252B2011%252Boscars.jpg
I don't want to end up with an 80's spiral Blush Any one know if the Scarlett Johansson 'do' would word as a perm as opposed to styling it with GHDs everyday?

OP posts:
321zerobaby · 12/10/2014 07:57

link

wickedfairy · 12/10/2014 08:29

I don't know, but watching with interest! I was about to ask the very same thing Smile

ShoesAndPsychology · 12/10/2014 17:53

Bump

OP posts:
Hippychickster · 12/10/2014 17:56

I think that's a lovely style. I'm sure there must be a perm that would do it. Could you take the pic to the hairdresser and ask their opinion?

BreakingBod · 12/10/2014 18:12

And then please report back as I also want a perm but am a bit scared of the potential results...

teacher54321 · 12/10/2014 18:26

I had my hair bobbed about a month ago after the same hair style for 10 years. I have poker straight hair normally but managed yesterday for a wedding to style it like that withGHDs and it took 15 minutes Smile

ShoesAndPsychology · 12/10/2014 18:52

Breakingbod I'm scared too, Teacher I wish I could style my own hair like that in 15 mins- I'd do one side in that time & give up! Think I might go & ask in one of the big salon chains what they think hippychickster- good idea! My current hairdresser doesn't do perms Smile it's more of a big hair extensions kinda place!

OP posts:
msdolittle · 12/10/2014 19:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

flux500 · 12/10/2014 19:18

I have bobbed hair and can create that with my curling wand. Produces a consistently good result where ghds can leave me with one side of head perfect and the other just downright strange looking Confused

flux500 · 12/10/2014 19:18

I have bobbed hair and can create that with my curling wand. Produces a consistently good result where ghds can leave me with one side of head perfect and the other just downright strange looking Confused

msdolittle · 12/10/2014 19:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

flux500 · 12/10/2014 19:50

Msdolittle I don't start the wave at the crown and I actually leave a bit at the end straight so it doesn't look too 'done'. I do use Moroccon oil first and after each layer I curl I spray with hair spray and then under clip the next layer.

I also curl in a middle parting, do the very front bits in a very wide curl, then leave for half an hour to cool. Then ruffle with fingers and creat a different parting. I actually prefer it the next day when it's flattened and sometimes grip the very front bit back in a twist.

Sorry in advance for potential double posting don't know what's going on with my iPhone! Blush

flux500 · 12/10/2014 19:50

Msdolittle I don't start the wave at the crown and I actually leave a bit at the end straight so it doesn't look too 'done'. I do use Moroccon oil first and after each layer I curl I spray with hair spray and then under clip the next layer.

I also curl in a middle parting, do the very front bits in a very wide curl, then leave for half an hour to cool. Then ruffle with fingers and creat a different parting. I actually prefer it the next day when it's flattened and sometimes grip the very front bit back in a twist.

Sorry in advance for potential double posting don't know what's going on with my iPhone! Blush

MildredH · 13/10/2014 08:47

I attempt this with my hair too.. Watching to see if anyone comes back with answer re perm! It seems terribly out of fashion doesn't it- ie: only the old dears but in theory it should work no?

PicnicGatecrasher · 13/10/2014 09:01

I have poker straight hair too, and keep promising myself I will practice trying to curl with a ghd so that I can whack it out in 10 mins. Never find the time tho! My (old) hairdresser (come baaaccckk pplllleeeeeaase!) used to send me off with goddess hair. I asked him about a digital perm, and he got his colleague to give me what ended up as a normal perm and was horrendous. Thankfully I was 39 weeks pregnant and it didn't take. (I had visions of washing my hair and letting it dry naturally into bi bouncy curls and making me look and feel glam even tho I was home going mental with a newborn and toddler. Talk about delusional!)
It was so bad, the hairdresser actually blow dried it straight to ghd it into big curls. I was too upset to even complain I just ran form the salon! (As much I a run as a 39 wk pregnant lady can muster).
Anyway I would try a specialist hairdresser to talk about a digital perm. Google it, I believe Sali Hughes from the gaurdian had one it looked amazing.
God, I'm even half tempted again, even tho last time I just about got away with my LIFE!

Ujjayi · 13/10/2014 10:29

I had my long hair (bottom of shoulder blades length) cut into a choppy bob this weekend. I went for the Alexa Chung version which is longer than the Scarlett Johannsen version, and more undone. I am low-maintenance when it comes to my hair so felt this would suit me more. The stylist also used balayage technique to put brunette through my roots and lengths to break up the very over-processed, dry light blonde. My hair has gone from knackered and ageing to bouncy & healthy looking.

I thought I would have to curl it every day but actually my hair sprang up into a natural wave when it was cut, having been quite straight before. The only styling that is required is a small amount of Sebastian Whipped Creme - similar to a mousse but helps to define your natural waves/curls and is really conditioning, leaving your hair soft rather than crunchy. I've just left mine to dry naturally, only twisting the front sections into a tight ringlet and securing with a hairpin - I'll take that out before I leave the house, obviously!

MildredH · 13/10/2014 12:03

Picnic- thank you! I have googled. I am convinced this is what I need.. How did this pass me by?

OP -hope you don't mind but am going to start a thread to see if I can find anyone who's had one.

ShoesAndPsychology · 14/10/2014 09:27

Ujjayi the Alexa Chung style is lovely, I want the same as in low daily maintenance, I don't mind a couple of hours every couple of months but I really don't have the time to style my hair every day. I'm going for a digital perm consultation so I'm quite excited!

OP posts:
kaykayblue · 14/10/2014 12:07

I don't mean to rain on your parade but there are some things you should bear in mind:

Firstly, digital perms were invented specifically for asian hair, which has a different structure to "Caucasian" hair. They don't guarantee that you hair will take to the perm in the same way. I don't know what type of hair you have, but if it isn't asian, then it might be a very big waste of money for you.

Secondly, with digital perms, there is a very strong emphasis on not brushing your hair, as it makes you hair go into frizz. I've spent a lot of time looking into it as I really wanted one for a very long time. You can't just brush your hair and go - you have to do things in a very particular order after washing it, which is really quite bizarre.

Thirdly, they aren't THAT low maintenance. I've read many people saying that you have to "shape" the curls - without brushing the hair.

Fourthly...they recommend digital perms on very long hair, with a very particular style - graduated layers down the front. This is something you could ask your hairdresser about, but I've seen it come up A LOT on forums and people talking about their own experiences.

You wouldn't be able to get a perm which would give you the same curls as the picture that you posted. Curling rods just don't come in those shapes. If you look at curling rods (used in all types of perm), they are cylindrical. They give round curls. If you look at the curls Scarlett has, they are angular. They've clearly been done with a hair straightener which has been pulled through the hair and twisted, hence the angular curls (from the edge of the straightener).

If your hair is genuinely poker straight, then chemically changing it's structure would be the only way of getting a curl to last more than a few minutes/couple of hours. In which case a digital perm might be your best bet, but again, you really need to ask the consultant about how maintaining the style works, as it isn't as easy as we are led to believe.

One final word: Most of the asian women I know with digital perms have poker straight hair naturally. The digital perm is used to give it at least some degree of "movement", but no-one I know actually has CURLS if you will. They go from having bone straight hair, to hair with a bit of wave in it.

Again, I'm not trying to ruin your excitement, but just want to give a more realistic picture of what you may be able to expect.

MildredH · 14/10/2014 12:39

Thank you Kaykay.. that's really helpful. I am tempted to go for the consultation but of course they stand to charge you £250-300 if they recommend it so hardly impartial..

Have you decided against it now then?

msdolittle · 16/10/2014 19:09

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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