Hey guys!
Have you heard of a digital perm? Digital perm is a technique that started in Japan I believe, and it's most popular in Japan and Korea for that loose, wavy, natural look. Recently, salons in larger cities in the US with Asian populations especially have started bringing this technique over. I couldn't find anyone in Alaska who can do this, so I booked an appointment while I was in Las Vegas!
The difference between a regular "cold" perm and a digital perm, is that digital perms use heated rods that are hooked up to a machine to regulate the temperature. Stylists can choose how strong curls/waves will be by adjusting the temperature and the time it's kept in.
I have had multiple cold perms in my life, because I have wavy-curly hair. I didn't have curly enough hair that I liked it, but it wasn't straight enough that I could brush it, because I'd get an afro. >...> I started getting cold perms in high school so that I'd always have perfect curls, and I wouldn't have to style my hair at all, so I'm quite experienced with this.
One other difference between these techniques, is that there is an extra conditioning step between the time they prep your hair, and before they set the rods in. I was told that the perming solutions are different, and that digital perms are supposed to cause less damage to your hair but I am not sure this is true. If anything, the extra conditioning step can help girls with fragile hair, but I believe the same chemicals are used based on the smell during and after my perm. The worst part is, you're not supposed to wash your hair for at least 3 days after!
Here's what Wikipedia has to say about digital perms:
"The biggest difference between other perms and a digital perm is the shape and the texture of the wave created by the digital process. A normal perm, or "cold perm," makes the wave most prominent when the hair is wet, and loose when it is dry. The hair tends to look moist and as locks. A digital perm makes the wave most prominent when the hair is dry, and loose when it is wet. Therefore you can create the dry and curly look of the curl iron or the hot curler.
Digital perms thermally recondition the hair, though the chemicals and processing are similar to a straight perm. The hair often feels softer, smoother, and shinier after a digital perm."
So, let me preface this by saying I have titanium hair, and I have a LOT of it. I'm not joking when I say that every hair stylist I've been to said I have more hair than anyone they've ever met. I've actually had $$$ offers to buy my hair for wig-making. >....> In the past, I've had perms that I followed with multiple rounds of bleach, and 10-12 dye jobs in a single year. Yes, that many processes. Although it damaged my hair a bit, my hair didn't melt like horror stories I've heard from other people, and I bleach/dye my hair all on my own at home or with friends. I never pay for that cuz it's too expensive, so I have a lot of experience with perming/bleach/dyeing, but I think my experience in terms of hair strength/damage is probably not typical for most people.
My experience:
I had a friend that got her hair permed in Chinatown, Las Vegas. The funny thing is, she told me the salon didn't really have a name but she gave me the road it was on. I searched "digital perm" and the road and came up with Beauty to Beauty. She told me her hairstylist's name was "Kathy" so I booked Kathy while I was still in Alaska. It turns out my friend and I had completely different Kathys at different salons on the same street, who were both owners >...>! What the heck! Hahaha. Anyway, I liked my friend's digital perm so I wanted to try it versus the normal ones I always get.
Beauty to Beauty is an Asian-American owned salon that specializes in Korean and Japanese hairstyles! I sat down to look at haircuts with my boyfriend, and they had a bunch of Korean magazines, and a binder full of kpop celebrities and Korean actors! The men's book was completely full of celebrities with young and more mature styles too. I was an hour late because for some reason my iPhone calendar keeps changing times on me! I'm not even joking, this is like the 5th or 6th time since the new iOS update that I've had appointment times in my calendar completely change. I felt really bad and obviously it didn't start things off well because I probably screwed up her schedule for the day. I think she had to cancel one of her appointments that was after me. She was quiet and I thought not very friendly for the first hour or so; she didn't talk to me at all until later on, but she was friendly and helpful when she did start talking to me. She told me all about where to go in Las Vegas, and places my boyfriend and I might like as young adults downtown.
The process starts out with you getting your hair washed so that the chemicals can penetrate. Hair can't be completely wet so they had to dry my hair a bit with a hair dryer. After that I want to say she added a solution to my hair and made me wait 15 minutes with my hair in a cap. I want to say there was a conditioning step after this (or it could've been the first one, I forgot) and then I waited another 10 or 15 minutes. After that, they washed it out again and I sat back in the chair while her and one of her stylists helped roll my hair up with another solution. I was really surprised because the rollers were quite large, but she still used big sections. I thought she'd use a bajillion rollers and small sections, like I've always had in the past but there weren't very many at all. After that, they rolled my hair, they covered each section in a piece of cloth so that the heat from the rollers wouldn't burn my scalp. When the machine was turned on, I don't think it was left in for very long. I want to say it was between 15-30 minutes, which is quite short compared to a regular perm. After that they washed my hair out and she put a tiny bit of conditioner in my hair.
I totally exhausted my battery on my phone during the whole perming process, but honestly this is MUCH quicker/shorter than any other perm I've had. She didn't put very much product in my hair after it was done, so my curls kinda looked like crap the first couple days when I couldn't wash it. They recommend not washing your hair for 3 days after digital perming, but in my experience with normal perms it's only one day of no wash--so I compromised and waited only 2 days to wash my hair. I couldn't stand not washing my hair because it was so hot walking miles in Vegas and my hair was getting greasy from it. I used baby powder the first day, and the day after I tried a hair powder from Lush that totally didn't work at all! It made my scalp smell. Ewwww. To make things worse, you can put your hair in a ponytail while you're waiting those 3 days because Kathy told me it could leave a permanent indentation in your perm. She also said she wouldn't wear her hair in a ponytail at all after perming for the same reason, but in my experience with perms and my current digital perm this has never happened and I will continue to wear my hair in a ponytail while it dries. :P
When I finally washed my hair, I only washed my scalp to feel clean. I conditioned the permed ends of my hair, and decided I'd wash it with shampoo on the third day. After you get your hair digital permed, it's recommended to use a highly conditioning formula, and I also recommend this. I've found that Aussie's Three Minute Miracle is the best formula for keeping my curls ultra shiny and conditioned (people ask if my hair is fake!), and I use Organix Macadamia Oil Conditioner on other days. I have to use mousse to keep my curls in tact, which I usually apply after my hair has dried to the damp stage. Kathy told me not to brush my hair or comb it, especially when it's wet. She said to use my fingers to get knots out, so as not to ruin a perm. In my experience, combing and brushing dry hair won't ruin a perm; and it's okay to comb permed hair in the shower.
You are not supposed to use heat to dry a digital perm because it will blow the curls out, and it won't look as good. They say that digital perms are looser when they're wet, and I agree with this statement. When she first took the rods out, I was so scared that my hair wasn't curled at all and I just wasted my money! But as it dried up, it became curlier. You can get very large, loose waves with this technique or you can get bigger curls like I got.
Here's how it turned out!
Left: While it was drying, I panicked because it didn't look very curly!
Right: Then it really dried up, and it looked sooo good! :D
She didn't put enough product in my hair >......>
A few days after when I washed it for the first time wet on the left--right is how it looks without mousse.
It's perfect! I love it :D
Overall I would definitely do this again, but depending on how long this perm lasts, maybe I would go back to cold perming. The total at checkout was $250, which for a perm is not bad at all. I've paid $300-400 for perms in the past because of how long they took. For the price, I'd definitely get this perm again. Now three weeks later, my hair still feels soft but the top of the curls near my scalp isn't as prominent when I had it done. I do think this really helped my hair's texture to become smoother, so I'm very happy about that because it felt quite damaged before the treatment where I had bleached and dyed it so many times. If you know what perm smells like, just know that my hair still smells like it. I think it smells like Fritos hahahahaha, but it's only when you smell really up close. My hair is shinier, and I'm really happy to have nice curls again. I can finally wear my hair down again!
I would recommend a digital perm to anyone who wants loose waves or curls. I am hoping they will have this in Hawaii so I can get it touched up in a year. :)