Lifestyle Choices

Permanent Waves

Waving and straightening hair involve pretty much the same process. First you break down the sulfur bonds connecting the protein molecules by using a highly alkaline solution containing a chemical such as ammonium thioglycolate. Then you rearrange the softened hair into the structure you want it to have. Finally, you use a peroxide neutralizer to halt the chemical action of the bond-breaking chemical and to encourage the new shape to set. Since the neutralizer is acidic, it also helps close up the imbrications in the cuticle and encourages the hair shaft to become strong again. Finally, your hair is treated with some kind of conditioner to restore some of the damage done by the process.

In the case of the permanent, the reshaping of hair takes place while it is wound tightly on curlers. With straightening, the reshaping takes place while it is being combed, stretched, and encouraged to give up its natural tendency to curve. The secret of successful permanent waving is twofold: First, the hair must be wound carefully in small sections on the curlers in order for the right curl to “take.” Second, the timing has to be right. The thioglycolate has to be allowed to stay in the hair long enough to disrupt its chemical bonds and give it new ones, but not so long that it softens the hair too much, or your hair will suffer real damage. The neutralizers, which chemically reverse the action of the thioglycolate and reharden the hair, need to be put on at just the right time. And the right time varies greatly from one head of hair to another. Fine or damaged hair will need very little time (neither will it hold a permanent very long, once it is given). Coarse, thick hair will take much longer, but it will also keep its curl for months.

Caring for Processed Hair

Once your hair is waved, it is more vulnerable to damage than ever before, so there are a few special precautions you need to take in order to preserve its health and sheen. For instance, instead of brushing 50 strokes a day, cut it down to only 20. Use scalp massage or an electric vibrator instead, to give scalp circulation the stimulation it needs. Also, only use acid-balanced shampoos when you wash your hair, and always apply a conditioning rinse. Protein conditioners are particularly good for permanent-waved and colored hair. They keep the cracks in the cuticle closed and make your hair smoother and shinier.

How often you get a permanent depends on the condition and length of your hair. If it is long, you should only need one every six months— shorter hair perhaps every two or three. If you have only a body wave— a soft wave in which the hair is wound on larger rollers—then you will need to have it redone more often than a regular permanent, which is much tighter. If your hair has been bleached or tinted, it is a good idea to have one of the new permanents especially designed for bleached or damaged hair. They don’t last so long, but they do ensure that the hair remains in good condition, and you don’t run the risk of a permanent’s not “taking” because the cuticle has already been broken down so much that there is not enough elasticity left in it to remold the hair’s shape.

Provided your hair is healthy and you look after it well after the permanent, there is no reason to worry about its condition being spoiled by the waving. A permanent will add a lot of body to lank hair and can often improve a too oily condition as well.

It is a good idea when having your first perm to go to a hairdresser. That way, you can learn about how the curl winding is done properly and also get to know the characteristics of your hair, such as how much time it needs for the wave to take. After that, there is no reason why you can’t give yourself later perms at home if you prefer. It is a lot cheaper.

Straightening Hair

Besides the thioglycolate straighteners, which are put on hair still damp from having been washed, left on for about fifteen minutes, and then combed through for another fifteen minutes before neutralizing, there are two other types of chemical straighteners commercially available. The first are the ammonium bisulfate or sodium bisulfate straighteners, which are not as effective on very curly hair as the thioglycolates but are much safer. You put them on wet hair, tuck it under a plastic covering for fifteen minutes, and then comb it out for twenty minutes. They are ideal for hair that is not excessively curly.

The other type, the sodium hydroxide straighteners, are highly alkaline and have to be carefully applied or they may irritate the skin. They can also be very dangerous if you get any in your eyes. They are the fastest- acting of all the straighteners and demand only about half the combing time to do their work before you apply the neutralizer. But they are not good for hair that is in less than perfect condition.

There are also some short-term but simple ways to straighten hair. It can be done by blow-drying with a brush to smooth it out or by washing your hair and then wrapping it wet around your head in a circle, like a cap, fastening it with clips and letting it dry. Then, when it is dry, you simply comb it out straighter. Finally, the old-fashioned and very efficient method for long, curly hair is simply ironing it with an electric iron. Spread the hair out on a board, keep the iron on the lowest setting, and go over it gently from roots to ends. But the same advice given for blow drying and heated rollers stands here: Be careful not to put too much heat on it. Burnt hair is irretrievably lost.

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