natural curly , fine hair - perm?

Hi, I posted on curly hair forum & got no response so maybe this should go in this one. A month or so I went in to get a perm. She layered up my hair and told me that I had natural curly hair and she didn't want to perm it because natural curly hair is usually so dry anyway. I also have very fine hair. She used a diffuser and scrunched for about 15-20 minutes and when she was done, it was pretty curly. Not tight curls, bigger relaxed ones. But....I don't have the time a patience to do that, so now my hair is kinda wavy, a wisp here & there, and kinda frizzy. I want my hair to be curly...so, should I go ahead and get the perm or heed her warnings for the dry hair thing. If I should get the perm, what kind should I get so as to not dry out my hair further. If I should not get a perm, what products should I use to make my hair curly without having to do too much work, because I pretty much get out of the shower, towel dry, put product in, scrunch & go. Right now, I am using curls rock. Thanks for the help. Dee

Perms and fine hair don't get along very well.  I would not opt for that especially if you color your hair.  Perms are extremely drying and damaging and I never had a good one.  If you do this be very, very careful.  You could end up with a broken mass of fuzz.

SUP SHOTEYS WHAT YA'LL TALKIN ABOUT

Hi Jupiter!

Your hair sounds like mine.  I can do curly or straight, although to get those lovely curls it does take more time than I'm willing to put out.  If you want curly hair but don't want a perm, I have two suggestions for you.
    1)  Don't towel-dry your hair.  Just squeeze the excess water out with your hands.  Product will go on more easily this way and it keeps frizz in check.
    2)  Put product in immediately after you squeeze out the excess water.  As hair dries, scrunch softly.  Blow with a diffuser only when hair is damp, not wet. 

Also, I did get a perm about a year and a half ago and I really liked it. My hair is none the worse for wear.  It was through my Aveda stylist.  I call him The Hair Whisperer because he really knows what he's doing.  I'm glad I did it, it made styling easier, but I probably wouldn't do it again because now that I'm coloring I don't want the double process.

I hope that helps!



Bibbles

Wow -- I just discovered this board and I'm loving it...other people with hair just like me...who woulda thought.  LOL  

I also have fine, curly/wavy hair.  I've permed it back in the nineties -- great time saver but damaged my hair and scalp.  Then I had an idea inspired when I went to Hawaii and discovered my hair curled easier then it did at home.  Then I realized every time I went to the beach or pool or when the air was humid my hair would curl up.  So I thought of a trick that works great for me now.  On the days that I want my hair to be curly -- I don't wash it but instead I let the shower "steam" it.  When I get out of the shower my hair is moist but not soaked.  Then I scrunch while I get ready until it dries.   This curls my hair just like a perm and better than any curling iron and doesnt damage my hair.  Works like a charm. 

[QUOTE=So Fine]

Wow -- I just discovered this board and I'm loving it...other people with hair just like me...who woulda thought.  LOL  

I also have fine, curly/wavy hair.  I've permed it back in the nineties -- great time saver but damaged my hair and scalp.  Then I had an idea when I went to Hawaii and discovered my hair curled easier than it did at home (it was gorgeous in HI).  Then I realized every time I went to the beach or pool or when the air was humid my hair would curl up.  So I thought of a trick that works great for me now.  On the days that I want my hair to be curly -- I don't wash it but instead I let the shower "steam" it.  When I get out of the shower my hair is moist but not soaked.  Then I scrunch while I get ready until it dries.  This curls my hair just like a perm and better than any curling iron and the best part is it doesnt damage my hair and doesn't require as much work to achieve curls than when my hair is soaked from wasing.  Works like a charm. 

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Perms on fine hair when done correctly do minimal damage. First, any chemical treatment on hair technically damages the hair. Period. It is the nature of the process.You can't get away from it. The trick is to keep the damage to a minimum where it is not noticable.This is accomplished by using the appropriate product for the type of hair. Curly hair does tend to be a bit drier than other textures. A perm solution would be used with that in mind. There are so many good perm chemicals available that I am surprised any stylist would hesitate UNLESS the hair is more than just alittle dry, has had other chemical processes on it, or is in poor condition. Most noticable perm damage occurs when a stylist uses improper wrapping techniques,improper timing, wrong solution for type of hair, or mis-judges the strength and condition of the hair prior to the perm.If you only want a bit of curl, you should consider a loose skip perm where only alternate sections are permed and the unpermed hair is protected.