New Perm

[tbhope]

Just got a perm and yes, it's a big change. Does anyone knows how long it takes to relax a bit?

[dull*women*have*immaculate*homes]

About 2 weeks. Or maybe it takes 2 weeks to get used to it.

Just make sure not to wash or condition it for 3 days. It will relax a little after that first washing.

[ice*blue*rose]

3 days? I haven't had a perm in years, but I was always told to wait 24 hours before washing it. Has that changed?

[dull*women*have*immaculate*homes]

Well, since it has been years since you had one, are you sure they didn't tell you 3 days and you forgot;)
If you are anything like moi, the older I get the less I can remember. Maybe there is an upside-I won't remember getting older.

I think the newer perms are alot less harsh then the old ones chemically speaking, so I think the possible relaxing problems are more frequent. I have always been told to wait 3 days before washing or conditioning, so maybe it has to do with my baby fine hair too?

[yakyakyak46]

hi tb: mine would relax in about a week, but i have very thick hair, and when permed, the weight of it would "relax" my hair faster than most, afterwards.

i no longer have long hair to perm, but i was told to wait 3 days also. that is the worst part of a perm, because i have to wash my hair everyday or i feel yucky! stick it out, and you'll be glad you did. it does take time to get used to your new look, but i'll bet you'll love it!

[ice*blue*rose]

Well, since it has been years since you had one, are you sure they didn't tell you 3 days and you forgot

Yes, I'm sure. I could never have stood the SMELL of a perm for 3 days without washing. I asked my sister, who just had a perm a couple weeks ago, and she was told 24 hours. Maybe it depends on what kind of perm.

[dull*women*have*immaculate*homes]

I was just teasing you. It seems that a number of ladies on this board are perimenopausal (I am going though this now) and one of the down sides is memory loss, LOL.

And regarding the washing your hair-I wet my hair down each day (nothing worse than bed-head with a new perm) but I didn't use shampoo for 3.

[oovygra]

It actually is 3 days. It actually takes 3 days for hair to completely dry. If it dries then it won't relax.
We hairdressers know few peeps will wait 3 days and not shampoo so we tell them 24 hours. If our clients have been using professional products prior to and after the perm chances are it won't relax anyway so 24 hours is fine. I have been doing hair over 20 years. The only problem is peeps using cheap store products. Oh and swimmers.....Those chemicals are a pain.

[needs_and_nessesities]

I'm afraid that simply isn't true. Your hair bonds should be completely rejoined if you are blotting, neutralizing and rinsing properly. If anyone is sneding anyone out of the salon with hair that is not bonded properly after a chemical service, that is negligent. This is where damage and breakage comes from.

The reason you are told not to shampoo right after a chemical service(you can, however, get it wet and condition it), is that the shampooing process can lift the cuticle and cause damage by allowing elements like sun, hot air, and some damaging molecules into the now more fragile hair shaft. 48 hours is a standard time to allow for going without shampooing. The perm formula has nothing to do with any of it.

[needs_and_nessesities]

Hmm, well, then, so does using the word "threw" when you mean "through" and the word "witch" when you mean "which", I would imagine. But pointing out simple typing errors is very important in a hair discussion, isn't it?

[needs_and_nessesities]

By the way, the "Ask A Scientist" web site is incorrect. The oxygen in the atmosphere cannot penetrate the hair shaft unless the cuticle is lying right open, in which case, your hair is shot. And I already said that shampoos can lift the cuticle and cause damage to the inner layer of hair right after perming. The H-bonds are already broken and reset though, or the hair would break right off. And I got my information from many years of cosmetology school and practice, and got a 95% on my state exam in the written. Not bragging, just correcting.

[dull*women*have*immaculate*homes]

I can remember getting a perm (picture going from long, straight-haired Marlo Thomas to curly haired Barbra Streisand in "A star is born") in college. I walked into my college biochem class after Christmas break, and the professor laughed and asked me "What did you do to your hair!!!" Everyone then joked that I had broken all my hydrogen bonds. It was soooooooooooo curly, that my mother had to sit down on the floor, she was laughing so hard. It took weeks to get it a little relaxed.

In the days when straight hair, parted in the center, was all the rage, I looked like little orphan Annie. Never again.

[needs_and_nessesities]

You tell me I am bringing down the whole industry because I misspell one word, and yet you are doing the same thing and it's...what? Not?

Anyway, the hair is only 2-3 layers, it's mostly protein, it can't be "penetrated" unless the cuticle is open, and if I can't explain it any better than that, I give up. And no, all scientists are not wrong, they did not invent the human hair strand, and this argument is ridiculous.

[needs_and_nessesities]

I can find things on the internet that say that aliens are controlling our every move. But by all means, if you want to learn from "Lance", be my guest. I would prefer to rely on my own costly education in cosmetology school. Other people can rely on my advice if they wish, or not. I am not going to argue with anyone who is just second guessing me whilst looking up facts on various websites. People should use what works best for them, and I have given all the advice I can give.

[dull*women*have*immaculate*homes]

"...it is your Ultra Dramatic Statements, "if cuticle is lying right open, in which case, your hair is shot" and "The H-bonds are already broken and reset though, or the hair would break right off" and of course "that is negligent, this is where damage and breakage comes from" that are quite concerning to me."

I have a minor in Chemistry. I really don't understand why anyone stating facts is considered by you to be making ultradramatic statements. It might be different if she said a bad perm would result in suicide or divorce, but short of that, I just don't get it *shrugs*

Is there a particular reason why you seem to be taking this conversation so personally? I have heard that folks have a tendency to project their own baggage into how they interpret things, and I often think that is true.

Why don't we just agree to disagree and learn from each other? That really is waht these boards are about.