Perms

The process of permanent waving, better known as perming, has been around for nearly one hundred years. The first perms utilized electrical current, which was sometimes dangerous. The machines themselves were large, unwieldy contraptions that looked as if they belonged in Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory. Hair was wrapped around metal rods that were attached to counterbalancing weights, which kept the electrified rods from touching the scalp. The risk of shock or burns was always present, and even if you did manage to avoid getting fried like a slab of bacon, you had to still deal with hours of being "tied" by the hair to a large machine.

In 1932, the first machineless perm was invented. This perm used a chemical reaction instead of electrical current to provide heat for the perming process. The chemical perming process was further refined in 1941 when the first "cold wave" perm was created. A cold wave perm did not involve the use of heat, but instead consisted of two steps; application of waving lotion (a liquid that softens and expands the hair strand), and application of neutralizer (a liquid that hardens and shrinks the hair strand). This is exactly the same way perms are used today.

As perming became increasingly popular during the 1970's, the chemistry of permanent waves became increasingly more evolved. Stop action processing allowed the perm to stop working after a cetain amount of time, reducing the risk of over-processing. Alkaline perms were created for resistant hair types and provided a long-lasting perm with strong curl patterns. Acid-balanced perms were created for body and gave a softer curl pattern. By the 1980's, permed hair was just as popular as legwarmers, Boy George, and countless other fads we'd just as soon forget.

Today, there are two distinct types of perms. Alkaline perms, which provide the maximum amount of curl, have an active ingredient known as ammonium thioglycolate. And if you think that's a big word, try glyceryl monothioglycolate, which is the active ingredient in acid-balanced perms. Acid-balanced perms are gentler than their alkaline counterparts and have a significantly lower pH. Yeah, yeah, yeah you say. But what does that mean for me? Well, acid-balanced perms are ideal for people who have fragile hair, or hair that has been colored, bleached, or damaged. So if you really want to impress the bejeezus out of your hair stylist, next time you go in for a perm, as yout stylist if the perm has ammonium thioglycolate or glyceryl monothioglycolate is it's main ingredient.

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