I had always loved my long, mostly-straight hair, but I never knew what to do with it. It was very plain-Jane when it was up, and I took it for granted. I enjoyed sleeping on curlers from time to time, I thought the ringlets and waves were exotic and fun.

After a conversation with a close friend about how I’d like to do something to my hair, something new that would freshen my look, she suggested a loose perm. I was intrigued, I’d never considered a perm before…I went home, and after a week of research, I decided what the hell? I’d love to have some wide, loose wavy curls!  My friend offered to pay for the perm as a gift to me, we were both so excited.

I went for a consultation at the salon of choice, it was “Regis” at our local Mall, a fairly upscale salon. We looked through a dozen magazines and books before I found a couple of pictures of what I wanted, something like this:



We made the appointment for two weeks later.

On the way to my appointment the Sunday to have my hair done, I received a call that my sisters Fiancé-to-be had tragically died the night before, I was unable to see her at that moment so I kept my appointment, not knowing what else to do and feeling completely shaken and stunned….I sat in that chair for about 3 hours while the woman worked on my hair, all I could think about was what my sister was going through, how this could have happened to her, what was going to happen next, all the while feeling utterly numb and dumbstruck… I was so lost in my own mind that I was not paying attention to what the woman was doing to my hair…when she finally took the curlers out so I could rinse the chemicals out of my hair, I had ringlets so tight I couldn’t even fit my finger in the middle of one. Oh my god! What had this person DONE to my head!!! I was still so freaked out about the death that I could not properly process or express how I felt, so I stayed silent and let her finish the job…my friend met me afterward to pay for it and she looked so excited for me, but I could tell she knew it had got awry. I didn’t tell her about what had happened, I didn’t feel I should talk about it yet, so I feigned happiness and left the mall as soon as I could.

After spending the rest of the day with my grieving sister, I went home and sat in the shower for about an hour, I didn’t care what it did to my hair, I hated those stupid little curls! Half of it has loosened up in the following weeks, but now I am stuck with ringlets that are very high maintenance and immensely damaged hair. If I brush my hair (which I only do every other day or so, before I shower) I look like Diana Ross! I'm not kidding! Unless I pile the product on my curls, they frizz out like crazy and look ridiculous. My hair is a lot “fancier” now and definitely looks classy in an up-do, but I miss my care-free flowing locks. I miss being able to run my fingers through my hair…I haven’t been able to do that for six months.

It has only grown 2 inches in the last 6 months and I feel like it’ll never get back to where it was. I don’t have the heart to chop it all off (and my boyfriend would not be happy if I did). I’m going to get a pair of hair scissors today so I can trim some of the dead off, and believe me there is a lot of it, but there has got to be something else I can do to get my old hair back faster. Are there vitamins I can take? Special scalp massages I can try? I’ll do anything!

I went from shiny, breezy hair to brittle curls that look awful unless saturated with product that leaves it feeling stiff and dirty.

Is there a shampoo/conditioner or leave in product out there that will give me natural feeling, bouncy curls?

Help

Before the perm, my hair looking shiny and lovely after a fresh dye-job




And this is after the perm had loosened up a bit:

Welcome to LongLocks, Sekhmet.  I'm sorry your perm didn't turn out the way you wanted.
I'd get regular trims to gradually cut off the damage.  Put oil on the ends, from the ears down.  You might want to start with olive oil and gradually over time try a lighter oil once your ends improve.

Good nutrition is always important, be sure to get a good multivitamin.  Personally, I take an herbal supplement for my hair, Healthy Hair by Banyan Botanicals.

Get a good moisturizing shampoo & conditioner.  Ouidad and Devachan are two brands I use, I'm naturally curly.

Patience is the hardest part, it will take time for your hair to recover.

Good luck, glad you've joined us!

Ah, poor hair!    I'm so sorry this did not turn out as you expected.  I second Sakina's suggestions.  Oiling the hair will replace the moisture that was removed during the perm processing.  Using shampoos/conditioners that designed for dry, cheminally processed and/or curly hair will hopefully help.

Good luck and let us know what works for you and what doesn't.

Awww Sekhmet!  ***HUGS!***

Hair tribulations are something no one should have to go through.

I had a perm a long time ago (back when dinosaurs roamed... okay, maybe not that long ago) and I remember it was really hard to keep it looking nice.  I remember only combing my hair when it was wet with a wide toothed comb and using gel to keep the curl from frizzing.

Maybe you could try aloe gel for your curls instead of the other products that contain alcohol that will only dry your hair further.  Other than that, everyone's suggestions are really good.  Vitamins and proper diet will go a long way to how fast your hair will grow.. you may want to try and over the counter prenatal vitamin.. my experience is that it quickly grows my hair and nails. 

I'd stick to only moisturizing shampoos and conditioners, and invest in a good weekly deep conditioning treatment or oil. 

And the only way to get rid of damage on hair is to trim it off.

Good luck, and let us know how things work out!

Sekhmet,

   I am sorry to hear of your harmful perm.  I want to compliment you on your hair color though.  The pictures you posted are just incredible.  I love the shades of gold, red, and brown in your beautiful hair.  You are very beautiful!

Blondestorm

I had a small wide-toothed comb given to me by a woman with mid-back length natural ringlets after I got my perm, but I ended up giving it to my boyfriend to comb his 5-inch long beard (he needed it more than I did!!)

Thank you for the glowing compliments on my hair color!! I really love it red, but it is sooo hard to keep it that color--which is why I am going to take my sister Tara's suggestion and try a henna color. Ever since my perm my hair soaks the color up better than it used to.