Digital Perm

I've always wanted to try a digital perm.  I was growing my hair out for my wedding so right after, it was the perfect time to try it. I figured since my hair was long and if I didn't like it, I could always pony tail it up or cut it.

The difference between a digital perm and a normal perm is that heat is added to the rods by a machine, while a normal perm only uses chemicals only.  A digital perm is suppose to be a more looser perm, more wave-like, which is definitely what I wanted.  My inspiration:

I went to a small Korean salon in Fairfax, VA. It only had one good yelp review so I was a little nervous, but it was within the price range I wanted to spend and they had an appointment spot the day I wanted, so might as well!

I've never gotten a digital perm before so I didn't know what to expect and have no other experience to compare it to, but this is what happened at mine:

The lady placed my hair in mid-sized rollers and then attached them to this machine (which gives the temp digitally, hence the name digital perm).  She added these chemicals to my hair similar to a regular perm, but I guess because the chemicals are suppose to work more precisely with the heat, it is suppose to be "better" for your hair, but don't quote me on that one.  The heat was added for up to an hour, I lost track of time, but the whole process took about 1.5 hours. Once we finished, she rinsed my hair off and blow dried it with a diffuser on cool air and added an anti frize creme to my hair, Biosilk, to mold my hair a bit.  My hair was still half wet when I left and honestly it looked terrible.  Permed wet hair = UGLY.  After an hour of air-drying however, it looked SO much better!  The waves were very tousled, nothing too curly!  It was just what I was looking for.

You are not suppose to wash your hair for the next 24-48 hours.  I even waited an extra day to in order to ensure my curls stayed intact.  The next day, it looked even better.  I didn't even have to do anything with my hair.  I got loads of compliments & my co-workers thought I spent the time every morning to curl my hair (score!)

I was a little suspect on whether or not the digital perm process was enough time, since I read at some places it takes pretty long 3+ hours, while mine only only about 1.5 hours.  However, I was pretty satisfied with the results. My hair was still very soft, which totally is a bonus.

Since the perm was more of a looser tousled wave, I was a bit worried about if it would last long. The first month was great.  I could go every other day without washing my hair and get the perfect waved look.  The second day actually always looked better.  Two months later, I can definitely tell the difference - the curl is much looser now.  My hair is of course growing out, but in order to get a more curly look, I need to wash my hair everyday to reactivate the curls.  It still looks a bit wavy, but more flattened out from sleeping on it if I give it a 2nd day.

Maintenance is very easy:
1. Add some anti-friz serum to define the curl or scrunch it up after I take a shower and that's about it!

• I use either the BioSilk or Aveda be curly curl enhancer right after the shower; I also liked light elements smoothing fluid for styling
• My friends who had digi perms in the past recommended BB Curl Conscious

2. Hand-style it with your fingers.  DON'T COMB/BRUSH your hair (which is also a negative for me)
3. If blow drying hair - use a diffuser with limited heat as so not to damage your hair more
4. In terms of shampoos & conditioners - I'm really loving the brand Clear, which is very affordable and you can get it at your local Target!

PROS:

• Perfect tousled wave look without the work!  I wake up every morning already styled pretty much!  I'm honestly super lazy so being able to get nicely curled hair without spending 45 min+ to curl my hair is awesome!  
• Luckily for me my hair was still soft, but not sure if that will be the case for everyone

CONS:

• As I said you should NOT comb/brush your hair, but I tend to get a lot of knots in my hair!  I usually try to condition a lot and finger comb my hair in the shower, but I would still say that its not a perfect solution.  Sometimes I wish I could just brush it out like normal
• Looser curl after a month, but what can you expect after all your hair is growing out and each wash is deactivating the chemicals of the curl more and more

Hope all this digital hair perm information is helpful for anyone who is interested in getting one!

  Feel free to ask me any other questions that you have! Please share on your tips and experience with a digital perm as well, I would love to hear them!

digi perm inspiration pics google search via