Hairstyles
Search
Categories
HJi Jobs
Other Posts
Previous post: Black Magic At TIGI's European Relase
Next post: hob's Zoe 'Honoured' to do Milan Fashion Week
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.
Help
The Return of the Perm?
Posted by
Kate
Dated: March 5, 2008 4:17 PM
As 80s nostalgia rears its ugly head - neon leg-warmers anyone? - Superdrug have revealed that the perm is making a comeback.
The highstreet store has found sales of home perm kits are up 50 per cent on the same period in 2007 - and in the last week alone they sold more of the kits than they did in all of February 2006.
Even Girls Aloud party girl Sarah Harding, who's fast gaining a reputation for her über chic locks, has been spotted with a head of curls in recent days.
But is the curl resurgence just a DIY thing or is it something occuring in your salons too and how do you feel about a return of the perm?
When we put the question to a variety of salons around the country that the answer was a resounding Y-E-S the perm is popular once again.
Tracy McCullough from Zoology says that for the first time in a year perming is on the up.
"In our salon perming business over the last year has decreased by 20%, however, with a high return of the eighties influences taking us by storm we has already seen the perming business increase by 15% and I believe that this will continue to grow," she says.
That trend isn't so clear in Lisa Shepherd's midlands salon group, but they have had an increase in the numbers of clients saying goodbye to dead straight hair.
"We are definitely seeing the return of a lot more movement in the hair in the form of soft curl which is being created using velcro rollers and tongs," Lisa explains.
"Clients are asking for style but aren’t necessarily asking for a perm but they are wanting the 'soft, lived-in' curl almost like a ‘slept-in’. Unfortunately these can not be achieved using perm solution, yet."
In Northern Ireland, Clive Johnston of Clive Alexander in Enniskillen has similar concerns about the quality of the treatments.
He adds: "With a total revival in bounce, curl & movement in today’s styling we do get requests for the perm but nowadays techniques have moved on from tight frizz that was the perm of yesteryear. The techniques that are applied are key to fashion perming."
One man who is embracing the return of curls and soft waves is Errol Douglas, who is confident that at curls hit the highstreet the tools and treatments used to create them will also improve.
"Movement is a key trend; and it's a two way street - the more curls appear on the catwalk, the more the industry responds with tools and formulas, and the more these are available, the more you'll see the styles filtering onto the high street," says Errol
"Perms today are about volume, glamour and movement, not the hideous poodle perm of old!
“The formulas are completely different from the 80s versions and really versatile, so I’m happy to see the perm’s resurgence."
Meanwhile London hairdresser of the year Karine Jackson has a big warning for all those people opting for the DIY approach in Superdrug.
"I wouldn’t recommend home perming as there are so many things that can go wrong," she says. "First you have to choose the right solution for your hair. If you get one that is too strong it will make your hair frizzy, too gentle and it won’t take but it will still dry your hair out.
"Then you have the winding of the rollers, and it’s very difficult to do this yourself.
"Get it wrong and you will end up with what hairdressers call ‘fish ends’ - this is when the ends of the hair kink over when rolling up into the curlers and they go very frizzy and dry. Over-process the solution on the hair and again you will end up with frizzy hair.
"My advice is to go to the professionals because they can choose the right solution and wind the curlers properly, you will end up with a great result."
What about you? Have you had an increase in the number of clients asking for perms? Perhaps they're all the rage among your staff? Join the chat on the MY HJi forums.
Tags: curls , curly hair , hairstyle trends , perms
Trackback:
http://www.hji.co.uk/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/22934