How to Perm Curly Hair

Everyone loves curly hair! Except, sometimes, the people that have it. If you have extremely curly hair, that is slightly unmanageable, you can calm down your curls with a perm. A mild perm can make your tiny, coarse curls, big and bouncy! The following steps will show you how!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Perm solution
• Perm rods
• End wraps
• Rat tail comb
• Cotton roll
• Clips

1. Purchase a mild, low-alkaline perm. Most perm boxes will have the perm type printed on the label. You want a perm that specifies that it is gentle!

2. Look for the largest perm rods that you can find! You already have tight, small curls; we want to make them smooth and manageable. So the way to do that is to purchase large rods. Since rods are colored coordinating with their size, brown and orange are recommended. The colors will be placed alternatively in your hair.

3. Purchase end papers. These papers are extremely important! Don't perm without them! They protect the ends of your hair from overprocessing! You will also need a rat tail comb and a few clips to hold sections of hair. It would also be helpful if you asked a friend for help!

4. Wash and gently towel dry your hair. You will need your hair to be very wet when rolled! Keep a spray bottle filled with water handy during the perming process.

5. Section your hair by using the comb. You will want to do this neatly and evenly. First, make a section of hair straight down the middle of your head, like a mohawk. Place it in two clips, separating the two sections at the crown. Next separate the remaining hair in four sections. One on either side of the head before the ears, and two more sections of either side of the head behind the ears. For the visual, you will have six sections of hair, three in the back and three in the front. Remember that all sections should be no wider than the rods themselves!

6. Remove the clip from the MIDDLE BACK section of your head. Allow the hair to fall down naturally, and comb through any knots. With the rat tail end of the comb, divide your first section starting at the top of that section. Make sure the section is divided neatly, and the section should be very thin! No thicker than 1/8th of an inch.

7. Hold the section in one hand, and place the end paper under the ends of the sectioned pieced of hair. The end papers are rectangular in shape, place one end of the paper horizontally under the sectioned piece of hair, and fold the other half over the top portion of the divided section. So, the top and the bottom of the hair ends are completely covered. Spray the end paper that is now covering the hair, liberally with the spray bottle filled with water.

8. Wrap the hair around a brown rod, and carefully roll the hair, including the wrap, under, and secure with the rubber holder that comes attached to the rod.

9. Continue this process, alternating between the orange and the brown rods, until the entire section is complete. Move onto the next two back sections and then onto the front sections, until the entire head is rolled.

10. Place cotton around the perimeter of the face, just at the hairline, to prevent the perm solution from dripping onto the face and skin.

11. Apply the perm solution as recommended, and rinse. Next move onto the neutralizer and rinse once again at the recommended time.

12. Gently remove the perm rods, along with the end wraps. Allow your smooth new curls to dry naturally and enjoy!

Tips & Warnings

• When wrapping the hair with the perm rods, always make sure that the hair is completely saturated!
• Be sure not to wrap the hair too tightly, this can cause breakage.
• Always wrap hair evenly and neatly!
• Always follow manufacturer's instructions!