From neat bobbed ringlets of the 1920s to bouffant 80s curls, perms have fallen in and out of fashion favour for decades. In recent years, they’ve had a bit of an unlikely resurgence among young men, with K-pop stars, TikTokers, and actors all helping to popularise the perm.
But perms can do real damage to your hair. The perming process breaks structural bonds within your hair, making it more vulnerable to dryness, chemical penetration, and breakage [1]. At worst, perms and hair relaxers can lead to hair becoming so dry and brittle that it breaks off in bulk, jeopardising the thickness and appearance of your hair.
In this article, you’ll learn all about the risks of hair perms so you can decide whether they outweigh the benefits. This includes:
A perm is a chemical process that involves deliberately breaking the disulfide bonds within your hair fibres, then reforming them in a new curl pattern. Unlike temporary curling with heat or rollers, a perm will hold its shape for several months without needing top-up styling treatments, even after washing, exercising, or swimming.
But the processes used to perm hair can cause significant damage. Breaking and reforming disulfide bonds requires chemical or heat treatment, both of which can harm your hair.
There are two main perming methods: cold perms and hot perms. Cold perms are used more frequently than hot perms, although hot perms (also known as digital perms, as the curler temperature is digitally controlled) are becoming more popular. The table below tells you how each method works and the potential damage it can cause.
The cuticle is the outer shaft of the hair strand. It consists of several overlapping layers to add protection to the inner hair fibre. By design, perming techniques lift the cuticle so the perming agent can reach and break the disulfide bonds within the hair cortex.
But lifting the hair cuticle makes your hair look and feel less smooth. Over time, with multiple treatments, this can give your hair a straw-like texture that indicates substantial hair damage.
No — regardless of your gender, perms are performed the same way. That means there’s the same risk of hair damage for both men and women.
Because men tend to wear their hair shorter, the risks of long-term hair problems are somewhat lower. With regular haircuts, men can remove the results of a bad perm within a few months. Women who wear their hair long are stuck with perm damage for much longer.
While certain conditioning and smoothing treatments can help flatten the hair cuticle and make your hair feel smoother, any perm-related damage is likely to be permanent [2]. So aim to prioritise damage limitation over hair repair (more on how you can do this later).
The only way to repair damaged hair from perming is to chop it off. So consider the risks carefully before opting for a perm.
Perms affect your hair on a cellular and molecular level [2]. The extent of your hair damage depends on a few factors, including:
The effects of perming accumulate with each treatment, so the more you relax or chemically alter your hair, the more damage you’ll do.
Perming after dyeing or bleaching your hair can be particularly destructive. Not only will this dry out your hair, it can also ruin the results of your perm, leaving you with fried, overprocessed, shapeless hair:
Hot perms also contribute to loss of moisture in your hair, as well as degradation of essential amino acids [1, 3].
Hair damage can be a serious blow to your confidence. If a perm makes your hair break off in large amounts, you may need a significant trim to restore your hair health.
Your hair may still look healthy after one, two, or even more perm treatments. But because the effects accumulate, you will do more harm to your hair with each perm treatment you get. So even if your perm looks healthy and feels smooth, you need to take extra steps to keep it in good condition.
Signs that permed hair is healthy include:
Getting a perm means accepting some risk of hair damage. But there are a few ways to protect your hair and limit the detrimental effects of a perm:
In some cases, a perm can lead to hair loss. This is more likely to happen if you apply perming chemicals on treated hair (such as bleached, dyed, or relaxed hair). Some people have found their hair falling out in clumps after a perm for this reason:
At-home perms are one of the riskiest ways to get quick permanent curls. Perming is a professional technique that should only be performed by qualified stylists (and even then you can run into problems).
Minimise the risk of perm-related hair loss by visiting a reputable, recommended hair salon. And if they advise against getting a perm due to existing hair damage or treatments, it’s probably best to take this on board.
Perms can also cause significant hair breakage. While this isn’t true hair loss — your hair snaps off mid-strand, rather than coming loose at the root — it still makes your hair look thin and frail. Breakage happens when your hair cuticle lifts and cracks, weakening the hair fibre until it fractures.
If the damage is done, there’s not much you can do to save your hair after a bad perm. But you can take steps to strengthen your existing hair and encourage healthy new growth:
At the Wimpole Clinic, we specialise in offering the best female hair loss treatments and male hair loss treatments to anyone with hair problems. Our team is friendly, approachable, and non-judgemental — we make sure you’re comfortable discussing any kind of hair loss with us, whether it’s hereditary balding or unhealthy styling practices.
Book a consultation at your nearest hair loss clinic location to get a tailored treatment plan.
Find out more about perms, hair damage, and hair loss in these frequently asked questions.
For most people, perm curls fall out within three to six months, reverting to your normal hair texture. You may find that the perm has made your hair frizzier or drier than before.
You have a few options if you’re not happy with the results of your perm:
When they’re successful, perms can give you voluminous, textured hair that looks great without spending hours with the curling tongs each day. This saves you time and makes it easy to achieve your preferred look every day.
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