So I got A Digital Perm
Sometimes you need a change and that change comes to you while doom scrolling into the early mornings.
Are you new around here? If so, I tend to fixate on random things every so often and in June it was a digital perm. Thanks to my Tik Tok feed for targeting me with digital perms for a straight week, I decided I needed a change.
Now I am not new to perming my hair. Unfortunately growing up I was cursed with home perms where I looked more like the spawn of IT than a mermaid. Think clown wig versus tousled beachy waves.
This did not deter me in my early 20s to visit a random Korean Salon that promised a digital perm (off yelp), but again I was sorely disappointed. It barely lasted and was not it.
Then again in my 30s when my colorist permed my hair, it was definitely more of the vibes I was going for, but a little more 80s than I wanted. It does loosen up and I do think I had great hair thanks to my stylists.
So after a week of seeing video about digital perms done by Liya, I decided to book an appointment. Lucky for me she had an opening early June. My hair was kind of grown out and I figured Sal could fix anything I did to my hair at this point.
Side note: Sal has been cutting my hair since 2016 when a brand collab went horribly wrong and my hair was beyond fixing. Legit went to 3 different (reputable) stylists who did the best they could, but short of shaving it off or growing it out they couldn’t really do much else. Sal fixed it and gave me my confidence back.
Chris was a bit nervous that I was randomly going to drive out to Arcadia to entrust my hair to a stranger, but I figured it can’t be worse than my home perms.
Luckily for me, it turned out exactly how I wanted it!
Just now realizing I don’t have any photos of the perm, but here’s one shortly after I got it done.
Up Keep
About 2 months into my perm I did book a cut to shape everything and take some of the weight off. My hair is really thick and it needs to be shaped or I get overheated and feel like a triangle. Personally I’d like to have shaped it one month in when the curls are a bit more relaxed, but I wasn’t able to get an appointment.
Overall having a perm is much more low maintenance to feel put together for me which is why I love them. There is a little more product use after washing that is required, but other than that I’m air dry and go.
I wash my hair about every other day or every two days depending on my activities. Once a week I use a clarifying shampoo and hair mask. I’ve learned so much about scalp health thanks to Crystal my colorist.
After my shower, I’ll towel dry with hair towel. The goal is to remove as much water as quickly as possible without breaking/ stressing the hair. Next up I’ll apply some scalp serum, then this curl cream. As I apply the cream I am finger combing the curls. To finish off I’ll use some wave spray and hair oil at the ends to tame the frizz.
To refresh my curls after sleeping on them or working out, I’ll spray some water and scrunch with a little more wave spray and hair oil as needed.
My favorite way to pull my hair up is using a banana clip.
That’s it! I’m fuss free and it has given me more shape and volume with minimal effort.
What to Expect
If you decide to get a digital perm, understand that it’ll look worse before it gets better. There were a few minor moments of freak out when I saw the George Washington Wig look happening.
The whole process takes roughly 3 hours, could be longer if you have more hair or damage. Liya was great and her team was super kind. Bring a book and maybe some snacks.
You’ll want to avoid sweating, water, or washing for 72 hours after the perm so that it locks in. It’s also recommended to avoid putting your hair up as it could mess with the coil of the curls.