When Can I Straighten My Perm?

I wouldn't straighten it. Get it repermed with LARGE rollers... this will give you a more consistant bend and blend. I would NOT do this on your own however. I am a professional stylist and I do know what I'm talking about. A friend of mine did what you are wanting to do ( on his own), and his hair ended up breaking off at the scalp. Needless to say he shaved his head and started from scratch.

Carla J. Sanders

December 29, 20060 found this helpful

I completely agree w/ the stylist response. If you simply have no money and insist on doing it yourself, I'd give it at least a couple more weeks and call the help line that is on the box of perming products for advice. I did a "straight perm" to get rid of a perm many years ago. My stylist had me do hot oil treatments daily for the week leading up to the straightening and then told me to not wash my hair for 3 days right before, so there was as much natural oils as possible for protection against damage.

However - I think the point the stylist is making is that if you leave it on even a little too long, there's the potential for serious damage.

GOOD LUCK!

Need more info.: Your age, nationality of hair, thick/thin, dyed/bleached/natural, any RX prescriptive meds in last 3 months? Hair loss/Hair coloring previously?

I'd try three weeks of Mane n Tail Conditioner (WalMart) with nightly washings/rinsings, then when damp after air-drying, I'd use large hot rollers all over once or twice a week.By all means, do NOT try to straighten or reperm your own hair. You WILL regret it and it will be all your fault, or falling/fallen out. Instead, don't panic.

Know that hair grows at the rate of 1/2 inch per month, that decent conditioners WILL soften the perm.

Second choice is Pantene Conditioner or Herbal Essence Conditioner. Call the operator who
over-permed it and tell them that you're unhappy and will use only conditioners for three weeks and get back with her to see if it's better by then.

Oils will protect from shampoos, but raw eggs mixed with milk will be a third treatment. Remember, too, that hair is DEAD the minute it comes out of the scalp, just like nail tips. It's easy to damage it with too much chemical of ANY sort. So, settle down and try these things above, o.k.?

Use Herbal Essence Shampoos or Baby Shampoo, or Neutragena, then rinse and condition. Towel, then air dry when possible. You will find a lot of relaxing after three weeks when the untreated roots grow out a bit more.

Just don't panic and do give yourself a chance to get used to it, trying several styles and directions of brushing. Next time, remember that your hair
"grabs" a perm hard, telling your operator that it needs less timing and a milder perm product.

You'll be fine if you have no unusual circumstances to report in response to the above questions. Relax dear. God Bless you. : )

About 3 days ago I got a really bad perm, and I went back to the salon and the manager trimmed it and gave me some products. I asked her if my hair was healthy enough to straighten (with another perm without the rods) in a few more days. And she told me it would be fine my hair wouldn't break off and long as I kept conditioning it it wouldn't be dried out.

I'm a stylist too but I have one question for Karen. If you're using perm solution again, why not just use the perm solution to straighten your hair?

I also got a perm last month, and I hate it very much. I'm not sure what to do about it though. Someone had given suggestions above, and I'm still not sure which one is most effective. I need to get rid of this perm asap.