Want to give a new style to your healthy hair? Dreaming of those fashion curls to adore a new look? Here you are. When the world is busy looking for grey hair treatment, dandruff cure and hair loss treatment, there are many of us with beautiful and luscious hair and who want to give their hair a new style. Perming facilitates giving tight curls to the hair and a style that goes with your face. If you wish to go in for a hairstyle that would look better with a hint of curl, hair perms are here to help - create the hairstyle you wish, be it big natural curls or tight spiral curls.



The key to the perming process lies in the fact that perming solution is alkaline. When scientists talk to each other about alkaline solutions and acid solutions, they need a way of measuring alkalinity and acidity. The scale they use for their measurements is called the pH scale. The pH scale ranges from pH 1 to pH 14. All you need to remember is that acids have pH numbers less than 7. Alkalis have pH numbers greater than 7. The more acid the solution, the lower is the pH number; the more alkaline the solution, the greater the pH number. Hair responds to changes in pH. If a hair is placed in an alkaline solution it swells, and the scales of the cuticle lift. In a slightly acid solution, the scales lie smoothly and the hair is soft. In a strongly acid or alkaline solution, however, the keratin protein starts to break down, which may lead to hair loss.

During perming, chemicals are used to break and reform the disulfide bonds of the hair. Thereafter, the hair is washed and wrapped on a perm rod and waving lotion is applied with a base. As the lotion is alkaline (pH about 9), the scales of the cuticle open slightly, allowing the lotion to flow under the cuticle and into the cortex. The alkaline lotion reacts with the keratin of the cortex, breaking some of the disulphide cross-links within and between the protein chains. The solution creates a chemical action that softens the inner structure of the hair so that it can stretch to take any form.

The success of the entire process depends upon the right selection of the perm rod. Spiral and concave rods should be avoided in perming as spiral wrapped hair creates a looser curl while concave rods make it impossible to wrap the hair without peaking the ends. A straight or cylindrical type rod should ideally be used for the most natural wave pattern as it can be wrapped with the hair strands of the same width from the scalp to the ends. It prevents spiraling and bunching of the hair that may distort the wave pattern.

The hair molds around the shape of the perm rod. After a specified period of time, the hair is rinsed and a neutralizer is applied. It is the neutralizing solution that reforms the disulfide bonds of the hair and sets the new curls in the final stage. Utmost care should be taken during the final stage as failure to rinse and neutralize properly can lead to many problems, including scalp irritation, dandruff and damage to the structure of the hair shaft.

Discuss the style with your hairstylist before the perm procedure. The perm hairstyle must be chosen to suit your face shape. If you have a long face, the perm must be worked to ensure volume on the side but never on the top. Some women try out spiral curls with curling irons at home. Test curls must always be carried out before going for the process completely.