It’s been awhile since my last perm. I let it grow out and chopped off the curls last summer. Now that my hair has gotten longer, I found myself missing the easy maintenance and volume of having a digital perm. However, I was nervous to do anything too drastic because of our upcoming engagement photo session.
I had been disappointed with how frizzy and tight the curls I got were the first time I got a digital perm. The second time I went to a different Korean salon for it, and she ended up giving me a traditional setting perm >.< Well, third time's the charm! After doing some research on local Korean salons, I made an appointment at Fox Hair because of their great Yelp reviews. I figured that even if the curls were too tight, they would relax by the time we take our photos.
My stylist, Claire, and her assistant/interpreter, were fabulous! In fact, everyone working in the salon looked like they had just walked off the set of a Kpop video. I immediately felt like I was in good hands. The digital perm process is LONG (~3 hours), but it’s so fascinating that it goes by pretty quickly. They also supplied me with a pillow, stack of magazines, and yummy green tea to help pass the time.
Digital Perm: Before
Digital Perm: During
My hair stylist was concerned about how damaged my hair was at the ends (from my failed diy ombre attempt), so she had to trim a lot more than we originally planned. She still didn’t know if my hair would hold the curl because of the damage, but tried a special perm solution for damaged hair. The digital perm process, for me, involved:
- a haircut to add some layers and texture
- treatment to add nutrients to the hair before perm damage
- perm solution, medium-sized rollers, then hooked up to the infamous digital perm machine
- shirley temple curls
- some sort of spray to relax the curls
- shampoo, oil for my damaged ends, and blowdry
Digital Perm: After
Loose, natural curls–EXACTLY what I wanted!
I’ll post more about Korean digital perms, how to style them, and pictures of my hair in the daylight tomorrow, but for now, it’s time to celebrate the weekend and veg out in front of the TV with my man!!