What To Do After A Perm: 5 Tips And Tricks

Published December 5, 2022

Anyone who’s been to a salon to get their hair done knows that bad habits can ruin a perfect hairstyle. Using hairstyling products excessively, for instance, can turn a curly hairstyle frizzy.

That’s particularly true for perm hairstyles.

‘Perm’ is short for permanent, and it’s a hairstyle that features curls and waves in the hair. While it doesn’t last permanently, despite the name, the hairstyle still lasts for a relatively long time.

Considering how it lasts for several months, you wouldn’t want to ruin your perm right after getting it. With that said, below are five tips and tricks on what to do after a perm procedure.

1. Look For Specific Hair Products

A perm makes it so your hair becomes wavy or curly, so it’s only fitting that you treat it as such.

In fact, it’s what you should do whenever you change your hairstyle—you must change how you treat your hair as well. You can start by using products that are designed for curly or wavy hair.

Shampoos, conditioners, and other hair products meant for curly hair typically contain:

• Aloe vera
• Keratin
• Shea Butter
• Plant Extracts
• Hydrolyzed silk
• Essential or natural oils (e.g., sunflower oil, avocado oil, coconut oil)

Basically, a general rule of thumb when taking care of a perm is that you need to do what people with naturally curly hair do. A lot of the tips in this guide will follow that principle.

2. Don’t Use A Blow Dryer

People with naturally curly hair often avoid blow dryers.

That’s because heat styling is generally bad for curly hair. The high temperature that blow dryers and other heat styling devices produce can remove or damage the natural curliness of one’s hair.

However, if you must, experts suggest putting the dryer six inches away from your hair. Of course, such advice doesn’t work for straightening irons, so it’s best to avoid them altogether. 

You can use brushes or combs instead. A wide-tooth comb would be the ideal type, but any other type of comb or brush should do the trick. It’s also fine not to use combs or brushes at all.

3. Apply Heat Protectants On Your Hair

This follows the same concept as the previous tip, where you must avoid heat or high temperatures as much as possible. Unfortunately, that can be incredibly hard and perhaps even impossible. After all, the UV rays from the sun should also be, to some extent, damaging.

For that reason, it’s advisable to apply heat protectants on your hair to ensure your curly or wavy hair doesn’t get damaged as much. Do this frequently, or at least when you need to go out.

4. Add Oils To Your Hair Manually

One of the downsides to having curly hair is that the natural oils tend to take some time to travel down the hair shaft—the bottom part of the hair. Sometimes, the oil may not travel down at all.

That’s why it’s advisable to add oils to your curly hair manually.

Any of the following would suffice:

• Argan oil
• Coconut oil
• Grapeseed oil
• Jojoba oil
• Olive oil

5. Avoid Over-Shampooing

Shampoo has a variety of benefits to the hair.