I suffered from momentary insanity last night and got a spiral perm put into my hip length hair in an effort to deal with awkward growing out bangs.  Well, it was a disaster!!  I have stubble all over my head where the hair was parted to be put on the tubes.  I'm guessing the weight of the foot long tubes and the tension from twisting and locking them into circles is to blame, or maybe it was the solution-my head is itching, burning a bit now. If that wasn't bad enough, I don't think the perm took evenly or very strongly at all.  I paid $240 for this nightmare and I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on what to do for it.  How can I keep and care for the slight curl that I did get and how to prevent further breakage?  Any tips for growing it out?  Also, I called the salon today and have an appointment to see the manager and stylist tommorrow.  I don't see much hope there- I don't want it repermed.  Besides, the manager actually blamed me for the problem!!  She said my hair was too heavy (I'm a natural redhead, we have the least# of hairs per square inch not really alot of weight there) and too long (I'm 5ft in heels, my hair would barely make waist length on a taller person).  I really think the stylist just rushed through the perm, I was in and out in 2 hours.  I'm thinking about asking for a refund, What do you all think?  I'm open to any suggestions
Thanks,
Sonya.

Oh my goodness!  Don't you let that salon manager get away with blaming you for this!  From your description, it sounds like the stylist did indeed rush, wound the rods too tightly, and broke some hair off (explaining the stubble).  Your scalp should not be burning, especially not the next day.  They are absolutely to blame, and should offer you abject apologies for messing up your hair and refund your money.  If they don't, I'd file a complaint with the BBB.  Their claim that your hair is too heavy and too long is totally bogus.  If that were the case, they should have told you before they did anything that it would be a problem.

I can't offer you any advice on maintaining the curl you did get, unfortunately.  My hair has never held a curl.  Even when I had my own perm nightmare and two whole curls broke off, the rest of the curl fell out after two weeks.  I know there are several curly girls on here though, and I'm sure they'll be able to give you some good advice.

In the meantime, here's a (((HUG))).  Keep us posted on how things go.

Oh, and welcome to the salon, though I'm sorry the circumstances weren't better.  :-/

Dear Sonya,

Oh my ((((hugs)))  I had one of these perms about 12 years ago.  My hair was waist length at the time.  Yes your hairdresser did rush it.  Mine took from 8 in the morning till about 3 in the afternoon.  Those spiral rods added up are very heavy adding stress to hair, neck and back.  Walking was very hard in this, they should have had you lay down while waiting for the perm solution to work so you did not stress your hair.  It is NOT your fault!  Best thing is to treat your hair gently, no brushing.  Use a wide toothed comb gently to avoid snags.
 I am so sorry to hear about this.  Please keep us posted. :)

awww - that's terrible.  I don't have any advice just sympathy since I've never had hair that long  and having only had one "perm" in my entire life about 30 years ago (it was called a "body wave").
I would certainly be very careful what the salon tells you to do to remedy the situation as they certainly didn't seem to know anything about long hair to start with.

(((((( HUGS)))))))

I'm so sorry to hear this happened.  I don't have any suggestions for saving the curl, I'm afraid.  

Don't let the salon blame you for the distaster - they are the experts.  If your hair was not right for the treatment, they should have told you so and even made you sign a statement that you insisteted on the treatment against their advice.  $240 for 2 hours and a bad perm does not sound right to me.  At a minimum I would request a refund of the stylist's time (and pay for just the products that were used).

Perms typically dry out the hair, so to maintain good flexibility and softness of the hair, I usually recommend oiling the hair for moisture.  You also might try shampooing less and using a light conditioner to cleanse the hair.  (This would follow the curly hair routine).  The less you mess with your curls, the better they will stay.


Let us know how things go for you.

I definitely think you are not at fault at this!  If the stylist really thought it was going to be a problem, she should have said something ahead of time.  Try to get your money back, and don't let them try to "fix" it.  It may just end up making it worse.

I'm so bummed you had a bad experience.  I hope this all ends up okay.

Cynde

Thank you all so very much for the kind welcome and friendly shoulder to cry on!  I had my little meeting with the salon owner and stylist today.  I came in prepared with all sorts of info about how my hair breakage and limp perm were due to the stylist's technique and rush.  It didn't do a bit of good -- they actually stood there, picking all through my scalp and denied seeing ANY broken hairs!!!  I was struck speechless! My kids went with me and said, much to their amusement (twisted little angels) that I regained my voice quickly and rather loudly.  We "conversed" for a good half hour but they still refused to admit anything was wrong with the perm or any hair was broken, but if it was it was my fault for various silly and contradictory reasons. Finally, I gave up and left.  I did say that I would be complaining to the state licensing board (I did and they are sending papers to file).

I'm upset about the perm and how the salon handled things but I am so very, very glad the whole fiasco made me surf the web and find this site!!  I stayed up late last night reading through the boards-WOW!  AWESOME!

It is absolutely amazing to me to find so many wonderful people who also happen to love long hair.  It is incredibly rare in my everyday life to see anyone with waist length or longer hair.  Even my poor hubby doesn't see the allure of uber-long hair, thankfully he loves me and endures my little "eccentricity".  I can't begin to tell you what it means to me to know that there really are other people out there with hair this long.

Thanks just for being there!
Sonya

Geez, that salon you went to sounds terrible!  >:( I have to wonder if any of their other customers had similar experiences. I can't believe they denied damaging your hair. The nerve of some people.

But I'm glad you're taking actions against the salon. I hope things turn out for the better. Keep us posted on what happens, okay?

(((Hugs)))

Sorry to come in very late on this.

Totally agree with everyone on this.  NOT YOUR FAULT and it's great if you make the salon accountable.  

It may be late to help you situation but it's good to get this on any record - and frankly I'd think they could be made to return at least the amount of money you spent.

Things can go wrong but if it's under their doing it's their fault and responsibility.

Good luck in the recovery from this...we'll al be here to try to help ...g

I am so sorry  :'(  Maybe you can get at least some of your money back. As far as your hair goes, I agree with BB - keep it moisturized. I had quiet a few bad perms in my poor hair. Never again. The more I read here about hair care, the more I regret what I've done to my hair all these years. It's pampering time now :)

And about your stubbles: I had a stubble feeling after a perm as well, but it turned out that my hair was "just" kinda bend - it felt normal after a few washes.

wrote on Aug 18^th, 2005 at 7:08pm:

And about your stubbles: I had a stubble feeling after a perm as well, but it turned out that my hair was "just" kinda bend - it felt normal after a few washes.

I sure hope for Sonya that's what it is.  I have also had exactly that feeling after a perm - it is caused by the solution and how the roller bends the hair in the opposite direction of it's natural growth making a very sharp bend right smack at the hairline.  Just a few millimeters of growth and it feels completely different...

That was a great thought Moonchild - I'd forgotten all about how that can feel ...g

Oh Sonya you poor thing!  :'(

I am so sorry they were horrible with you like that.  They could have went through your hair and used a different tone.  Maybe it is just 'bent' from the rollers and will smooth out soon.

Like the others said, keep it moisturized, do deep conditioning treatments, oil the ends and hopefully your hair will recover nicely.

Welcome!! :)

Welcome Sonya!  I'm so sorry this happened to you.
I have gotten plenty of perms in my life-some turned out great, others were disasters.  The last perm I had was 5 years ago- I had a mildly- moderatley burning scalp that lasted 2 days after, but could at that time see no hair damage.  What I did was take some Aloe Vera capsules, break them and squeeze the juice on my scalp and rub it in, that helped.  I Would think some Aloe Vera gel or juice would do the same thing.
I'vbe brought my hair to health from perms (and colour) before. What I did is a deep treatment once a week and lots of conditioning in between.
I didn't know then that I do now- you could just scalp wash with a mild shampoo and not wash your length more than twice a month or so.
Jojoba oil is good, too- it saved my bleached blonde highlighted hair.
My hair has never been as long as yours, so I don't know about the weight from the rods.
I think that salon was negligent.
First of all, they should have seen you had very long hair and warned you that it would take a long time to perm.   Secondly, it does sound like the stylist rushed through it.  I wouldn't re-perm.  I tried that on my own hair once (I permed once at 3 months post-partum and it didn't take- so I permed again about a month later- it really damaged my hair) Of course I have very fine fragile hair that can't take a lot.
You should be able to bring your hair back with good care!

What a sad story!  Thanks for sharing it with us, we are a supportive group, eh?
In regards to the curl, I recommend Jessicurl products.  They are as natural as they can be, without cones and smell yummy (if you choose a scent).  I have rockin' ringlets and confident coils styling solutions.  She (Jess) has a sample packet for about $30 which contains all of the styling products as well as deep treat, shampoo and conditioner.
I imagine you don't want to spend too much after the cost of the nightmare so maybe this will be a good way to go.

Good Luck!!!

www.jessicurl.com

Another route is to send a report to the Better Business Bureau too.
Anyway, a happy result is we get to meet you and have you as a happy member of the LL family!  Yeah!  Keep us posted on how your hair recovers and insights you've had on hair growth and care over the years -- I'll  be so happy to get to BSL in the future, so hip length hair is a fantasy length in my mind right now (at least on me)

Thanks for all the kind thoughts and suggestions!  I'm just now getting to read them all, we just got back from taking the in-laws to Colorado for their 50th.  No phone lines/internet to the cabin, oh my!

Unfortunately, my hair really is broken off.  How I wish it was only bent, bummer.  Good news is that by spending a week in the mountains with only family I could get by with only one washing.  Combine that with the night I spent at a hotel on the way out with my hair literally soaked with jojoba oil and shea butter and my hair actually feels pretty soft except for the very, very ends.  I've been putting jojoba on the ends daily and they just suck it up.

I'm definitely going to try the aloe vera.  I already keep a jar chilled in the fridge for sunburns and cuts.

I'll have to try out the jessicurl also.  I love an all natural shampoo/ conditioner.  Normally I rotate ShenMin and Avalon Organics.  After the perm I got some Tigi Curls Rock shampoo/cond to keep from "stripping" my hair and to make the perm last but after reading the ingredients I gave it to my boys to use- I figure it can't hurt their buzz cuts.

Does anyone know if hair vitamins actually work?  Maybe I could get the stubble to grow out a little faster.

Thanks again,
Sonya

The cabin must have been fun. I'm sorry that your hair really did break off.

I'm not sure about the hair vitamins making hair grow faster. I take 1800mg of biotin daily and my hair has been growing at a rate of .75 inches a month for the past couple months. However, I don't know if that's caused by the biotin, it's my usual growth rate, or if it's due to warmer weather. If anything, the vitamins may make the growing hairs healthier.

To bad that your hair REALLY broke off. I was sure hoping for you that it was only bend.  :(  I take vitamins and I noticed that my nails grow faster and my hair is shinnier.

:)

Cabin does sound like a lot of fun  :)

Oh that is unfortunate.

My theory on the vitamins is that if you are low on something it will definitely help.  As long as they are the type of vitamin where excess is excreted it's usually safe.

Yes, the cabin sounds delightful ... best to you, g