Would You Get a Digital Perm?

Back in junior high, I was the queen of the bad perm.

I would get up at 5 every morning just so that I could wash my permed hair and scrunch, scrunch, scrunch. By the time I was done, I had added a good five inches to my height with my hair alone!

Looking back, the pictures are horrifying. By tenth grade, my friends had staged a permavention and I'd agreed to never perm my hair again.

But now, there's something new in the world of permanent waves. It's called a digital perm and it has me rethinking my no-perm promise …

The digital perm was developed in Japan and it's been a big hit in Asian countries, as well as in Asian salons here in the states.

Lately, though, its popularity is starting to spread. Unlike '80s perms, which created tight waves, digital waves create looser waves that mimic curls you'd get from hot rollers or a curling iron.

After a consultation to make sure your hair is healthy enough to go through the digital perming process, a solution is put on your hair to change its "chemical structure," according to a recent article on digital perms in the Daily Mail. Forty minutes later, your hair is set in curlers. You can opt for ringlets or loose waves — it's up to you!

Next, you're hooked up to this contraption and your curls are essentially steamed into permanence.

After that, if the job's been done right, you end up with beautiful, shiny curls or waves. And the perms aren't just for women like me with stick straight hair. They can also be used to relax naturally curly hair into softer, shinier waves.

Digital perms have a few major drawbacks: For one thing, they start at $200 and a good one at a top salon is probably going to cost much more than that. For another, you want to make sure your stylist has had plenty of training and practice with digital perms. Doing a search on digital perms, I turned up lots of reviews from women whose hair had been ruined by a stylist who botched the job.

But to be completely honest?

I WANT ONE!! I've always wanted curly hair and now's my chance! And I'd be willing to save up and spend on a good one — digital perms are supposed to last until your hair grows out!