I desperately wanted a perm. I can't even begin to imagine why I thought a perm was the answer to all my hair troubles.
My hair is very thick and ever since I could speak out against "The Bowl" I have kept my hair pretty long. Anyway, in the 80's who wanted long, straight hair? Mmm, NOBODY! So crimping and curling took far too long, and my mom just got a perm, and my sister just got a perm... HEY! I want a perm!
So I was probably 9 or so, sitting in that chair FOREVER! Twisting and curling and winding every inch into little twists all over. Then came the chemicals... Burning and stinking chemicals! (All over my recently Sun-In'ed hair, I might add!)
After about 3 hours, I walked out of that salon, curly haired and stinking of fresh perm, dreaming of having BIG, HUGE BLONDE CURLY HAIR!!!!
But No.
My hair was so thick, it weighed most of the curl down within the first week, no amount of Aussie Scrunch Spray was going save that perm. Within a month, my hair was straight again. Dry and frizzy, but straight again.
I tried the perm maybe 3 more times before giving up. One time I tried the "Ogilvie Home Perm", Yeah, let's just say my hair was never meant to be curly!

Anyone else with a Perm Story?

:lol: I was queen of perms.. well me and every other girl in my high school! I ogt my first one at around10 or 11 years old. My mom gave me the Ogilvie home perm too. :lol: I still have the pictures. They are AWFUL! Then in high school I had a million perms. One was called a jungle perm. :rolleyes: it was a bunch of differnet size rollers with a bit of ratting added to the perm. I definately looked like a jungle chick, like a monkey had just done my hair! :eek:

Never got a perm. I can make my hair REALLY straight or have big curls and they'll hold perfectly for a long time, so I never needed one. :bouncy:

Ahhh yes, the perm. After I decided I didn't want to look like a boy, I grew out my Dorothy Hamill hairdo & got a perm. What a horrid mistake that was! :scared: I ended up looking like a white boy with a bad jeri curl, because the only way I could keep it from turning afro was to slather a bunch of gel in it. :rolleyes: Ugh...

I got my first perm in 2nd grade. It was terrible! My Mother decided one day that she wanted me to have curley hair. But to top that off I already had really ugly glasses and braces so the perm made me look 10 times worse. So needless to say I burned those class photo's. :lol:

I did get a good perm once. I was 18 and got a spiral. It cost a lot but looked really good.

I always had very wavy - curly hair... People would ask me if I had a perm or body wave... Actually I have always wanted pin straight hair. My hair changed as I got older and it is not nearly as curly as it use to be. More of a wave - almost straight as it's going to get and I am just fine with that :)

I had my first perm when I was about 10. OMG those pictures are scary! It wasn't my last though. I had several throughout middle school and high school.

I always had very wavy - curly hair... People would ask me if I had a perm or body wave... Actually I have always wanted pin straight hair. My hair changed as I got older and it is not nearly as curly as it use to be. More of a wave - almost straight as it's going to get and I am just fine with that http://www.80sxchange.com/ubb/smile.gif

Have you tried using a straightening iron? Those work wonderful when you want a totally straight look! :thumb:

Have you tried using a straightening iron? Those work wonderful when you want a totally straight look! :thumb:


I love my iron! I got it at Sally's for $25.00.. Ladies, if you want stick straight soft hair check out the curlmasters ceramic straightners! I can't say enough about mine. :lol:

I've never had a perm--up until a few years ago, I had wicked curl. It's not so curly now, but I don't want to fry it with chemicals or heat so I just deal. My hair is old and droopy just like me! :laugh:

I love my iron! I got it at Sally's for $25.00.. Ladies, if you want stick straight soft hair check out the curlmasters ceramic straightners! I can't say enough about mine. :lol:

Most definitely!!!! :thumb: It's particularly handy for those nasty, humid days when your hair decides to go nuts on ya! :mwaha:

Mine is a Revlon and totally love it! I used to have a Conair Geometricks, but eventually fell apart and would take forever and a day to heat up. The Revlon one I have now is FAST!! :bouncy:

I got my first body perm when I was 15. My neighbor was a hairdresser and brought all the supplies home and gave it to me there. It came out really nice, though some of my family members didn't like it. But I did and that was all that mattered. I always had 'straight as a board' hair and I couldn't do anything with it. It was really long and I hated it. Once a year I get a spiral perm, it's expensive but I love having curly hair. It's funny because people with curly hair want straight hair and people with straight hair want curly hair. Go figure......

I've never had a perm as I've got naturally curly hair :bouncy: I do get people ask if it is a perm or if I'd ever like to have it straightened (that will never ever happen). Why do people think that just because you have curly hair you automatically want it straight....

I've never had a perm as I've got naturally curly hair :bouncy: I do get people ask if it is a perm or if I'd ever like to have it straightened (that will never ever happen). Why do people think that just because you have curly hair you automatically want it straight....

I fought my curls for a long time & one day said screw it - Now I just wash, & go!! :clap:

I grew out my Dorothy Hamill hairdo & got a perm.

Me too. I think I was about 12ish when my mom decided I should have a perm. My hair is so stick straight and even a perm wasn't completely helpful. In high school I did the spiral perm and that lasted much longer.

lol I learned my biggest hair lesson with my first perm. Always be absolutely clear about what you want your hair to look like.

My hair has always been baby fine and straight. I could never keep barettes or bows in my hair for long. Plus it would tangle with the drop of a hat.

I wanted something that I saw in a magazine, BIG wavy hair, soft big gorgeous CURLS. It was an ad for a perm. I should have known that I could not have that hair. :lol:

I'm sitting in the beauty salon chair, trying to explain what I want. I should have brought the picture in, but hey, I was 10, what did I know? I said "I want very little curl" meaning I wanted big bouncy waves. My beautician heard "Very Little CurlSSSSS". lol I turned out looking like little orphan Annie but with much smaller, tighter curls. Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! :hissy:

I've always wanted hair I can't have, especially for the amount of time and effort it takes to maintain it. I'm just not interested in using a curling iron or hair rollers every morning. So, I've learned to accept my hair, the way it is. Except now, I dye it every color of red that I can find. :rollin: Wheeeeeeeeeeee....how fun! NOW if I don't use a product called "Cholesterol" my hair is frizz city and very tangly.

I always had stick straight hair since I was a baby. I was forever putting all kinds of crap in my hair & using a curling iron every single morning. :yucky: I got my first perm when I was 14 & it was a spiral. I loved it!! The curl lasted forEVER in my hair. By the time I was 15, I had had enough. :lol: Time for the big, long, 80s metal chick hair!! Haven't bothered since. :D

I was in grade school. I remember my eyes burning and the solution smelt like rotten eggs, and I cried. I vowed never to do it again.

My one and only perm was in 1982 and it was a complete disaster! I too have very thick hair and it was curly the first couple days, so curly that it stuck away from my head about two feet! About 2 weeks after you could'nt even tell that I had one unless you were there right after my shower:no: It sucked!
Another hair trama for me in the 80's were the baby bangs! I had such thick hair it wouldn't curl like all the other girl's baby bangs!!! :dammit:

Hated my hair for most of the 80's!

Aaaaggghhhh, perms. Wow, it's been a long time since I've even thought about a perm. You'd be hard-pressed to find a self-respecting hairdresser that still does "the perm."


After going through the pixie and the shaggie bob, I grew my hair out long enough for a perm. I was about 12. Of course, I had it dyed blonde first. At least my mother had the sense to take me to a professional for this horid little experiment.

I ended up looking like Madonna in her "Borderline" days. I often wore it tied back with a big black or flourescent green ribbon, just like she did. My hair really took to perms. I don't believe the perm ever really died out of my hair, either. But I ended up having to get "root perms" for the new growth.

:brow

I got my first perm right after Dirty Dancing came out. Everybody thought i looked like Jennifer Grey, because my nose is not the smallest either. ;)