How does a curl perm work and how can I maintain a curly perm effectively?

Question: How does a curl perm work and how can I maintain a curly perm effectively?

Answer: Curly hair is beautiful. I personally would love to have natural curly hair. I use to perm my hair; twenty four perms in all.

Curly Perm Science:

It was believed that the shape of the hair shaft determined the hair type. A round shape shaft meant straight hair, oval meant wavy and flat meant curly hair. Scientist today says that the shape of the follicle from which the hair protrudes dictates the shape of the individual hair. There are various degrees to each shape thus the many types of curls and waves whether your hair is curly or straight is determined by the shape of the follicle itself and the direction in which each strand grows out of its follicle. Curly hair is shaped like an elongated oval and grows at a sharp angle to the scalp. Perms that curl the hair change the hairs molecular structure, and submit the hair to the size of the rod.

Since curly hair has a different biological structure than straight hair. It tends to be much drier than straight hair because the oils secreted into the hair shaft by the sebaceous glands can more easily travel down the shaft of straight hair. People with very curly hair may find that this hair type can be dry, hard to manage, and often frizzy.Curly hair is usually more dry than straight hair because the cuticle in curly hair is permanently raised lending itself to dissipation of moisture.

All perms, especially curly perms are affected by the amount of humidity in the air. It serves as a “truth serum” for the hair, forcing water back into the hair fiber and forcing the hair shaft to return to its original structure. This may be more noticeable in somebody with a curly perm because it tends to get frizzy when the humidity rises.

Taming The Curly Perm:

*Since curly perms get frizzy, and tend to dry out at the ends, I would recommend that you keep it moisturized with an humectant conditioner like the one Nexxus sells.

*Trim it a little especially around the contour of your face. This will keep the ends from looking overly dry.

* Don’t wash it every day as to let the natural oils set in. If you need to wash daily, don’t use shampoo every day, use conditioner as a substitute for shampoo.

* Use a spray on leave in conditioner.

* A good anti-frizz serum is good not just for the frizz but also for shine.