I’ve always had fine hair. It has the most beautiful ringlets. However, it is so thin that even a few hours after being washed the weight of my own body oil leaves it flat and stringy. After doing a bit of reading and asking around to some friends, a perm seemed to be the answer. I would have lasting curl and body. I went for it, receiving a spiral perm. Afterwards, I was a bit concerned. My hair seemed more frizzy than curly. I thought perhaps once I could wash and condition it would look better. I was wrong. After my perm, my hair was not only fried-far more even than a long history of bleaching and punky color dying had done-but it was frizzy and straight! The perm had actually removed my natural curl. All I had accomplished was more body.
More reading revealed that girls with hair like mine-fine with natural ringlets or wave, are hard to perm. It takes a hair stylist who is very experienced. The solution should be left on about half the normal time and won’t look permed when checked. My hairdresser had left the solution on even longer than normal because when she checked, the hair didn’t look ready. Long, sad story short my hair was perma-fried. I set out on a quest to repair my hair and fix my botched perm.
For those that don’t want to read the in-depth explanation to fix a perm without cutting off all your hair:
-Use anti-frizz shampoo and conditioner daily or every other day. Cost: $10-20 per pair lasts 1-3 months.
-Use a deep conditioner every 2-3 days. Cost: $5-10 per bottle lasts 1-3 months.
-Use a hot oil treatment once a week. Cost: $1-3 per 3-pack last 3 weeks.
-Get a salon deep conditioning treatment. Cost: $10-30 per treatment improvement is permanent.
-Have the worst of the damage cut out. Layers work well. Cost: Varies by location.
-Use an anti-frizz serum. Cost: $5-20 a bottle lasts up to a year or more.
-Have your hair trimmed regularly after repair.
Anti-frizz shampoo and conditioner:
The first thing I tried was anti-frizz shampoo and conditioner. I wanted something that would both restore strength and relieve frizz. I ended up with Pantene Beautiful Lengths Anti-Frizz. I’m not normally a fan of Pantene, but am impressed with this product. It works well and doesn’t leave hair feeling coated like many Pantene products. I also began using a deep-conditioner every 2-3 days. I choose Aussie Three-Minute Miracle one of my all-time favorites for its price and effectiveness. In addition to all this, I started using a hot oil treatment (Queen Helene) once a week.
After about two weeks, I was seeing improvement. A slight wave had returned to my hair. It was regaining its luster, but it certainly had a ways to go.
Anti-Frizz Serum:
I still had frizz, lots of it. I began trying anti-frizz solutions looking for something affordable and effective that wouldn’t weigh down my hair. I eventually found Zero-Frizz Corrective Hair Serum. This stuff is downright amazing. It feels greasy on your hands. If you overuse, it will on your hair as well. However, once you find that perfect amount for your hair, you can’t tell it’s there and it literally eliminates frizz. I’ve been using it about two months and have tried not using it periodically to check if it’s really repairing anything, I have seen improvement.
I had found a combination that made my botched perm look acceptable, but I wasn’t happy yet. I wanted my hair health back, and I didn’t want to have to cut the perm out to do it because my hair grows slower than snails– another common bane for people with my hair type.
Salon Deep-Conditioning Treatment:
Every year Matrix does a cans-for-cuts promotion where local saloons will give services in exchange for canned food for the hungry. I took advantage of this. I brought in 15 cans and got a cut and deep conditioning treatment. I had them give me layers so that as much damaged hair could be removed as possible while maintaining length. The deep conditioning treatment, which normally runs between 10-30 dollars, did wonders. Afterwards, my hair was soft again. The ringlets were even back! They were still too delicate to stick around too long after showers, but they were back.
After all this, my hair is finally back to normal for the most part. It still has slightly more frizz than before and slightly more body, but I’d call it repaired. The best part is I didn’t have to chop it all off and total what was used cost me very little.
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