AROUND THE BEND

The perm has sprung back into salons, but not as you know it. By Remy Rippon.

The perm has sprung back into hair salons after taking over the runways this season, but the style is not as you know it.

IF YOU SPENT a good portion of the 80s glued to a hairdresser’s chair coercing your poker-straight tresses into corkscrews, you have reason to be a little apprehensive about the return of the perm. You’d better brace yourself, however, because the curlinducing protocol is having a revival. But it’s not as you remember it. Instead, hairstylists from backstage at the shows to salons around the world are using the technique to achieve everything from a voluminous wave to a beach-like tousle. A notable exclusion, though, is the Shirley Temple ringlet synonymous with perms of decades past.

Models with a natural wave, curl or coil spent less time in hair and make-up this season, with hairstylists from New York to Paris embracing all manner of movement. And where it was missing, they created it.

Pioneering hairdresser and backstage stalwart Sam

McKnight seemed to be caught in a time warp with references to Pre-Raphaelites of the late 1800s, a creative collective whose work featured women with tumbling waist-length curls, on full display at Halpern and

Michael Kors. For the latter, McKnight offered up a centre-parted trapezoidal cloud of curls that almost seemed to orbit model’s heads, the perfect complement to a collection inspired by 50s- era off-duty dancers of New York’s Upper West Side.

Whether it’s the inevitable (and welcomed) pendulum swing away from season upon season of effortless, bed-head inspired ’dos, or simply a response to the wearable elegance and bourgeois mood brewing on the runways, the message is clear: curls, in every iteration, are back. Hair at 3.1 Phillip Lim charted a similarly curvy course. Hairstylist Gary Gill created a brushed- out curl (slick at the roots, frizz fully embraced) that felt much like the style you might have rocked as a third-grader after going to sleep with your hair in plaits. Elsewhere, there were subtler nods to the new mood. At Emporio Armani, curls loosely zigzagged for a more modern take on a finger wave, while at Paula Knorr, Nick Irwin offered “a nod to the disco era … without being too literal”.

In salons, the concept of the perm is being interpreted less literally. “It has gone from tight curls to creating waves and a gentle movement in the hair,” says Renya Xydis, owner of Sydney’s Valonz salon and creative director of Wella Professionals Australia and New Zealand. Xydis has seen a steady stream of clients farewell their straight roots in favour of a more permanent solution. “Girls wearing a shag haircut with an edgy perm – a cheeky nod to the mods – is a massive trend right now,” she says.

The permanent wave is, of course, a chemical intervention that disrupts the hair’s natural form so it can be reworked into an entirely new shape. Those tightly wound styles synonymous with the 80s were more trend than technique. But done right, a perm 2.0, which takes about the same time as a colour appointment, should appear as if you’ve naturally sprouted that Mica Argañaraz-inspired mop. Just ask Luke Hersheson, who offers a service he’s coined the “new-wave perm” in his eponymous UK salons. Hersheson agrees the perm’s rebirth is decidedly looser than decades past, a result of the size of rod or roller used to compel hair to stay in place. “We’re doing it on really long hair with old-fashioned foam rollers, so it’s soft and loose,” he says of the style that’s now a favourite among celebrities like Emma Stone, who first debuted a perm last year.

As anyone with a naturally curly mane will attest, care and styling are paramount. And although perming formulas have advanced in the last 30 years, the chemical nature of the process still isn’t without its setbacks. “Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate,” declares Xydis, who swears by the System Professional Hydrate range. “A perm is a chemical solution that strips the hair of its moisture, so you need to ensure that this is replaced.” A weekly mask should replenish root-to-tip moisture, while brawnier insalon treatments will counteract damage. “I use the Joico Defy Damage Pro Series 1 and 2 in-salon service to give the hair strength, and then follow up with the Defy Damage at-home care system to maintain healthy shiny hair,” says Joico international guest artistic director Richard Mannah.

Curled hair will appear shorter, too, so a cut and perm should work in tandem. “Always discuss length and style first, as this will depict the tightness of curl you go for,” notes Xydis. Mannah always cuts before the perm. “Trim the ends before perming so the hair looks healthy from roots to ends,” he says. When natural strands do begin to sprout, employ the same styling arsenal you would with colour regrowth: a dusting of dry shampoo and a good root lift spray can disguise any awkward transition points. We may be able to curl, wave, straighten, relax and colour until our heart’s content, but regrowth? That just might be the final frontier.

“Girls wearing a shag haircut with an edgy perm – a cheeky nod to the mods – is a massive trend right now”