Korean waves whet appetite for curly hair
Male perm takes off thanks to K-pop, TikTok
By Wilson Wong
The modern men’s perm is loud for a hairstyle so soft. On TikTok, the hashtag #menperm, referring to one of the latest hair trends to be born from the app, has garnered more than 21 million views.
Those videos often begin with a man in a salon chair, pictured from the shoulder up. The camera orbits around his head just before a final shot of his crown: silky, voluminous waves lacquered with the aplomb of K-pop boy bands.
“I came across an Asian influencer on TikTok with curly hair, and I’m like, that doesn’t correlate, because most Asians have straight hair,” said Brandon Dhakhwa, 20, a student from Durham, England. “And then I did some research, and that’s when I realized he got a perm.”
Once popular primarily among Korean and Korean American men, the coiffure has gradually expanded beyond these groups in the past four years — thanks, in part, to the meteoric rise of TikTok and K-pop. While the hairstyle is nothing novel in South Korea, its wider embrace signifies a notable shift from the early 2000s, when the term “metrosexual” became popular.
In South Korea, beauty standards are intimately tied to the music industry, “symbolized by the K-pop idol with perfect skin, immaculately dressed with perfect hair,” said S. Heijin Lee, who, as an assistant professor of women, gender and sexuality studies at the University
of Hawaii at Manoa, researches Korean pop culture, beauty and digital media.
Those same revered features — or, in this case, men’s perms — are then circulated using social media.
Brendan Noji, 25, an LGBTQ+ youth services worker who lives in Los Angeles, stumbled upon the hairstyle online during quarantine in the early days of the pandemic.
Before going into the salon, he made sure to do his homework. He compiled a repository of references that included “Squid Game” actor Gong Yoo, “Pachinko” actor Lee Minho and K-pop boy group BTS.
And since his first perm in June 2020, Noji has gotten the treatment 10 more times. “I love my curls,” he said. “I feel so much more self-confident.”
‘Showy, but not in-your-face showy’
Perms are, of course, no stranger to Americans. The 1980s is one of the most memorable decades for hair in the United States. If your TV was on, there they were: stiff, bouffant, larger-than-life ringlets that smelled damaged and demanded moisturizing.
Unlike its overly gelled, overly spritzed American cousin, the “Korean perm” is much more subtle. It’s almost unnoticeable so as to appear natural.
Ben Duong, a 19-yearold student in Greenville, South Carolina, described his loose coils as “showy, but not in-your-face showy.”
Tyler Jung, 26, an analyst in New York City, said there were only two types of people in the world: those who understand the hairstyle and those who do not.
“There are some people who don’t notice or don’t pay attention at all, and this could be interpreted as the perm ‘not working,’ ” Jung said. “But in a way, it means that it doesn’t look artificial or outlandish, which is the worst feeling you can have about a new haircut.”
The Korean perm (“perm” is short for “permanent wave”) is distinctive for other reasons: Its top curls are tender and loose; the hairstyle is versatile and can be combed over or worn with bangs; and the sides and back of the head are faded short with clippers and scissors. For more money, a person can choose a down perm, which relaxes and flattens stubborn strands that stick out, creating a smoother appearance.
Although it’s not clear where this modern style of perm originated, some of the most well-known Korean male celebrities, such as K-drama actor
Bae Yong-joon, are widely credited with popularizing the men’s perm during the early aughts, said Sehwa Jin, a hairstylist and owner of Naamza, a Los Angeles salon that specializes in hairstyles popular with Korean men.
Since then, “various styles of the wave perm,” another term to refer to this hairstyle, have emerged, including the one making the rounds with Gen Zers and millennials today, said Mujin Choi, a South Korean hairstylist who has worked with BTS.
Jin added that several interpretations of men’s perms had existed in
Japan and South Korea for decades, but the differences lay within “each country’s fashion and style.” The methods and tools behind this perm, however, are not so different from those of the springy American manes that dominated the late 20th century.
Both use chemical solutions and plastic curling rods. Both may apply heat, depending on the desired look, and both keep their curl from two to six months, depending on one’s commitment to aftercare, which includes moisturizing, avoiding humidity and using products made for treated hair. And, to borrow a line from Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde,” each abides by the same cardinal rule: “You are forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm.”
The perm as a gateway
Though hair fads come and go, the modern men’s perm has evolved. It’s become something akin to a gateway.
After treating their tresses, the young men who spoke to The New York Times said they had invested more thought (and cash) into their general self-care practices. The alchemy of heat and harsh perm solutions can damage the scalp and hair follicles, and failing to consistently massage one’s locks with hair oil can result in a dry, frizzy look.
“If you want to keep your curls for a long time, you have to put in a little bit more effort,” said Dylan Norng, 22, a substitute teacher in Fontana, California. Norng’s routine consists mostly of using conditioner and patting his tendrils with a microfiber towel before air-drying them.
These delicate curls may signal a broader shift from an antiquated male beauty standard of the past, to a freer and more expansive one today.
“We’re in a moment, in the United States at least, where younger generations are very critical of something like toxic masculinity,” said Lee. The hairdos of beloved K-pop boy band members and lead actors from Korean dramas offer an alternative, she said.
For many like Norng, who is Chinese and Cambodian American, observing Asian male celebrities with a similar cut was especially validating. “If it looks good on the K-pop idols, it must look good on us, too,” he said.
Jung, who spends about $300 at a salon every three months, said, “If you have some disposable income, why wouldn’t you want to look like a Korean idol?”