Top hairdressers confirm the perm is back

Superdrug has announced that sales of home perming kits are up 50 per cent on the same period in 2007 - and that over the last week alone they sold more than they did in all of February 2006.

Leading UK hairdresser Errol Douglas MBE and London Hairdresser of the Year Karine Jackson aren’t surprised.

Says Errol, "People want perms because we’re definitely moving away from straight hair; curls and waves have been all over the catwalk and the electrical industry has invested in this area too - in tongs, the reinvention of the carmen rollers, GHD's etc.

“Movement is a key trend, and it's a two way street - the more curls appear on the catwalk, the more the industry responds with tools and formulas, and the more these are available, the more you'll see the styles filtering onto the high street. Perms today are about volume, glamour and movement, not the hideous poodle perm of old!”

Karine Jackson agrees: “If you have fine hair then you’ll need a hand with working the movement trend, and the perm is the best way to do it. However, I wouldn’t recommend home perming as there are so many things that can go wrong. First, you have to choose the right solution for your hair. If you get one that’s too strong it will make your hair frizzy, too gentle and it won’t take but it will still dry your hair out. Then you have the winding of the rollers, and it’s very difficult to do this yourself.

“Get it wrong and you will end up with what hairdressers call ‘fish ends’ - this is when the ends of the hair kink over when rolling up into the curlers and they go very frizzy and dry. Over-process the solution on the hair and again you will end up with frizzy hair.

“My advice is to go to the professionals because they can choose the right solution and wind the curlers properly, so you will end up with a great result. With the rise in the amount of perms we are doing in the salon we have taken on an organic perm which is giving us amazing results. The solution contains no ammonia and is a lot gentler on the hair.”

Karine Jackson Hair & Beauty is located at 24 Litchfield Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9NJ.
Appointments: Karinejackson.co.uk

Errol Douglas is at 18 Motcomb Street, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 8LB
Appointments: Erroldouglas.com