Perms lead to regrets.

January 20, 2022 — by Shannon Ma
Photo by Shannon Ma
My natural hair versus my straight-permed hair
Junior learns her natural hair is better.

I remember — as clearly as if it was yesterday — the day I walked into the hair salon with the naturally curly hair that had frustrated me for years, and walked out five hours later with the silky, bone-straight hair I had always wanted. I felt pure joy knowing that the days when a single shower washed away my straightened hair were behind me — I’d keep my new, sleek hair for another 10 months.

The first few months were heaven. I no longer feared blow-drying my hair and I could finally brush it thoroughly without producing a static fluff of disaster. The amount of time I saved every day, especially on school mornings, was extremely refreshing.

About four months in, I noticed two changes: One, sometime between the excitement I felt getting straight hair and getting used to it, I had developed a longing for my natural hair. My straight hair was so ready to go each morning that I paid little to no attention to it anymore — its charm had vanished for me. Not to mention, many of my friends remarked that they missed my old hair, with one friend even innocently inquiring, “Shannon, have you been straightening your hair every day?” 

I wished the perm would wear off faster.

The other change: My baby hair was getting noticeably curly, which brings me to my next point. Aside from the emotional facet of getting a perm, another perm hazard to be aware of is the stage when your natural hair has grown back to a substantial length from your roots. That half-half phase where the top half of your head is covered in curls but the bottom half is slick straight? Awful in appearance and inconvenient to manage, because how are you even supposed to brush that?

Especially if the perm was high in endurance like mine, the dismal half-half stage lasts for ages. I experienced the worst case scenario: My perm never wore off. For more than a year, I waited for a completely new batch of curly hair to grow in, then cut the remaining permed hair off. 

In the end, I learned that natural wins out over (semi)-permanent alteration. We were all born with our unique hair texture for a reason, and we are meant to bring the most out of it, whether that’s through the right products, the right hair care routine or the right haircut — which, altogether, will still cost less than a perm. 

Don’t get me wrong — perming your hair may not end unfortunately for everyone. If you put in a significant amount of evaluation and receive opinions from friends, family or acquaintances who are not afraid to deliver 100% honest feedback on your appearance, it can work out.

If not, you can join me in the land of perm regret.

16 views this week