Perming a hair system from straight to curly

A

Allantint

Member
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7
Hey guys,

Ive been interested in having a curly hairstyle for some time now and with the freedom of being able to change your haircut that a hair system provides you with I thought why not a curly style.

I currently have a french lace base system that is straight hair, i was wondering if anybody has any experience in perming the hair system hair on their own?
If so any tips or videos on this subject would be great.
 
H

HairlessWhisper

Established Member
My Regimen
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100
i do this a lot. assuming you have already done some research and watched a couple of videos on how to wrap a perm, here's a few additional tips to optimize the process for toupees.

-the hair needs to be in good condition (for a wig). the better the condition, the better the perm will take and the more defined the curls will look. if the hair is really frazzled to begin with you won't get more than a soft curl and the perm will only frazzle it even more.

-make sure the formula you use is safe to use on high-lift tinted/bleached hair. my favorite is Zotos Quantum Platinum but it was discontinued recently. maybe you can still find it. the only ones i know about that are still on the market are Texture EFX Color Treated (I found it a bit harsh) and Joico K-Pak Waves Color Treated (not tried yet).

- pre-cut. if you blunt cut the hair on your piece to an even length beforehand, it will be much easier to wrap. that can make for a tighter wrap and firmer curl. i'm just talking about cutting the ends, you shouldn't cut it into the style you're going to wear until afterwards.

-use pins to secure the rods to a foam head, that way you will get the curls to form as close as possible to the roots/base. i like flower head pins for this.

-the longer the 'creep time' (the time between rinsing out the waving lotion and applying the neutralizer), the more defined your curls will be. the hair used for wigs is very porous, simply towel blotting it and applying the neutralizer right away per the box instructions will not suffice. Wait *at least* several hours until the hair closest to the rods is bone dry, or overnight, or ideally 24 hours before putting the neutralizer on...

-... in fact, you don't even need to bother with the neutralizer. if you leave the rods in for a couple of days to oxidize after rinsing the waving lotion out, it will have the same effect. that's the old fashioned way of neutralizing a perm, the chemical neutralizer just speeds it up so customers don't have to endure the discomfort of wearing the rods on their head overnight. Since you're not wearing the rods on your own head, why subject the hair to more harsh chemicals?

i'm not very active on this board anymore but if you search my posts here and on the NWL board you'll prob find more info about DIY perming.
 
A

Allantint

Member
Reaction score
7
HairlessWhisper said:
i do this a lot. assuming you have already done some research and watched a couple of videos on how to wrap a perm, here's a few additional tips to optimize the process for toupees.

-the hair needs to be in good condition (for a wig). the better the condition, the better the perm will take and the more defined the curls will look. if the hair is really frazzled to begin with you won't get more than a soft curl and the perm will only frazzle it even more.

-make sure the formula you use is safe to use on high-lift tinted/bleached hair. my favorite is Zotos Quantum Platinum but it was discontinued recently. maybe you can still find it. the only ones i know about that are still on the market are Texture EFX Color Treated (I found it a bit harsh) and Joico K-Pak Waves Color Treated (not tried yet).

- pre-cut. if you blunt cut the hair on your piece to an even length beforehand, it will be much easier to wrap. that can make for a tighter wrap and firmer curl. i'm just talking about cutting the ends, you shouldn't cut it into the style you're going to wear until afterwards.

-use pins to secure the rods to a foam head, that way you will get the curls to form as close as possible to the roots/base. i like flower head pins for this.

-the longer the 'creep time' (the time between rinsing out the waving lotion and applying the neutralizer), the more defined your curls will be. the hair used for wigs is very porous, simply towel blotting it and applying the neutralizer right away per the box instructions will not suffice. Wait *at least* several hours until the hair closest to the rods is bone dry, or overnight, or ideally 24 hours before putting the neutralizer on...

-... in fact, you don't even need to bother with the neutralizer. if you leave the rods in for a couple of days to oxidize after rinsing the waving lotion out, it will have the same effect. that's the old fashioned way of neutralizing a perm, the chemical neutralizer just speeds it up so customers don't have to endure the discomfort of wearing the rods on their head overnight. Since you're not wearing the rods on your own head, why subject the hair to more harsh chemicals?

i'm not very active on this board anymore but if you search my posts here and on the NWL board you'll prob find more info about DIY perming.
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Thanks for all your insights, i had not considered many of these things
 
C

cottonReville

Senior Member
My Regimen
Reaction score
332
I can't imagine how destructive it'd be. You'd have to start w hair of the highest quality (I assume).

Why not just temporarily curl it w an iron?
 
N

notsohairymon

Established Member
My Regimen
Reaction score
38
BaldBearded said:
You can do it, just be careful. I would let a salon do it.
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Agree, also will note especially if you are older (even if you are blessed with a young face like me) be careful about it looking "too different" from before as it may open you to more suspicion about wearing than otherwise. There's a fine line because "nice change in hairstyle" and that. My salon loves to change up my look every so often (with my permission of course) but when I get compliments I always wonder about that being thought deep inside.....also I teach middle school and during one of the times I came in on a Monday after a significant hairstyle change over the weekend one of the not so nice kids asked if it's a wig. When I asked what would make him think that he honestly said "it looks great but it looks like your hair grew a little overnight and it looks like a style a teenager would have" (I'm 54 and do look a lot younger but not THAT young, people have told me when they find out how old I am they thought I was around 40). So again, have fun but be careful!
 
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