Perm (hairstyle) facts for kids

First Prize won at the Hairdressing Fashion Show London, 1935. This perm used an Icall machine. The hair is shorter than in the 1920s, showing the ears and neck. Colors were added to the setting lotion.

An Afro perm on a man in Miami Beach in 1972.

A permanent wave, often called a perm, is a special chemical treatment for hair. It makes straight hair curly or wavy.

You can get a perm using heat or chemicals. For a chemical perm, special liquids are put on the hair. Then, the hair is wrapped around rods or forms to create the curls. The same kind of process can also make curly hair straight. This is called chemical straightening or relaxing.

The History of Perms

Who Invented the Perm?

The first chemical treatment to curl hair safely for people was invented in 1906. A German hairdresser named Karl Nessler (1872-1951) created it. He used a mix of cow urine and water.

Early Perm Demonstrations

Nessler showed his invention to the public on October 8, 1906. But he had been working on the idea since 1896. Before Nessler, people used strong chemicals to curl wigs. However, these chemicals were too harsh and unsafe for human skin.

Images for kids

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  First Prize won at the Hairdressing Fashion Show London, 1935, using an Icall permanent-waving machine. The hair is shorter even than in the 1920s, revealing the ears and neck. The colors were achieved by adding pigments to the setting lotion.

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  An advertisement from the early 1900s for Nessler's permanent wave machine.

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  The first heaters for permanent waving, designed by Calvete in 1917.

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  A machine made in 1923 by Icall for Eugene.

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  Hair wrapped and ready for perming in 1934. Root winding is on top for tubular heaters. Point winding is on the sides for croquignole heaters.

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  A modern machine made by Icall in 1934. It had Bakelite heaters and a timer. The timer adjusted for different hair types. The wheels were designed to avoid picking up hair from the floor. This machine had 15 tubular heaters and 6 croquignole heaters.

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  A Wireless Permanent-Waving Machine designed by Icall in 1934. The heaters were unplugged before being put on the head. This was called the "falling-heat" method. The heaters were bigger to hold more heat. They started cooling as soon as they were applied. A thermostat controlled the heat based on hair type.

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  A permanent wave machine invented in 1928 by Marjorie Joyner. She was the first African American woman to get a patent for this kind of invention.

See also

In Spanish: Peinado ondulado para niños