How to Perm Afro Textured Hair at Home

When buying a perm from a beauty supply, it's best to buy the professional perms in a jar, not the perm kits in a box. Make sure to also avoid perms that say 'no lye' on the label, only buy the relaxers that say 'lye' or 'base' on the label. The ‘no lye’ hair perms will eventually cause the hair and scalp to be very dry.

Try to buy the hair products in the same brand name. For instance if you buy a 'Hawaiian Silky" relaxer in a jar, it's best to also buy the Hawaiian Silky neutralizing shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, mousse, etc.

Always buy a neutralizing shampoo whenever you buy a professional perm in a jar. This shampoo neutralizes the process of the perm after the hair has been relaxed with a chemical permanent. Your regular shampoos should have a PH balance of 4.5 and it should also contain protein. Your regular shampoo has to help keep your perm at it's best, which will help maintain strong hair, thick hair, and shiny hair.

Also it's very important to condition the hair with a deep conditioner for at least 10-20 minutes under a hairdryer. Wear a shower cap on the conditioned hair while under the hairdryer for 10-20 minutes; rinse the relaxed hair with cool water not hot water. The cool rinse water seals in the hair conditioner and hot water stripes conditioner out of the hair.

1. Wear gloves.
2. Part hair into 4 sections.
3. Apply olive oil to the hair or a lotion (to protect hair from split ends).
4. And then apply the perm to the front left side section, starting at the roots and smooth it on to the tips, if this your first perm.
5. Continue to apply the perm to the remainder of the hair by sections. Only apply to the root of the hair, only if you had perm on your before. Avoid putting perm directly on the scalp, if that's possible.
6. If this is your first perm, apply perm to the whole head of hair starting near the scalp.
7. Try not to apply perm directly onto your scalp, but on new growth only.
8. If this is not your first hair perm, just apply the perm to the new growth only to prevent over processing.
9. After perm is applied to the whole head including the edges; leave on the hair for 20 - 30 minutes (depending on the instruction on the perm jar label).
10. Rinse the perm out with cool water, and then use a neutralizing shampoo to wash the perm out of the hair.
11. Condition the hair with a good deep conditioner that contains protein, put on a shower cap and stay under a hair dryer for 10-20 minutes then rinse out.
12. Apply a leave-in conditioner, oil hair-sheen spray, or a hair lotion.
13. You can let your hair air dry or you can blow dry the hair with a blow-dryer.
14. Before using a blow dryer apply a heat protectant to the hair first.
15. And then style as you want.

Afro Textured hair can grow very long if split ends are prevented, and using the right hair products. Some women may grow their with perms, but eventually the hairline edges will get thinner. Although hair grows faster for many Black women when they go natural. When combing permed hair or natural hair, use a wide tooth comb to keep your hair strong, thick, and maintain length retention. Comb hair at the ends on up to the scalp area, this is the correct way to comb hair. Hair grows 1-2 inches every month, for this reason African Americans should have long hair. Hair can be long when it's taken care of. Some Black peoples hair may only get long in length when they are not wearing a chemical perm.

Wearing perms can be successful and well taken care of, if instructions are followed carefully on the perm label. Shampoo your permed hair every 4 to 5 days with a conditioning protein shampoo. And condition the hair with a protein conditioner every 4 to 5 days as well. Try to buy the best conditioners for your permed hair, to help the hair get longer, thicker, and stronger.

It may be better to have someone else put a chemical perm in your hair, to make sure it's put in within 5 -7 minutes. Try to avoid applying perm to your own hair if possible, have someone else to put the perm in. Having a perm put into the hair professionally might be the best option also. A retouch for a perm can be done every 7-9 weeks; it's best to try to stretch out your perm applications to 5 perms a year.