Botched Perm Nightmare

Damaged red hair
Photo: Makovsky Art/Shutterstock
Q: I'm desperately searching for solutions to a completely botched perm I just received at a beauty salon. I had beautiful, long red hair that was straight when I came to the salon. All I wanted was a body perm to lift up my hair a little bit. When the "beautician" was done, I looked like a bleach-blonde poodle who's hair was breaking off everywhere. My guess is she left the perming solution on too long.
 
So she literally started chopping off large hair chunks (7 inches all around). Not only did I lose the length I wanted to keep but also my red hair color, integrity and health of my hair. What can/should I do from here? I need my color back ASAP because I'm on a TV show and CANNOT afford to look so different. It's a complete nightmare!
 
A: Actually there could have been a number of problems with the service to leave your hair in such terrible shape: The waving lotion could have been left on too long, it could have been improperly rinsed from the hair resulting in more reaction with the neutralizer solution, or the neutralizer may have been left on too long.
 
It's also possible that the stylist choose too strong a perm formula for your hair - particularly if your hair is colored or has had other chemical services performed on it in the past.
 
I am truly sorry to hear of the results of your perm service, and I recommend you pursue the matter with the salon management or corporate headquarters about receiving recompense for damages.
 
However, ranting won't help you, so I'll stick to options that are positive in nature. You are going to need to begin intensive moisture therapy to begin to replace the moisture that the perm damage has stripped, but you also need to replace the lost hair color.
 
Choose a salon whose reputation you are certain of and speak to a colorist there about getting toner service performed. You should be able to get a deposit-only color application that will help to replace the color that was faded by the perm and help you have a "normal" appearance. You may even discuss the inclusion of glossing agents in the hair color formula to help restore shine and seal the hair shaft.
 
©Hairfinder.com
 
See also:
 
Hair horrors
 
The value of hair
 
The different formulations for perms
 
How to find a good hair stylist