body wave questions

A body wave is not what you see in the Brittany Spears video. It has the shape of a lazy S and NOT a tight curl. My wife has extremely straight hair too and a body wave was the only way she could hold a little curl (plus we live in the south and the humidity would pull the curl out in 2 minutes). She would get them twice a year - spring and fall - and they lasted about 3 months on average. The cost was about $60 a few years ago but has probably increased since then. Her hair was at the middle of her back (it is past that now) and she used the largest perm rods the salon had to get the most body with the least curl. In fact, the last few times she got it they piggybacked the rods to achieve curl on the ends and lift at the root. As her hair grew longer, it developed a natural wave of its own and she no longer gets a perm. Strange but true. Hope this helps and good luck!