Disaster Area Hair-help!!

> Please help me, two days ago, i went to my hairdresser> and said that I wanted a spiral perm. We went ahead> and did the perm, the result ultimate disaster! SHe> said to m ethat my hair was so dry that she almost> didn't do it in the first place, but she spoke to> late. My hair rises two or three inches above my head> in dry looking, frizzy waves, that could be done with> a crimping iron, and a can of hairspray. It has a> lready been two days, so I can't wash it out. Not to> mention that it cost me $85!!! TOday, I shampood it> twice scrubbing, and brushing my hair, but nothing> works. I am going back to college in two weeks, and I> need my old hair back! I am so upset and I don't know> whether to go back and tell my hairdresser to put a> relaxer in or what. I don't even know if it is too> late and I am stuck with this hair for the next 3 or 4> months. Please help me, I am lost. Thanks, JillyTo Jilly;What I am going to tell you MUST BE FOLLOWED EXACTLY!! if you want help or if help is possible! First) I don't care what you do, but don't EVER TOUCH PERMED HAIR WITH A BRUSH AS IN BRUSHING! THIS IS PROBABLY THE ONE MOST DAMAGING THING THAT YOU CAN DO TO A HEAD OF PERMED HAIR!!!!!!!!The word to live by is GENTLE!! Whatever you do to it, it must be as gentle as possible.Step 1 Determine the amount of damage that has been done;a) take a sample, pull or cut,(one hair) from each of the worst affected areas and firmly hold it between your thumb and index fingers of each hand, with the length being about 3 inches spacing between your fingers, gently pull slowly and observe carefully to see if the hair will stretch about 10-20% of its length and then move your fingers back toward each other to relax the tension. (think of repeatedly stretching a rubber band, but slower and more gently). The hair should be able to be stretched at least a couple of times without breaking, preferably 4-5 times and return almost to its previous length. If your hair is long, and I am assuming it is, start at the ends and work your way up towards the scalp, stopping and checking down the full length. This will do two things, 1) if the hair breaks immediatly it is too fraigle to 'corrective perm it', and if it will stand the 'pull tests' ok, proceed.Step 2),take the same test hairs and drop them into a warm-not hot, cup of water and see if they float on the surface for a while or immediatly sink into the water. This 'porosity test' will tell us what special precautions to do to try to salvage your hair. It is not unusual for the hair to break more easily toward the ends, and if it has really frizzed on the ends, wherever the breaking off stops is about where it will have to be cut (lengthwise). Assuming that the hair has passed the pull and porosity tests ok it should be able to be relaxed gently with a special formula perm/conditioner compound.Your hair goes through a 'chemical beating' every time it is permed or colored and should always be treated with the utmost care to preserve it and maintain it in as healthy condition as possible.The folowing instructions on conditioning your hair should have been done BEFORE YOU PERMED YOUR HAIR and definitly afterwards after the 24-48 hrs 'no wash' period.You should 'deep condition your hair' with either Joico K-Pak or Redken Intense conditioner and Redken PPT and wheat germ oil mixed, applied for 20 minutes under a hot drier or 1 hr under a towel at room temp,covered with a plastic cap or trash bag wrapped close to the head. Rinse thoroughly with cool water before perming or corrective perming. Handle hair very gently in the case of corrective perming and finger comb at first and then comb with the largest coarse tooth comb you can find to detangle. (Revlon makes a wonderful white plastic comb that only has about 6 teeth, that works well.) Comb the hair very flat, straight back, being careful not to excessively pull on it, causing more damage.Apply vaseline intensive care or other skin protective cream all around the hairline (on the skin only please, this is to protect your skin from the next step.Mix a 'white formula' Pantresse or white formula Quantum perm with a heavy bodied conditioner like Redken Intense or Climattress and apply with a tinting brush to all the hair, finishing with a very very gentle combing thru of the mixture with the coarse tooth comb straight back and comb flat against the cape or towel if very long. Do not cover with a plastic bag or towel. Leave undisturbed for 10 minutes and then very gently wipe a small strand clean of the mixture and check for the degree of 'relaxation' of the curls. DO NOT EXCEED MFRS TIMING RECCOMENDED!! NO MATTER WHAT THE CURLS LOOK LIKE! USUALLY ONLY 15 MINUTES OR SO IS NEEDED TO RELAX TO A SOFTER MORE USEABLE CURL.Rinse thoroughly and gently towel blot.NOTICE!! THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP!! HANDLE THE WET "RELAXED BUT NOT NEUTRALIZED HAIR" WITH THE UTMOST CARE! IT IS VERY SUCCEPTABLE TO BREAKAGE AT THIS POINT!!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT PULL - STRETCH OR OTHERWISE STRESS IT AT THIS POINT!!!!!! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMBING IT BEFORE NEUTRALIZING AND RINSING!!!!!!!Neutralize and condition normally, with a final rinse of as cold of water as you can stand.Trim and reshape as nessasary to get ride of damage caused by the original perm, at least one inch off of the length. If breakage is evidenced in the crown area a long version of the 'shag' with multiple layers will probably be the best alternative to a really short all over cut if your original stylist really botched the job!!!Before perming or coloring always seek out a very reputable stylist and have a thorough consultation as to what you expect the perm to look like and what a perm can or cannot do for YOUR HAIR TYPE AND DESIRED STYLE!) Some times a persons hair type prevents a perm from doing well and some peoples hair just will not PERM AT ALL!! (this is particularly true of baby fine very limp hair. Always let the stylist know everything about your hair (chemically) that it has been subjected to, previous perms/colors/ henna etc, and how it behaved afterwards.Usually it is best to let permed hair dry naturally with just patting and a little scrunching of the curls to achieve a good look with the use of a little spray gel, applied to the hair when first towel dried and scrunched into place while the hair is fairly damp but not quite dripping. (This is where a lot of girls make the mistake of applying the gel or mouse to almost dry hair.)NOTE TO KAREN; this is one of the Articles I emailed you about, and if you would be so kind to post it to the 'Articles' section for readers future use. I call it "Corrective Relaxing of Perms." I would have gone through 'normal' channels as with the color article, but I thought Jilly needed a little immediate help.I know it does not matter now, at least for Jilly's hair sake but as a note to all of the"Greedy No Caring Stylists"that take advantage of people like Jilly just for the money, and do not educate your clients as to what they should or should not do to their hair,YOU ARE THE LOWEST FORM OF LIFE FOUND ON THE EARTH!Thanks for letting me get on my soapbox!william

Dear Jilly-Several months ago I wrote in here about my bad perm experience and I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND!!! The same thing happened to me one year and one month ago, and I cried for days! I was so upset, and felt ugly as hell. I went to another hairdresser and he said that my hair was not totally damaged, but in reality, it was. It was not like my old hair, before the perm. I bought Aveda intensie conditioner which I have been using once a week, and wash my hair every other day, and condition with a light conditioner every day. I also suggest washing/rinsing in cool water as not to strip the oils (a suggestion made on this board). I hate to sound discouraging, but I had to chop off all the damaged hair, which also happened to be highlighted at the time (had that done long before the perm, which damaged my hair even more). I have not worn my hair down once in a year, and now it is all layed weird (because I chopped it off myself, in a fit of frustration). I am just waiting for it to grow back to its normal length, which will take another year, or 8 months. Yes, this has been the worst hair experience of my life, but all I can do is wait. good luck with your hair, I sure hope it isnt as bad as mine was.-lisaPlease help me, two days ago, i went to my hairdresser> and said that I wanted a spiral perm. We went ahead> and did the perm, the result ultimate disaster! SHe> said to m ethat my hair was so dry that she almost> didn't do it in the first place, but she spoke to> late. My hair rises two or three inches above my head> in dry looking, frizzy waves, that could be done with> a crimping iron, and a can of hairspray. It has a> lready been two days, so I can't wash it out. Not to> mention that it cost me $85!!! TOday, I shampood it> twice scrubbing, and brushing my hair, but nothing> works. I am going back to college in two weeks, and I> need my old hair back! I am so upset and I don't know> whether to go back and tell my hairdresser to put a> relaxer in or what. I don't even know if it is too> late and I am stuck with this hair for the next 3 or 4> months. Please help me, I am lost. Thanks, Jilly