curious

I haven`t heard of a uniperm for about 3 years now. I haven`t done one myself but have seen it done. This is how I remember it .....

The process is pretty much the same as a "normal" perm except the waving lotion is heated by hot clamps placed over the rods. The stylist said it was softer and wouldn`t damage the hair as much as a regular perm. After a shampoo and a deep conditioning treatment, she rolled the hair on 3/4-inch diameter rods. She wound rather quickly – there were fewer rods used than with a regular perm (maybe 20 at the most) - winding large sections of hair. The ends of each section were wrapped with a fibrous material (not normal end papers, more like cotton wool) - she did say what it was but it has been so long ago now I don`t remember.

When all the rods were in, she packed the space
between them with small wads of the same material used on the ends to protect the scalp from the heat. She then wheeled over a trolley with the
clamp heater on it. She placed a cotton band around the client`s head and applied the perm
lotion to each curler. Then she fixed a hot clamp over each rod, and set a timer. (The woman getting the uniperm told me the heat was a little warmer than having her hair set on hot rollers.)

After about 20 - 30 minutes the clamps were
removed and she let the rods cool down for another 15 - 20 minutes then the neutralizer was applied followed by a clear water rinse. The stylist then popped a net over the curls and put the client under a hood dryer for about ten minutes. I was told that sometimes the rods are removed and the hair set on small blue rollers before placing the client under the dryer (depending on the length of the client`s hair and the amount of curl desired).

After the hair was totally dry, the stylist did the final comb out and arranged the curls. The hair turned out really nice with a lot of shine and bounce (it did seem to be less damaging than a regular perm). I`ve been told the uniperm lasts about 8 - 10 weeks.

The salon that did the uniperm no longer offers that service and I haven`t seen it advertised in my area for a few years now.

Here a few pictures of a uniperm and a brief discussion of it at this web page on the history of perming:

http://freespace.virgin.net/david.astling/AHistoryofPermanentWaving.html

Hope this was useful to you. :)

Hi Karen,

Glad to be of help. As I recall, the uniperm was marketed as a quick perm for people with shorter hair. I can see that if a stylist got distracted during the timing phase, bad things could happen to your hair. I`ve been told the reason it fell out of favor was the rather short length of time the curl lasted (a client told me hers lasted barely 6 weeks!).

If you want some curl without the commitment, check out the Heatcap (http://www.heatcap.com) I have friend that owns one and it gives her great curls that lasts a couple of days. It isn`t damaging and if you want a change, just shampoo.

Have a great weekend,
Merlin