58 indie stylist Volume 2 Issue 1
the throwback
The
Spiral
Perm
Think the days of doing
perms are behind you?
Think again.
by Mary Barthelme Abel
Are you old enough to remember spiral perms? Spiral perms were
one of the trendiest styles of the 1980s; I was in high school then, and I can
tell you—all the popular girls had them. The whole idea of getting a perm
quickly faded away in the 1990s, when stick-straight hair was all the rage.
(Think Brazilian blowouts and keratin treatments.)
As things do, curly hair is coming back—and believe it or not, so are spiral perms. The
result of shoulder-length or longer hair being rolled into a perm rod vertically is a spiral shape
that looks a lot more natural than the average beauty-shop perm of the old days.
With textured looks (and the idea of embracing natural hair texture) coming back into the
fore, this retro style is coming back in a fun, modern way.
Modern spiral perms can create big, loose curls; they work on shorter hair;
and they can be combed out to create soft, beachy waves. And with an endless
supply of curl-loving products, it's easy to keep the frizz and damage at bay.
