Permanent Wave

1
Permanent Wave

• History of permanent waving

2
History

• People have attempted permanent waving since
  Egyptians Romans, but were not successful.
• It was not until the 20th century, in 1905, that
  three professional permanent wave methods
  introduced a new art science in cosmetology
• Cold waving has almost become a specialty service
  because of the technical knowledge practice it
  demands

3
History

• 1905 first perm machine designed by
• Charles Nessler
• 1906 introduced in London
• Machine permanent required electricity
• to heat large metal clamps that were placed
• over clients hair
• Not efficient, too much equipment
• Oblong heating devices hung suspended
• by cords wires from a chandelier-like
• structure

4
History

• Women sitting underneath these contraptions had
  their hair covered with a chemical paste and
  wound around metal rods, starting from the scalp
  and working downward
• These units were heated during the perm process
• They were kept from touching the scalp by a
  complex system of counterbalancing weights,
  suspended from an overhead chandelier mounted on
  a stand

5
History

• The tubes of the machine were then fitted over
  the rod, and the curl was electronically baked
  in
• 1920s the technique was modified
• Hair was now wrapped from the ends up to the
  scalp in a method called croquignole waving
• Created by Robert Bishinger, a beautician from
  Pittsburgh, PA

6
History

• 1930s came the cold wave and a new era in
  permanent waving
• Chemicals instead of heat were used to process
  the hair
• First cold waves took 6 8 hours for completion
  at room temperature
• Term overnight wave became popular
• 1932 first machineless permanent wave
• Originally designed by a hairdresser in
  Pennsylvania
• This design removed the risk of electrical burn
  or shock, and didnt require the use of a bulky
  piece of machinery
• External heat was generated through a chemical
  process preheated clamps

7
History

• Soft, small pads containing an exothermic (heat
  producing) mixture were wound around hair strands
• Hot clamps kept the pad in place while the curl
  was processed
• 1934-1st attempt w/out heat
• Original test chemical used was palmolive shaving
  soap
• Strand of hair was cut from scalp
• Saturated w/ shaving soap
• Wound around nail
• Placed in aluminum foil to keep from drying out
• 3 days later- unrolled showed definite curl
• Curl retained even after shampoo

8
History

• Next attempt
• Waving lotion for heat waving,w/out heating the
  lotion
• Chemicals in the waving lotion softened the hair
• Lasted 6-8 hours instead of 3 days
• 1938, Arnold F.Willat birth of cold waving
• Chemical lotion was sprayed directly onto set
  hair
• 10 minutes time a client had a full head of curls

9
History

• Willat found that during the treatment hair was
  hydrolyzed the protein of the hair was
  chemically made to combine with water instead of
  simply getting wet.
• This process often caused many hair cells to
  break down as a result the hair would break off
  when unrolled from the rod
• Cold wave lotion, because of its low temperature,
  was not nearly as damaging as the heated
  alternative

10
History

• Women could undergo repeated cold wave perms with
  little or no damage to their hair
• The secret was not in the application of heat,
  but in the chemicals themselves
• 1940 first commercial perm
• 1941 a woman undergoing a perm died
• Her death was attributed to absorption of
  ammonium sulfide
• FDA immediately took the sulfide lotion off the
  market

11
History

• 1941 a substitute was needed quickly
• Thioglycolate appeared in the salons and worked
  just as well as its sulfide predecessor
• 1948 FDA ruled that the new lotion was safe, and
  permanent waving enjoyed an even bigger surge of
  popularity
• 1946 salon owners became concerned
• Store shelves of home permanents appeared
• Campaigns were launched on the advantages of a
  professional perm

12
History

• Early 1950s different strength per solutions
  appeared
• Additives became popular
• Placenta
• Mink oil
• Wheat germ
• 1952 on rod method in neutralizing verses
  splash on method

13
History

• 1956 finally more salon perms were administered
• Slogans appeared everywhere
• Professional care is best for the hair
• TONI the famous slogan Which twin has the
  Toni? ad landed the Toni Home Permanent Company
  in court when it was discovered that both twins
  had had their hair done in a salon, which charged
  15 per treatment, as opposed to the 2 cost of a
  home perm
• Toni was ordered to refrain from further false
  advertising

14
History

• 1960s perms and alkaline perms
• Natural styles were emphasized straight hair
  became the big look
• By the 1960s, scientific hair analysis had made
  us more aware of pH
• Potential hydrogen
• 1965 reverse perm
• Removal of undesired curl, later classified as
  chemical hair straighteners

15
History

• Early attempts to use chemicals to reform the
  hair quickly gave way to the alkaline cold waving
  method that is still in use today
• This method utilizes a waving solution that is
  formulated with
• Thioglycolic acid or its derivatives
• Gentler curl
• Ammonium hydroxide
• Firmer curl

16
History

• 1970s acid wave was developed which help
  reverse the negative attitude with perming
• Today
• Although thioglycolic acid or a derivative is
  still the basic ingredient, the free ammonia or
  excess alkali is eliminated from the formula
• This does not end the history of permanent waving
  because of continual exploration for the perfect
  curl

17
Summary

• Charles Nessler invented the perm machine capable
  of producing permanent curl in hair
• 1st perms were called heat waves because heat and
  strong alkali produced the curl
• 1930 cold wave introduced
• Today acid waves popular because they have a
  lower pH than the cold waves and produce a more
  natural looking curl