Our elders used foam rollers to create voluminous curls without damaging the hair. While this traditional way of getting wavy hair lingers, perms have become more prevalent.
Typically, you have to use plastic rods for the perm, which might go hard on your hair sometimes and are less flexible. So, can you use foam rollers for a perm instead of these rigid sticks?
While you can use the foam rollers to do a perm, you need to make sure the wrapping endpapers over them to prevent the sponge roller from sucking in the perm solution. Further, you would need to opt for those foam rollers for the perm that comes with the hair holding strap.
However, there is more to know for you about how to use foam rollers for a perm. So, let’s dig into a bit more detail about these spongy hair rollers.
What Are Foam Rollers For Hair?
Foam rollers are small plastic cylinders that are soft and flexible. Typically, you have to wrap your hair strands around and wait for a few hours to get those gorgeous ringlets.
When you let your hair wrap around these spongy rollers for quite some time, it gets dry because the foam absorbs moisture from your mane. However, when using them to get permanent curls from the perm solution, you might not have to spend too much time.
On the contrary to when you have to use them overnight or at least eight hours, you will need only an hour or two while employing foam rollers for a perm.
The best thing about using foam rollers instead of perm rods is the comfort and flexibility. While traditional come with clips to secure your hair in place, the advanced rollers bend around in different shapes to hold onto your manes during the perm.
How To Make Sure If You Can Use Foam Roller For a Perm?
The perm solution chemically comes in two types, acidic and basic. The first one is mild, and the latter is a bit harsh, employed explicitly for thick and coarse hair.
While it is less likely, chances are there that some perm solutions might react with foam rollers, especially when overused or left for too long. Therefore, it is better to test the solution beforehand by putting some of it on the foam roller.
You can take a few drops of relaxer solution from the perm kit and apply them to the foam roller. Wait for 10 minutes to see if the color of the roller changed or if it started to peel off when you touched it. But, if the sponge remains intact, you can proceed with using foam rollers for a perm.
It is crucial to wrap perm endpaper around the foam rollers or to the tips of your hair. It will help the relaxer solution stay on the hair strands to do its job instead of being soaked in the sponge of the roller.
Do you know you can get perm with braids?
How To Use Foam Rollers For a Perm?
Perm rods are not the only option for you to create tight or loose curls. You can use foam rollers instead that come in various shapes and sizes. When taking care of the following three steps, you can do a perfect perm at home using the foam rollers.
1. Choose The Ideal Size Foam Rollers
The first thing that should come into your mind while thinking of getting a perm is the shape and size of the curls. Some adore the tight ringlets, while others dream of beach waves or loose curls.
And what decides whether you will get the tight or loose perm is the size of the rods. If you are using foam rollers instead of perm rods, you will have to select smaller or bigger rollers depending upon the length of your hair and the type of curls you want.
Typically, small foam rollers create tight curls and are best suited for those with short hair. On the other hand, waves like loose curls are produced using big rods or rollers.
2. Wrap Your Hair Around Foam Rollers For a Perm
Once you are done deciding the size of curls, it’s time to move on to the next step, which is wrapping your air around the foam rollers. There are two ways to do this, horizontal and vertical.
If you want ringlets, in other words, tight curls, you will need to wind your hair around foam rollers vertically. After you wrapped the rollers with perm endpaper
- Take a section of your hair and hold it at a 90-degree angle.
- Start rolling your hair from the ends towards your scalp.
The horizontal wrapping of hair around the foam rollers works best for more wave-like curls. To do this
- Hold the section of your hair straight down from the head.
- Starting from the ends, wrap the hair around the foam roller, reaching the scalp.
3. Apply The Perm Solution to Foam Rollers
In the last step, you will proceed with a usual perm. It is always crucial to decide which type of perm solution you will use. Typically, employ an alkaline solution if you have thick and coarse hair that doesn’t take perm easily. For thin or weak hair, use a gentle acidic perm solution.
When you finish applying the relaxer solution, wait for five minutes and check a small portion of hair to see whether it got the curls. Don’t sit for 15 minutes straight and keep checking. In about 10 minutes, you will get the ringlets.
Proceed with washing your hair for three mins while not removing the foam rollers. Subsequently, dry your hair apply the neutralizer solution from the perm kit, and wait for 10 mins.
Before removing the foam rollers after the neutralizer solution, let your hair dry. Wait for at least 48 hours before you can rewash your hair after the perm.
Wrapping Up
So, the bottom line of whether I can use foam rollers for a perm is yes; you can employ them but make sure they don’t get dissolved by the perm solution. This method allows you to be flexible when getting curls and prevent the damage caused by perm rods.
