Permanent Curls for Young Men: The Retro Hair Trend Making a Comeback

No longer your grandmother’s faithful hairstyle, but now a trendy hair style for young men: the permanent curls. Yes, this look is totally back. BV hairdresser Jochen Vanhoudt confirms this. Two Flemish men show off their voluminous curls, which they obtained thanks to this retro technique. “These people need to pay attention.”

The permanent or permanent curls were a very popular hairstyle for women in the seventies and eighties. But in the early 1990s, the hairstyle went completely out of fashion. You see them now especially at your grandmother’s. Recently, however, the retro haircut has become popular again, but with a new audience: young men.

This is partly thanks to new innovative products on the market and the rising popularity of the hairstyle among K-Pop stars and influencers on social media. For example, the hashtag #perm has about 2.4 billion views on the video platform TikTok, where countless men are now venturing into the retro hairstyle. Including well-known influencer and YouTuber James Charles (24).

Not the curls of your grandmother or à la poodle, says BV hairdresser Jochen Vanhoudt

BV hairdresser Jochen Vanhoudt also confirms that the hairstyle has been on the rise among young men in their twenties in the last two years. “Usually these are men with medium length, thicker and straight hair. This is not about your grandmother’s perm or curls like a poodle,” he emphasizes.

“A natural and loose blow in the hair à la ‘Game of Thrones’ actor Kit Harington.” Singer Harry Styles or actors such as Penn Badgley, Evan Peters and Jason Momoa also have a similar head of hair.

V.l.n.r. Kit Harington, Evan Peters en Harry Styles. © Steve Granitz/Araya Doheny/Dia Dipasupil/WireImage/Getty Images

So if you don’t naturally have such curls or even thin hair, you can now opt for a permanent one. And not those of roughly twenty years ago, says Vanhoudt. “The new Wella products are now extremely suitable for this, with which you get those natural, casual and voluminous curls.” A little different from that of your grandma or mom.

What about the styling? “For that I recommend the twisted cream from the Sebastian Professional brand. Apply the product to your wet hair after showering and let it dry. You have to be especially careful when drying your permanent curls, so that they don’t get frizzy and fall well,” says the hairdresser. “If your haircut is cut well, it won’t do you any more work.”

Niels and Beau have a perm: “A touch of hairspray and I’m good to go”

The Flemish Niels Coene (23) and 26-year-old Beau Maex already ventured into the haircut that made a comeback in men. Whether they are satisfied and would recommend it to other men? “Yes,” say the two men.

“I have naturally very flat hair and I wanted to try a new look,” says Niels, who had permanent curls for the first time in October last year. “In addition, I actually wanted to curl for a long time and such a permanent is one of the few options to achieve that.”

Left: Beau, right: Niels © rv

“The best part is that you can experiment with the size of the curls you want. For example, I’ve tried smaller curls, like the ones on a clown wig for example (laughs). But I myself am now more of a fan of the larger, wavy curls.”

“It’s also so easy to style and maintain. Really amazing. After showering I just leave my curls as they are. After a day of sleeping on them, I use hairspray to shape them and keep them in place. The care is also good. My hair feels a little drier than before, so I use a nourishing shampoo and conditioner for curly hair. And then I’m good to go.”

Beau (26) is a hairdresser by profession and saw a growing demand in his salon for a perm and the countless benefits it offers. “I only have a light wave in my hair and this gives me a lot more volume. I myself am also someone who likes to keep up with the trends, which is also necessary because of my profession.” He couldn’t resist trying out the trendiest haircut for men at the moment.

People who are starting to go bald on top can avoid permanent haircuts

BV hairdresser Jochen Vanhoudt

He also confirms that he hardly has to do anything in terms of styling, although it grew out of it quite quickly. Would he do it again? “Yes,” he replied.

Keep this in mind before going to the hairdresser

Suitable for almost every man? Not quite. “People who start to go bald on top can best avoid a permanent one,” says Vanhoudt. “Your hair is then too fine to make beautiful curls and will frizz fiercely. You can then just look through it.”

In addition, not every hairdresser does that, say Niels and Beau. “It is a specialist job”, BV hairdresser Jochen Vanhoudt also confirms. “Fortunately, I have a number of hairdressers in my salon who have lived through the golden age of the perm and who therefore have years of experience and can apply the technique perfectly. My tip: are you looking for a hairdresser somewhere over the age of 45 who is very experienced.”

BV hairdresser Jochen Vanhoudt. © rv

It is also a lengthy (chemical) process with many different steps. With Niels it took at least about two and a half hours, he says. So patience is a must. And isn’t it harmful? “As long as you have it done every eight months or once or twice a year, it certainly can’t hurt,” says Vanhoudt.

Nowadays you have a new generation of perms, they are much less harmful than then

BV hairdresser Jochen Vanhoudt

“A little more often and you can get very dry and broken hair. So do it in moderation and try not to combine it with too many other treatments such as coloring. Nowadays you also have a new generation of perms, which are also much less harmful than then.”

Have permanent curls set and not satisfied? “That is also something to watch out for,” Vanhoudt warns. “It stays in your hair for at least a year. You can cut your hair short, then the curls are suddenly gone. But once set, it is difficult to get your curls straight again and with a lot of hair damage as a result.”

Read also:

“I see a lot of fine necklaces and earrings on young men.” And these Belgian brands respond to this

This is why your hair turns green after the pool. BV hairdresser: “You have to be careful with this hair type in particular”

“Without my ‘porn mustache’ I have a baby face.” 9 Flemings about the comeback of the mustache (+)

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2023-07-11 14:34:00
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