Rant: That one Saturday where every single perm went wrong

Last month I had a Saturday from hell at the salon in Arlington. Three perms booked back to back and the first one seriously overprocessed on a regular 5 minute timing (I swear the solution was bad). The second client cried because her ends turned into straw, and the third just refused to curl at all. Has anyone else had a whole day just totally fall apart like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancygrant2mo ago

Xena1 makes a good point about the neutralizer, but I have to respectfully disagree that stopping early and doing a protein filler is always the right move. In my experience, once those bonds are broken from overprocessing, slapping more product on top just masks the damage and the perm won't hold anyway. Better to be upfront with the client from the start and offer a refund or free repair session rather than trying to salvage something that's already failed.

xena12mo ago

Wait, did you use the same neutralizer for all three? Because I had a similar nightmare day and turns out the neutralizer was past its expiration date. I switched to mixing fresh developer on the spot and doing a quick strand test before committing to the full head. That Saturday I salvaged two of the three by stopping early and doing a protein filler treatment before re-wrapping. Also started keeping a spray bottle with diluted vinegar water to do a quick pH check when something feels off. The client with the straw ends actually came back two weeks later when I offered a free olaplex treatment and re-curl on clean hair.

lucashart2mo agoTop Commenter

Waited until I read that bit about the expired neutralizer and had to do a double take. Never even crossed my mind that the neutralizer could go bad since I just grab whatever's on the shelf from the supply closet. That pH spray trick sounds like a lifesaver too, definitely gonna start keeping that around for when things feel off.