Perm Time

Let me set the picture for you - One of my children has always had beautiful curly hair. The kind that makes straight-haired women drool, and hair curlers jealous. Of course, *we all want what we can't have*, so my board-straight hair was always green with envy. But the curly headed child always felt like medusa. Her one dying wish for the last 20 years has been to have straight hair. After years of praying for straight hair, and using the straightener religiously, her hair went naturally straight on it's own. That, coupled with a few hair-dye jobs, actually scared her hair straight, never to return to the land of flip and curl. So I was a little astonished and flabbergasted when she asked what I thought if she permed her hair. (See asterisked note above) I always loved her hair curly, so I screamed out in anxious excitement "YES!". After a few calls to beauty salons, reality hit us square in the face and we realized that perming long thick hair would cost a pretty penny. A very pretty penny. Suddenly, visions of perm rollers, hair solutions, and wet heads invigorated my thoughts and I had an idea! I had numerous perms in my younger days and mistakenly presumed I didn't need much talent to secure rods in hair and pour solution over the said rods.  Faster than you can say Tina Turner, we jumped in the car and headed to the nearest beauty supply store to secure our trusty boxed perm and rods. We were set.

Fast forward 24 hours:

This is what I learned.
It is easier to watch hair being rolled onto rods than it is to actually do it.

Giving perms takes a lot of patience. But receiving perms takes more patience

All males with testosterone must have wicked smelling skills (ie get all males out of the room)

Some smells are good, and some smells are bad. Perm smells are horrid

  It never turns out exactly as you picture it in your head.

Which is why my perm-haired child is headed back to the beauty supply store to buy some hair relaxer, anti-curl shampoo, and African American hair grease. (See asterisk note above) And why the good Lord only gave me one child missing a Y chromosome.

The next time I give a perm, it will be when Saturn aligns with mercury on February 31st, in the 24th century . . . . or never. Whichever comes first.