Remember when we used to use those cheap perm rods with the metal clips?

I was cleaning out my station last week and found an old box of those gray perm rods from the 90s. The rubber bands were all dried out and the plastic was brittle. Made me think about how much better the plastic rods with the built in bands are now. No more pinching client scalps or worrying about clips rusting. Has anyone else noticed a big change in perm quality since the tool updates?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hannah8d ago

I read somewhere that a study from 2019 found the old metal clip rods actually caused twice as many hair breakage incidents compared to the newer silicone band ones. That stuck with me because I remember how those clips would dig into my fingers after a few hours of wrapping. My own hair dresser switched to the plastic rods about five years ago and she said her perm results got way more consistent. Less slipping and the bands hold tension better without crushing the hair shaft. It makes sense that better tools would lead to better curls since you can control the wrap more precisely. I never thought about it until I saw that study but now it seems obvious.

chen.james8d ago

Yeah, my mom used to say those metal clips were the devil's tools.