Okay, hear us out: the perm is back, and it’s nothing like your mum’s 80s curls.
While defined curls and traditional perms still have their place in the salon, today's perm is all about versatility. Think soft, touchable waves, natural-looking movement, extra body and volume, alongside modern curly cuts and shags that make the most of beautifully textured hair.
For hair professionals, that means perming services can offer much more than one signature curl. By adapting your technique, rod size and product choice to your client's hair and desired finish, you can create everything from loose movement and root lift to defined, long-lasting curls.
If you’re running a busy salon or juggling clients behind the chair, Salons Direct has all the pro perming lotions, neutralisers, and accessories you need to level up every texture service.
So, what should you have in your perming kit?
The Modern Perm: Curls, Waves, Texture & Volume
Forget the idea that every perm has to result in a head full of tight curls. Modern perming techniques give hairdressers much more freedom to create texture that works with the client's haircut, hair type and lifestyle.
A client might be looking for:
- Soft, loose waves
- Natural-looking curls and movement
- Extra body through fine or flatter hair
- More texture to complement a shag or layered haircut
- Defined, traditional curls
- A combination of volume and movement
Consultation is therefore key. Before choosing your perming products and rods, establish what your client means when they say they want a "perm".
Inspiration images can be particularly helpful here. A client's idea of a loose curl may be completely different to yours, so agreeing on the desired shape, movement and finish before starting the service can help you plan your technique and manage expectations.
How to Choose the Right Professional Perming Lotion
Your finished result isn't the only thing to consider when choosing a perming product. The client's starting hair condition and chemical history are just as important.
Always follow the manufacturer's professional instructions and carry out the appropriate consultation and hair assessment before beginning a chemical service.
Consider factors such as whether the hair is natural or colour-treated, its porosity and condition, previous lightening or chemical services, texture, and resistance.
Professional perm ranges often include different formulations specifically designed for different starting points. Choosing the appropriate one helps you tailor the service rather than taking a one-product-fits-all approach.
Goldwell Texture Dimensions Perm
For a modern perming menu, Goldwell Texture Dimensions offers professional formulas designed for different hair types and conditions.
The range includes:
Goldwell Texture Dimensions Perm R – Resistant
Designed for resistant, virgin hair that requires greater shaping power.
Designed for resistant, virgin hair that requires greater shaping power.
Goldwell Texture Dimensions Perm N – Natural
Suitable for normal-to-fine natural hair as well as certain colour-treated hair, helping to create soft, natural-looking movement and body.
Suitable for normal-to-fine natural hair as well as certain colour-treated hair, helping to create soft, natural-looking movement and body.
Goldwell Texture Dimensions Perm SD – Slightly Damaged
Created for porous or slightly sensitised hair, including permanent colour-treated hair and hair with a low level of highlights or heat damage.
Created for porous or slightly sensitised hair, including permanent colour-treated hair and hair with a low level of highlights or heat damage.
Goldwell Texture Dimensions Perm D – Damaged
The gentlest option within the range, designed for more sensitised, damaged or bleached hair.
The gentlest option within the range, designed for more sensitised, damaged or bleached hair.
Related Products
The range makes it easier to select your perming lotion based on what's actually in your chair, rather than simply the curl your client wants to achieve.
Goldwell's Texture Dimensions range is also designed with modern texture in mind, from defined curls to softer waves and added volume.
Once you've selected the appropriate lotion, Goldwell FIX Neutraliser Texture Dimensions Perm works across the Texture Dimensions range. It's ready to use without mixing with water, making it an essential partner to the perm lotions.
Related Products
Wella Pure Perfection: A New Generation of Perming
Another exciting development is arriving for professional perming this September.
Wella Professionals Pure Perfection is an upcoming ammonia-free perm launch, bringing a new option to salons looking to meet renewed client demand for professionally created texture.
Use Wella's Pure Perfection product-selection carousel to identify the right option for your client's hair, and explore the supporting professional videos for guidance on incorporating the range into your perming services.
With softer waves, movement and volume becoming part of the modern perm conversation, launches such as Pure Perfection are another reason to reconsider where texture services could fit within your salon menu.
Wella Professionals Perform+
You can also find Wella Professionals Perform+ in the Salons Direct professional perming collection.
The range includes dedicated options such as Perform+ Perm Lotion (Curl) for Normal Hair and Perform+ Perm Lotion (Curl) for Coloured Hair, helping you choose the right product for your client's starting hair.
Pair your chosen lotion with the compatible Wella Professionals Perform+ Perm Neutraliser and always follow Wella's professional usage instructions for the complete service.
Schwarzkopf Natural Styling
For salons offering a variety of perming services, Schwarzkopf Professional Natural Styling is another range worth adding to your kit.
The Natural Styling Hydrowave Classic collection includes different strengths for different hair types, while the wider Natural Styling range provides further options for professional texture services.
Rather than automatically reaching for the same perm lotion for every appointment, use your consultation and hair assessment, along with the manufacturer's guidance, to select the right product for your client's hair.
Related Products
What Else Do You Need for a Professional Perm?
The right lotion is only part of your perming kit. Having a good selection of accessories gives you more control over the finished shape and helps you adapt your service to different clients.
Perm Rods
Your perm rod selection plays a major role in determining the curl pattern and overall finish.
Rather than stocking one size, keep a selection of perm rods available so you can adapt your wrapping technique and rod choice to the desired result, hair length, and the manufacturer's technical guidance.
This becomes particularly useful as clients move towards more individualised perm services. Someone asking for soft movement and volume will require a different approach from a client looking for tighter, more defined curls.
End Papers
Perm end papers help keep the hair controlled during winding and allow the ends to sit smoothly around the rod.
They're a small addition to your kit but an essential part of creating a neat, professional wrap, so make sure you've got plenty in stock before a busy day of texture appointments.
Related Products
Neutraliser
Don't forget the second half of your perming system.
Neutralisation is an essential stage of the professional perming process, so make sure you have the correct neutraliser for the system you're using and follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.
Avoid assuming that perm lotions and neutralisers from different systems are interchangeable. Using the products designed to work together gives you the manufacturer's complete professional system.
Related Products
Other Perming Essentials
It also pays to keep your full station prepared with the practical accessories required for the service, including applicator bottles and replacement perm rod rubbers where needed.
Having everything ready before your client sits down makes the service smoother and means you aren't hunting through the stock cupboard halfway through a perm.
Creating Softer, More Modern Perm Results
The return of the perm isn't necessarily about recreating the looks of decades gone by. For many clients, it's about making their everyday hair easier to style while introducing movement, body or texture.
That makes your consultation more important than ever.
Talk about how your client normally wears and styles their hair, how much definition they want, their desired maintenance level and how their haircut will interact with their new texture.
Rod selection, placement, wrapping technique and product choice all contribute to the result, so plan the service as a whole rather than focusing on the perm lotion alone.
And don't forget the cut. Layers can completely change the way curls and waves sit, which is why modern shags and textured cuts pair so naturally with the renewed perm trend.
Perming Consultations: What Should You Ask?
Before reaching for your rods, use your consultation to build a complete picture of your client's hair.
Ask about their previous colour and chemical services, home haircare routine and use of heat, alongside the look they want to achieve. Assess the hair's current condition and suitability for the service, and follow the testing and service protocols specified by your chosen professional perm system.
It's also worth discussing what happens after the appointment.
Explain how your client can care for and style their new texture at home and recommend suitable professional aftercare products. Showing them how to enhance their curls or waves before they leave the salon can make a huge difference to how confident they feel recreating the finished look themselves.
Is It Time to Add Modern Perming to Your Salon Menu?
From defined curls to soft waves, added volume and lived-in texture, today's perm offers far more versatility than its old-fashioned reputation suggests.
As a salon owner (or someone who lives behind the chair), this renewed love for texture is your chance to rethink how you hype up your perming services.
Instead of just listing “perm” on your menu, show off those fresh finishes on your socials and website - let clients see how modern and versatile the new perm really is.
And make sure your perming kit is just as up to date.
With professional systems from Goldwell, Wella Professionals and Schwarzkopf Professional, alongside perm rods, end papers and other salon essentials, you can find everything you need to create a professional texture service at Salons Direct.
