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How to Do a Hair Root Perm

Aug 12, 2011 / By Sarah Beth

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Keeping the roots of your hair curly after they've grown out can be done with a root perm.

Photo: Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Perms can be an awesome way to add body, volume and curl to your hair. But the grow-out is often hard to live with and waiting for your hair to reach a certain length to re-perm may leave you with more bad hair days than you need. But if you do it again too quickly, you risk damaging your hair. Your best option may be a root perm. A root perm is a permanent treatment that is performed only on the roots, so you don't need to wait to update your locks. You can even do it at home and save money if you know how to do it right.

Before getting started, wash your hair two times with a clarifying shampoo to get rid of any residue from dirt or styling products.

Pull all of your hair back into a low ponytail, but leave the top section free. Comb the free section out until it is nice and smooth.

Part the hair on the top of your head into five smaller sections running from your forehead to the back.

Now it's time to wrap the sections around your perming rods. Hold out one of the small sections and place the rod behind the hair so that it is flush against your head.

Wind the hair around the rod one or two times, depending on the length of your own roots. Secure the hair into place. Your hair may look funny since there will be a bit of a tail left over while the rod is in your hair, but that's because you are only perming the roots and not your whole head.

Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until the entire top of your head is in rollers. Divide the rest of your head into four more sections (two sides, the middle of the back and the bottom back) then do the same for the rest of your head.

Follow the guidelines on your at-home perm kit when applying the perm mixture -- different kits have different directions so make sure to follow them closely.

1.At-home perm kit

3.Perm rods

5.Comb

2.Hair clips

4.Clarifying shampoo

6.Hair rubber band

Perm rods come in many different sizes so make sure to choose a set that matches the style of your hair -- tighter curls call for small rods while large sizes are used for body waves.