Remember that time your sister gave you a home perm?

Another short story to share:



The home perm incident

When we were about 14, my sister and I decided to give each other home perms. Back then the big curly look was in and we were both cursed with hair that was straighter than straight. We had twelve dollars between us; enough to buy one home permanent kit and the curling rods. We walked the 2 blocks to Winkie’s dime store, made our purchase and hurried home, excited that soon we would have curly hair.

Being that we only had one kit we decided to split the solution in half, which would prove to be a challenge because we both had relatively long hair. Being the smarter one (yeah, right) I decided to only do the front of my hair. I could braid the back of it and have the kinky look. So we proceeded to roll each other’s hair into the tiny rods and put the solution on like it said on the box. So, we’re all rolled up and ready to start the timing. The instructions on the box said wait twenty minutes and then rinse. Well, being the brilliant teenagers we were it made sense that if we each only used half of the solution we should leave it on twice as long. Right? After 40 minutes we began rinsing and removing the rods…I started to get nervous when my hair was sticking to the rods and I was having a hard time getting them out. I REALLY started to panic when one of the rods fell into the sink: With ALL of the hair still wrapped around it. My sister didn’t seem to be having any trouble at all. Why me? In my panic I yelled at her to help me before more of my hair fell out. We finally got all the rods out and I went to the mirror. HORROR! There were no curls, just hunks of VERY fried hair and a big gap that was about 1/8” long where the hair all broke off in the rod.

Of course I was bawling by now and my sister was trying desperately to get my hair to lie down flat. “Maybe if you wash it,” she said, so I did, and put an enormous amount of conditioner on it. Nothing helped. I had a ‘fro! She, on the other hand still had pretty much straight hair, but it seemed to have some nice waves and body to it. I decided we should go back to the store and maybe one of the ladies there would know what to do, so I went and found a cap and off we went. (At this point I should explain that from the age of eight we were raised by our dad, and he was always at work so we were pretty much on our own.) The lady at the counter remembered us from earlier and asked how it went, looking at my sisters now wavy hair with approval. I removed the cap and she let out a gasp, and then I could tell she was trying not to laugh. “Oh dear,” she said, “What happened?” We told her the story and she walked us to the hair-care aisle where the curling irons were, and explained how to use one to straighten the hair. When we told her we didn’t have any more money the sweet lady picked out the cheapest iron and bought it for us. “What about this?” I asked, pointing to the bald spot. Of course she could offer no comfort there.

We headed home and I played for hours with that iron, trying to straighten my hair like the lady explained. It just wasn’t working. The hair would get straight, but it was still so frizzy that it just stood straight out. I ended up cutting it to about an inch and a half long and wearing it in frizzy spikes. That perm took a LONG time to grow out!



And then there was that time with the leg wax…..

Remember that time your sister gave you a home perm?
Remind to never call you for advice on a home perm. You know, I might get vain someday and want my short hair...sexy! lol Great story, told well.Remember that time your sister gave you a home perm?
This is very good, really. I would be hard-pressed to find any wrinkles in it. hehehehe
Very funny and descriptive. Leg wax! I can't wait!
This is so funny, I think all us girls did something akin to it. I guess it's a rite of passage.
ROFL!!

You are lucky you only have 1 sister... I had 5...

but that is too long a story to even start...

Loved your tale, keep them coming..
This is truly hysterical, and I am truly sorry. Unfortunately, I was born with naturally curly hair, and if I had been there then, I would have informed you that it's not all it's cracked up to be. My condolences for childhood shame. And why did your sister's turn out correctly? Hmmm questions to ponder.
Baha!!!! So funny! Great job on the story!
You have just reminded me of experiences that are too embarrassing to mention.



And the leg wax torture that Penfold the evilbear arranged I have sensitive skin whats left of it..
Reenie,

Thank you so much for sharing a personal horror story with us. It is a fantastic story. Your writing style is excellent! I like the ending the best about the frizzy spikes. Amusing. :) I know what it is like to have experiences that only two sisters can share. Have a nice day.
It was well worth the read. Thank you for sharing this unfortunate, but unforgettable time. It brought back good memories with my siblings. Yes, I too, would enjoy reading the leg wax...