Boys queue for curls as perms make a comeback – and men lead the trend
Greyson Harding, 13, has always had a strong sense of style. First, there were his dad’s vintage Prada shirts. Then came the blond hair dye, and now the perm.
“My hair is naturally super straight, so at first it was a bit of a shock,” he said. “But now the curls have settled, I’m really pleased. I totally recommend it.”
His father, Sam, who is the cutting director at Idlewild salons in Oxfordshire where Greyson got his perm, prefers his son’s waves to the time he himself ended up with a classic Kevin Keegan perm back in the 1970s.
“Unfortunately, back then the process wasn’t quite as refined as it is now,” he said, “And it was a bit of a lottery as to how curly it came out.”
Perms were the mainstay of salon business in the 80s, creating the definitively big, voluminous hair trend of the era. Three decades later, they have made a comeback – and not just for women.
Men of all ages are opting for a low-maintenance, wavy look inspired by curly-haired style icons such as actors Paul Mescal, Jeremy Allen White and James Norton, who last month showed off his curls at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards.
Oon Ng, director of London-based NOH hair, said perms have long been popular in the Asian community and are really in demand with male clients. His salon opened two months ago, and they are now doing six to 10 perms a week. He thinks they are ideal for men as they are easy to maintain. “All you have to do is wash and put some styling product in, and then let it dry.”
Masa Matsumoto from north London’s Bebop salon, says perms are “absolutely” growing in popularity among men, and they have recently introduced the service in response to demand. TikTok and Instagram have played a big role in fuelling it, he said, and men are increasingly drawn to them as a way to add “movement, texture, or volume to hair and make their look stand out”.
Mark Creed, former president of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing and colourist at Idlewild salons, said that they are now also seeing perms on “older chaps” too. Creed thinks perms, which use chemicals or heat to change the structure of the hair and which cannot be done at home, are driving business back into traditional unisex salons. “We’re doing around 40 male perms per week across the three sites,” he added.
In High Wycombe, Margie Lenharth, owner of ManeBestie salon, thinks it is part of a wider movement towards people embracing textured hair. “Curly hair was seen as messy or unprofessional, but that surfer boy aesthetic is massive right now.”
Pascal Matthias, who teaches fashion at Southampton University, said hair represented more than just style. “You can have money, wealth and power. But thick hair for men is linked to masculinity, virility and identity.”
Prices can vary widely between salon and location – for instance, in Essex a perm will set you back about £30, whereas top London salons charge up to £400.
The perming process has, thankfully, come a long way since its heyday in the 70s and 80s: gone are the hours spent under the hood dryers, and the rotten-egg stench that was synonymous with the process.
But the rules have not changed much – hair condition plays an important role, and you generally cannot perm coloured hair.
Does a perm suit men more? “Yes, for sure,” said Luke Hersheson, creative director of Hersheson salons in London, which offers the service from £350. And, he thinks this trend could be here to stay.
“In my career there have been only a few significant male trends. In the early noughties it was curtains, then it morphed into the skater, grown-out hair that looked like it hadn’t been cut in ages, and after that it became something very barbershop – much tighter, with more gentlemanly vibes. The perm could be another one.”
Jackson Acton, owner of the Crab Salad salons in London, also agrees. The ‘short back and sides’ common in barbering has “gone out of the door now,” he said.
