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" Back in the Eighties no self-respecting fashion victim of either sex would be seen dead without a perm, frosted highlights and a shell-suit. For 20 years the crime against hair fashion embodied by the Kylie and the Keegan has been dead in the water. However, since Keeley Hawes&amp;#039;s DI Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes strode onto our screens in a blaze of blue kohl and tight curls, sales of home perm kits have soared - fuelling speculation that it&amp;#039;s not just the blue rinse brigade buying into this look. Could it be that body con clothing is not the only 80s trend being given a fresh spin?  Perm power: It&amp;#039;s only really the last two decades that the perm has come in for universal bad press. Pioneered in the 1920s during the early days of electricity, salon permanent waving became all the rage despite being a white-knuckle ride for both hairdresser and client with the risk of severe electric shock and even incineration only ever a few volts away. The technology became more reliable in the 1930s and Wella&amp;#039;s Junior Pointwind Machine turned the principle on its head, literally, by winding the hair from points to roots rather than the other way around, with the results lasting three months longer.  Post World War II L&amp;#039;Or\u00E9al launched Oreal, Europe&amp;#039;s first cold wave, and 1950s domestic goddesses embraced the Toni home perm kit phenomenon. In 1967 Mr. cutting-edge himself, Vidal Sassoon, used Wella&amp;#039;s Lanowave to create his &amp;#039;Greek Goddess&amp;#039; look, the first time he&amp;#039;d used a perm to enhance one of his haircuts. Bubble troubles The cult of the Afro scaled new heights in the 1970s, crossing continents, race, class and gender, before morphing into the tight spirals, corkscrew curls and ultra-voluminous brushed out waves that were the cornerstones of &amp;#039;80s mainstream hair fashion. These hirsute monuments to the more-is-more mantra of the decade were adopted by everyone; from Madonna to Mrs. Thatcher, teenagers to thirty-somethings with varying degrees of success.  Softly, softly Fast forward to the present day and the hairdressing industry has continued to keep faith with the perm, despite its representing only a tiny percentage of business turnover in the trendier establishments. All the negatives attached to the process, including exposure to harsh chemicals and the lasting damage done to hair have been ironed out due to sustained research and development by the big name manufacturers. Some of the latest incarnations of the perm are in fact temporary and last weeks rather than months.  Comeback curls This media fuelled ripple effect that has seen a 50 per cent increase in home perm sales flying off the shelves in Superdrug is also spreading to salons. Debbie Bhowmik, Head Technician at Bloww, London www.bloww.com says, &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re definitely more in demand than in recent years. Young clients who&amp;#039;re perm virgins are opting for confident, exaggerated volume and curls influenced by 80s nostalgia and a fun infused take on fashion generally.&amp;quot; It remains to be seen whether this craze for Ashes to Ashes inspired perms lasts beyond the run of the TV series, - the &amp;#039;Alex&amp;#039; ironically is created with tongs and rollers - or whether perm phobia will once again grip all but the ever-loyal pensioner set. Maybe don&amp;#039;t mothball your ghds just yet.  Get more hair tips, ideas and styling suggestions "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/beauty-hair/a7079/how-to-get-curly-hair-a-perm-79510/>