Elle Australia – June 2017

ELLE.COM.AU / @ELLEAUS 139

❯❯WHAT IT IS:The body wave is a chemical treatment

that promises to create undone, loose waves. Think of it as

a milder, gentler version of the ’80s perm.

❯❯WHAT I EXPECTED:I was after a change that

could take me mentally where my bank account could

not: t‘Ž –Š•ę ˜ŠœǷ ‘Ž Ž’Ž››Š—ŽŠ—Ƿ —¢ ‘Ž›Ž

Ž¡˜’ŒǷ ˜ ˜ž— –¢œŽ• Šthe hair salon, armed with

photos of Grecian-goddess waves

• ‘Ž••˜ǰ –Š—Š Ž¢›’Ž ’—
  Mamma Mia!–and prepping for
  –¢ ꛜȬŽŸŽ› ™Ž›–ǯTo be clear,
  I know absolutely nothing about
  haircare. I’ve never owned
  a hairdryer, I get the same three-
  inch trim every time and
  my stubborn, pin-straight hair has
  never successfully held a curl.
  I unloaded my list of questions on
  New York hairstylist and perm
  Ž¡™Ž› Š’›ŽŠ Š••Š‘Ž›ǯ ˜
  —ŽŽŠ’쎛Ž—œ‘Š–™˜˜ǵ‘Ž›Ž
  ˜ ŠĴŠŒ‘ ‘Ž ›ŽŒ˜––Ž—Ž
  ’ěžœŽ›ǵ Š— ‹’ Š’Žž ˜
  Ě¢Š Š¢œ Š— ›’££ǵ Š••Š‘Ž›
  brought me back to earth, eyeing
  my head. “It’s still your hair. You’ll
  have to maintain it like you
  normally do.”

❯❯ WHAT IT’S REALLY

LIKE: After wrapping my hair

inŸŠ›¢’—Ȭœ’£Ž ›˜œ Š— Œ’›Œ•’—

–¢ ‘Š’›•’—Ž ’— Œ˜Ĵ˜— Œ˜’•œǰ

Gallagher applied the chemicals

and a double layer of shower caps,

then set me under a heat lamp

for12 minutes. (In the bad old

daysof “permology”, you’d have

tocook for at least an hour.) After

a quick rinsing process to

removethe perm lotion from the

hair and close the hair cuticles,

mycurls were locked in.

THE

RESULTS:

Ihadlongwaves,falling

gently(gracefully,even!)

frommyrootstomy

shoulders.Ispent

thenextfewdaysin

achemical-inducedbliss:

practisingdramatic

princesshairflips(easier

saidthandone),stopping,

incredulous,toadmiremy

tressesinthereflections

ofwindowsand

overanalysingstrangers’

appraisals.Pungent

chemicalsmellaside,

itwasperfect(until

aweek-longneckrash

appeared–thanks

allergy-proneskin).

Gallagherhaspredicted

thebodywavewill

holdforthreetofour

months,andafter

that,thecurlswill

graduallyloosen,

retainingsomewavefor

upwardsofayear.Three

weeksinandI’mstill

constantlyamusedbymy

brand-newbounciness.

Whileitwasnaivetothink

I’dgivemoretimeand

energytohaircare–Istill

air-drysansproducts

everymorning–I’m

tickledtoshowoff

thenew’do.

• BRIANNA KOVAN‰

BEAUTY

WHIP MY HAIR

PERM

COST:FROM $60 PER TREATMENT

Photography: Tesh; Getty Images; Pete Daly (still-life)