I never liked the perm hairstyle. It always seemed too outdated. Perms seemed to be something my grandmother or grandfather would get in the 1970s, from the years when everyone looked both fashionable and corny. Perms were old relics from sitcom reruns and yearbooks from 50 years ago. For my whole life, perms seemed to belong to the 20th century. However, when I decided to get a perm, it changed not only my hairstyle, but more importantly, my life.

Perms first showed up in the early twentieth century. Unlike modern perms, those ancient hairstyles involved sitting for hours in large machines full of wires. Nevertheless, people were willing to undergo such tortures just to receive permanent curls since natural curls were valued at the time and perms were the easiest way to obtain such curls. This is why the hairstyle received its name; a perm means a permanent wave. Nevertheless, a perm was a rare procedure at the time since the machines were hard to transport, large and time-consuming. Things started to change in the ’70s and especially in the ’80s.

It was one of the best periods in the history of America. The culture boomed, with music and style evolving rapidly. Denim and flared pants were huge. Bruce Springsteen was uniting the nation. People started wanting to experiment with different hair styles and products. People wanted hair with volume and personality, something that matched the energetic feel of the time. Perms fit that perfectly.

You can look at pictures of the ’70s and see the popularity of perms throughout the era. Not only were celebrities getting perms, but others were getting them as well. Both men and women had perms, receiving a wide range of curls, from loose waves to tight spirals that added extra volume to their hair. Salons were packed with people with rods in their hair. As time went on, people added even more volume to their hair, creating even bolder hairstyles.

However, as all trends, perms disappeared after some time as well. In the late ’90s and the 2000s, perms fell out of style since people preferred flatter hairstyles. Flat irons became very popular at the time and celebrities started promoting a style that did not require a lot of hair styling products. The goal was to get a more “natural” look.  Perms got a bad reputation for trying too hard to make one’s hair look good.

In fact, most people my age have a negative association with perms as a hairstyle. Many perceive perms as something from the past, something that people’s parents or grandparents got. Many also believe that perms damage hair and that it’s simply too much maintenance.

Today, trends change much faster thanks to social media, and people prefer temporary hairstyles to permanent ones. Why permanently curl your hair for several months when you can just use a curling or straightening iron for one night? Why take a risk on a hairstyle that might not look good when everyone cares about how they look in their next Instagram post? I think that risk is part of why I wanted one — I wanted to take a risk.

I remember where I first got the idea. My best friend, Amelia, had taken a picture of me and applied a “feminine” filter. However, all the filter did was lengthen my hair and add some waves to it. Suddenly, I saw a version of myself without the bleak “low maintenance” straight hair I had always had. I started imagining what it would be like to completely change it. So I decided I wanted a perm.

The problem was that my hair was too short. If I wanted the long curly look I imagined, I had to actually commit to growing it out first. There were months where my hair sat in that awkward in-between stage where it looked awful. In the weeks and days right before the perm, I remember how disgusted I was with my hair. I’m all for guys growing their hair out, but straight long hair was just not it for me. But I kept thinking about the final result, and eventually, I got the perm.

And the weird thing is that the change felt immediate. Not just an alteration to my hair, but something mentally as well. When I first looked in the mirror, I remember thinking that I looked more like myself, which sounds strange because it was a completely different hairstyle than what I’ve had all my life. But sometimes changing your appearance lets a different side of your personality come forward. The curls made me feel more comfortable with myself.

People started telling me I looked better almost right away. They called it a “glow-up,” which honestly made me laugh at first. It was still me, just with curlier hair. But their reactions affected me more than I expected. I felt more confident walking into rooms, and I stopped overthinking every little thing about my appearance. I don’t think the perm magically transformed my life, but it helped me feel comfortable enough to become a version of myself that had probably already been there. This is part of why I think perms deserve more appreciation.

Now I don’t think that everyone needs giant ’80s hair again, I just think that perms represent something people seem to miss lately, which is  to have fun with your style. Not social media trends that only last for a week or hairstyles designed entirely around looking safe or polished. Perms have personality. They are imperfect sometimes, and that’s what makes them great.

Modern perms are far from what most people think. With new advances in hair technology, they can now appear as soft, natural-looking curls, beachy waves, or textured hairstyles, instead of large spirals of hair. In my case, the reason I got the perm was an impulsive decision brought about by a stupid filter my friend applied to a picture of me. However, the process itself seemed to be a rather important and life-changing event for me.

I believe that perms were so popular back in the ’70s because, beneath the hair spray and large curls, there was freedom and expressiveness. We could use some of that expressiveness today.