Perms have become the new style of choice for Gen Z men looking to reinvigorate their look.
Perms have become the new style of choice for Gen Z men looking to reinvigorate their look.
From Gen Z TikTok trends to suburban salons, what’s behind the hairstyle’s growing popularity?
You may have noticed more men than ever rocking curls on the streets as the male perm enters its own renaissance.
The modern “Zoomer perm” is popular with Gen Z men and easily identifiable, tapering on the sides and back with layered curls on the top.
It’s also been coined the “broccoli haircut”, as its shape resembles a broccoli floret, while others have labelled it the “bird’s nest cut” or simply “noodle hair”.
Celebrities have started to adopt the look; actor David Corenswet, the new Clark Kent, was photographed on the set of James Gunn’s new Superman movie sporting the cut.
“He’s about to say things like ‘no cap’ and ‘bussin’,” one Threads user said.
For those who aren’t lucky enough to have naturally curly hair, many are turning to a tried-and-true treatment, the perm, which has found a new audience in young men influenced by the latest social media trends.
The distinctive look became popular in the late 70s and early 80s with the era’s long-haired rock and pop stars – Michael Jackson and Jon Bon Jovi were big fans of the style – and fans quickly followed suit, catalysing a trend of large, wavy hairstyles among men.
The grown-out, shaggy look enabled the growth of other popular 80s hairstyles, such as mullets and shags, and widened the scope of what society deemed acceptable haircuts for men.
Perms fell out of fashion in the 1990s as new Y2K trends surfaced and straightening iron technology improved, making it easier to curl your hair at home.
“Sleek, poker-straight hair which defined much of this era edged perms out of the zeitgeist, and eventually perming treatments were dropped from compulsory hairdressing curriculum altogether,” says Viva beauty editor Ashleigh Cometti.
“However, in the same way that we cycle through fashion trends, perms are back in a major way and its recent uptick in popularity has seen the chemical styling treatment praised for its ability to reshape and restore texture to a variety of hair lengths and hair types.”
American rock band Bon Jovi, from left, David Bryan, Tico Torres, Jon Bon Jovi, Alec John Such and Richie Sambora. Photo / Getty Images
The perm is now finding its place within a niche new market. So, what’s behind its revival, and how are young men redefining the look for a new generation?
While fading into the background in the West, perms became customary in South Korea and Japan.Musicians from K-pop boy group BTS and Squid Game actor Gong Yoo have all given their own takes on the style and helped cement the modern perm look, characterised by muted curls that appear wavier and more natural than other styles.
K-pop’s rise and the general popularisation of Korean culture around the world have extended the cultural impact of Korean celebrities – including perms. This speaks volumes about the proliferation of K-beauty trends in Aotearoa New Zealand, Cometti says.
“Few international beauty trends have been as influential locally as K-beauty, ranging from the widespread use of snail mucin in skincare to our growing desire for ‘glass skin’. Perms are just the latest to be added to the very long list of trends that have been inspired by and adapted from Korean pop culture,” she says.
V (Kim Taehyung) of BTS is a fan of the perm, having shared photos and videos of him getting the treatment online. Photo / Getty Images
The New York Times aligned the fad to a more widespread challenging of outdated masculine conventions and stereotypes, highlighting how men were becoming more confident in taking charge of their own style and appearance.
“We’re in a moment ... where younger generations are very critical of something like toxic masculinity,” University of Hawaii assistant professor and Korean culture and beauty expert S. Heijin Lee told the outlet. “Something like a boy perm becomes an aesthetic way of wearing that and symbolising that.”
How did the ‘Zoomer perm’ get so popular?
Perms were picked up on TikTok in 2020 – Virginia-based Dillon Latham is cited as the first influencer to make a perm video when he was just 15 years old – and young men wanting to recreate what they’d seen influencers do online have driven demand for the style in salons.
Latham, who has over 1.5 million TikTok followers, believes social media has a large impact on how young people look after and think about their hair. “All the guys coming up on TikTok, every guy who went viral and was considered highly attractive had this fluffy hair look. So it was kind of like, if you didn’t have that, you’re missing out,” Latham told GQ.
Perm videos are huge on the platform, with countless young men filming before-and-after videos of their trips to the salon, in turn pulling millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes.
One California-based mother filmed her 13-year-old son getting a perm and posted it to TikTok, where it has received more than 28 million views, 3.5 million likes, and 142,000 saves.
“Hair changes everything,” read one of the top comments, while another said: “She needs a raise!!!”
One user wasn’t as impressed by the general trend, writing, “Only perm I’ve seen that looks good.” Their comment received over 72,000 likes.
But what about in New Zealand? One’s bound to have noticed more finely tuned curls around town, so who’s been getting them?
Salons around Aotearoa have been promoting the modern perm cut on TikTok and Instagram as they appeal to Gen Z men. Videos posted to social media show clients of all ages and hair types jumping on the trend.
Twenty-one-year-old Wellington university student Aubrey Huang sports a mullet-perm hybrid and says “the intrigue of something new” was what prompted him to change his hair.
“I’ve obviously got very straight hair, but that sort of limits your styling options – I used to have a dreadful side sweep and then I got a middle part last year, but I thought it would be fun to try a perm,” he told the Herald.
After doing some research, Huang “bit the bullet”, and he’s been happy with the outcome. “It’s not that expensive nowadays for something that you redo every three months, and it doesn’t take that long either.”
“Personally, I haven’t come across anyone in person with a Zoomer perm (but maybe that’s just my age). However, I have seen the trend flooding my TikTok algorithm. It’s only a matter of time before my generation tries this trend on for size, too,” Cometti says.
What’s the process behind getting a perm?
After analysing the trend’s online growth, the Herald spoke to an expert in New Zealand’s hairdressing industry to see if Kiwi salons really are seeing an uptick in men getting perms.
Exile Hair Design in Epsom began marketing perms for men on its social media pages earlier this year after noticing a surge in the hair trend’s popularity.
Exile’s owner, Jo Plant, says K-pop stars brought the perm back into fashion around 2018, this time on a shorter style of hair.
Plant says while popular Korean celebrities “definitely revived this trend”, social media and influencers made the male perm a now-global phenomenon.
Most men who head to Exile for perms are aged between 18-30, yet Plant notes the style’s explosion in popularity has meant their clients’ age range is “quite broad”.
“At Exile, the majority of the men getting perms at our salon are only getting a top or half head perm,” so the perm treatment is priced from $106, although the general price of a perm would be salon-specific.
When asked what advice she’d give to men thinking of getting a perm, Plant says to “do your research into what level of curl you desire and the maintenance afterwards, as there are extra steps in a hair routine you will have to follow to make sure you get the desired look you’re after.”
Here are the steps Plant takes with a client during an appointment:
Firstly, she checks the client isn’t allergic to any chemicals used in the perm solution. A hair strand test might be conducted on previously dyed or chemically treated hair, as these “could compromise the end result”.
The client’s hair is then wrapped in rollers and perm solution is applied before allowing some time for the hair to process.
Once the hair is rinsed, neutralised, and trimmed, maintenance is key to keeping your hair healthy and retaining the curls. Plant says to avoid washing your hair within 48 hours after the treatment “as it’s in a fragile state and needs to settle”.
Finally, she recommends certain styling products alongside shampoo and conditioner to use for chemically treated hair. These vary depending on the client’s hair type.
Tom Rose is an Auckland-based digital producer and editorial assistant for the Herald who covers lifestyle, entertainment, and travel.
