Having curly hair used to be taboo – but not anymore.  Many People have 

asked the question:  can white people get jheri curls?  Gone are the days when having bone straight hair was essential.  In those days, everyone ironed their hair to death with pressing combs and clothes irons (literally) if your hair was long enough! 

The jheri curl is a curly set done on super curly hair.  I believe it was popular because it gave people with

afro-textured curls more free time from making the hair and it stayed shiny in the bargain.  For those who do not have this texture you need to understand: humidity, water or anything resembling dampness, will ruin a 3-hour straightening session at a salon. 

It is not that girls with this texture of hair want straight hair, we like our hair,

we just wish it could be straightened in 30 minutes and not half a day.  In the last few years, curly-haired girls grew up  and stopped straightening their hair to death.  The jheri curl also came back in brief stints.   Based on the number of requests for more information, we are in one of them. 

For the question:  can white people get jheri curls, the answer is “no”.  What

white people can get is a “straight-hair perm” or a “permanent”.  The jheri curl is the method used to give the same result on super curly hair.  The steps are the same but there is one additional step in the jheri curl to break the curl bonds for restructuring.

I find some of the permanent solutions have a foul smell.  Jheri curl solutions also have a strong smell but I feel they toned it down because there is a longer waiting time with the solution.  After both are done, the smell can linger.  After the first wash it usually goes but it is advised to wait at least 48 hours on straight hair for the style to set.  A true 4C girl knows to wait a week is probably better.

By Paula Barker, Silkie Locks Hair Design

Call (613) 789-2179 For An Appointment If You Are In The Ottawa, Ontario Area.