The word “#perm” really seems to rattle some people. For some, it can be a throwback to a time of sizzling your hair to a crisp until it was big and burnt. It evokes images of mullets, Sarah Jessica Parker in Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Meg Ryan in her Iconic Era. Even the villain in Legally Blonde famously had a perm and that was the source of her downfall. The perm got a bad wrap for a while there, and... kind of deserved it. Much like all good things, we used it until it fell deeply out of style, and the term “perm” was as gauche as acid-wash jeans. But for those naysayers, it’s time to shut your little horsey mouths: The perm is back, baby, and better than ever.⁠ ⁠ Much like the return of the relaxer, the rise and return of the perm has been a quiet reemergence — almost the Abercrombie & Fitch of hair treatments. Much like Abercrombie, perm solutions have evolved with technology. They leave the hair feeling soft and shiny, not brittle and broken, and different perm-wrap techniques have advanced to accommodate modern hair styles and lifestyles. A modern perm is more about loose waves, adding volume and texture, which makes it vastly different from the perms of the #80s, which were tight, over-processed #curls.⁠ ⁠ From different types of perms to how long they last and whether or not they're damaging, tap the link in bio to get all your perm questions answered. ✍️: @lochnessmanda, senior beauty writer