At 15, Dillon Latham got a perm after losing a bet. “I posted a TikTok and said, ‘If this gets 500,000 likes, I’ll get a perm.’ Just completely randomly,” recalls Latham, now 19 and a college student with over 1.5 million TikTok followers. “I had completely straight hair.”
The video went viral, leading Latham to a local salon where a stylist accustomed to working with older clients applied the perm. “I was nervous it would ruin my hair, but it turned out better than I thought,” Latham said. “The first thing I thought was, ‘Finally, I don’t have the Justin Bieber hair.’”
Initially, Latham’s perm was temporary and washed out in a day, angering his followers. “Everyone got mad, so a week later I did it for real,” he said. The second perm became his signature look, inspiring many of his followers to get their own perms. “Now, anytime someone recognizes me, they often have a perm too.”
Getting a perm as a teenage boy in Virginia wasn’t easy. “At first, people at school dissed it,” Latham said. “But I got over it, especially since girls liked it. If guys didn’t and girls did, it probably looked good. Now, many people I know have perms.”
This wave of popularity led Latham to launch Clean Cut Cosmetics, his hair care brand that made over a million in sales within a year.
Perms have become ubiquitous among teenage boys in various places, including Southern Ontario. Sharon Lui, a mother from York Region, notes her son Jaymin’s interest in a perm, influenced by K-pop stars. “He’s 18 and started taking better care of his hair,” she said. “He wanted a perm for that fluffy hair look he can’t achieve with products alone.”
Perms are no longer unusual among teens, and the trend is embraced by both boys and girls. “It’s not frowned upon like it was 20 or 30 years ago. Masculinity is different now,” Lui observed.
Hairstylist Jason Lee from Toronto has seen a surge in perms at his salon, especially among young boys. “About two years ago, every 11-to-17-year-old boy with straight hair started getting a perm,” he said. “It’s like this era’s frosted tips.”
The look often features a style called the broccoli haircut—curly on top with short sides. The perm trend, popularized by K-pop to add texture to straight hair, has even seen Lee himself trying it. “I liked it; it felt youthful,” he said. “But eventually, I felt out of place among high schoolers, so I shaved my head.”
Perming requires skill, as improper technique can damage hair. Home kits are available, but Lee advises professional application due to the complexity and maintenance involved. Despite its resurgence, the process remains the same as in the ’80s and ’90s, with the same solutions and techniques.
Ultimately, while the perm trend is particularly popular among late Gen Z and early Gen Alpha, it offers a nostalgic nod to earlier decades, showing how fashion cycles can repeat with new generations adding their unique twist.