I remember getting "a perm" which meant that my hair was put in metal curlers that were attached to something in the ceiling and the beautician pulled a lever and fried my hair. I'll admit it was curly, but the fried ends kept breaking off even while my aunts kept bragging on how pretty it was. They were brushing burnt hairs off their own shoulders at the same time from their "perms." I think this was in the mid 1940s or so. Maybe a trifle earlier. I do know that I was in my 40s before I ever dared to get another "perm."