Down Perm at Home: How to Flatten Side Hair That Sticks Out

Some hair will not lie down at the sides. It grows straight out from the head above the ears, and no amount of wax keeps it flat past mid-morning. The cut looks wider than it is, and a fresh fade looks a week old.

In Korea the fix has a name, the down perm, and it is a standard barbershop service. A perm solution is brushed onto the side hair at the roots, the hair is pressed flat while it works, and after a rinse the sides stay down for weeks. DASHU put that service in a tube. This guide covers the 4 ways we offer to flatten side hair, how to do a down perm at home step by step, and what buyers say goes wrong.

An ordinary perm adds a curl. A down perm takes away a direction. The solution softens the hair near the root, and the hair is held flat against the head while it sets. When you rinse, the root keeps the new direction, and the hair grows out along the head and not away from it.

Only the sides and the back hairline are treated. The top is left alone, so your cut and your usual styling do not change. What changes is the outline: the head looks narrower from the front, and the sides stop pushing out from under the top.

The effect is not permanent. Hair grows, and new growth comes in with the old direction. On our packs the stated result is 3 to 4 weeks. That is also about how often men who wear short sides go back to the barber.

Ultra Bond Gel: for coarse hair

Ultra Bond Gel Down Perm is the stronger of the two tubes. It is a gel, labeled extra strong, and it is made for thick, coarse side hair that stands straight out. The gel stays where you brush it, which helps on short sides. It stays on for 10 minutes, and the pack states a result of 3 to 4 weeks. It costs $18.82 for 3.5 fl oz (100 ml), and it is the most rated of our down perms: 3.4 from 464 ratings.

Fast Down Perm: a soft cream for normal hair

Fast Down Perm is the milder formula. It is a soft cream, labeled strong and not extra strong, and it is made for side hair that puffs out without being especially coarse. The time is the same, 10 minutes. It costs $17.88 for 3.38 fl oz (100 ml). Buyers with coarse hair report needing a second round, so match the tube to your hair and not to the price.

Easy Button: a stick for touch-ups

Easy Button Down Perm holds the solution inside a stick with an angled brush. You press a button, the solution feeds into the brush, and you comb it through the side hair. There is nothing to squeeze and less to spill. The pack holds a main stick and a refill of 20 ml each, so it suits a quick touch-up between full treatments more than a first full one. It costs $19.99.

Perfect Downtech: no solution at all

Perfect Downtech Original is not a perm. It is a shaped band that sits over the head and presses the side hair and the back hairline flat. Worn cold it takes 3 minutes. Warmed first with a hair dryer it takes 2 minutes and sets firmer. The effect lasts a day. It costs $23.98.

Start with how your side hair behaves an hour after you style it.

Two more things should weigh on the choice. A down perm has a perm smell, and several buyers say it lingers after the first wash. And results vary with hair type: some buyers did not get the full 4 weeks. If either would bother you, start with the band and see whether flat sides are a look you want to keep.

Read the instructions in the box from start to finish before you open the tube. They are short, and the timing in them is the part that matters.

Test the product on your skin first. Dermatologists describe a simple home test for skin care products, and the same patience serves here.

That schedule was written for creams and cleansers that stay on the skin. A perm solution is rinsed off after minutes, so follow the test instructions in our box where they differ. The point stands either way: find out how your skin reacts on a small spot, not on the whole side of your head.

Do not treat a scalp that is scratched, sunburned or irritated. Do not combine a down perm with another chemical service in the same week. The American Academy of Dermatology advises having one service at a time, and if you want both a perm and a color, doing the perm first and the color two weeks later.

What comes in the box

You will also want a timer, an old towel for your shoulders and a mirror that shows the side of your head. A second hand mirror helps with the back hairline.

The steps are the same for the gel and the cream. Work on dry hair. One side at a time is easier than both at once.

The timer is the whole method. The solution keeps working for as long as it sits on the hair. Ten minutes is the time on our pack, and longer does not mean flatter. It means drier, weaker hair.

A mild tingle is common with perm solutions. Burning is not something to sit through. Rinse at once, and do not try the product again.

The sides will lie flat as soon as they are dry. The smell is the part buyers mention most. It fades over a few days and a few shampoos, faster if you wash the sides well on the first day.

Treated hair is drier than untreated hair, so be kind to it. Use a conditioner after each shampoo. Anti-Hair Loss Scalp Shampoo is our own wash, a pH 5.5 shampoo in a 16.9 fl oz (500 ml) pump bottle that washes and conditions in one step.

Keep heat low for the first days. Dry the sides downward on a medium setting, with a palm pressing the hair as the air passes. That habit alone extends the result, because you are setting the direction again each morning.

Do not repeat the treatment early. If one side came out weaker than the other, wait. The same dermatology guidance asks for more time between chemical touch-ups, not less, and names 8 to 10 weeks or longer as a goal in dry winter air.

After two or three weeks the roots begin to push out again. You do not have to redo both sides. The Easy Button stick was made for this stage. Press the button to feed the solution into the angled brush, comb it through the new growth, wait 5 to 10 minutes, and rinse.

The stick carries the same perm smell as the tubes, and one buyer could not get past it. Each stick holds 20 ml, and the pack has two. That is enough for several touch-ups and not much for a first full treatment on thick hair.

Not everyone wants a chemical treatment, and some hair does not need one. Three products hold the sides down for a day.

The band comes in one size. Buyers with larger heads report a loose fit, and buyers with thin, straight hair report little effect, since thin hair was lying flat already. It works best on the thick, springy side hair it was designed around.

The stick wax is softer and oilier than our jar waxes. Two buyers found it greasy and slow to wash out. Use one light swipe, comb it through and press. It is a fix for the sides, not a way to build a whole style.

Men who have never had a down perm tend to ask the same things before the first one. Most of the answers come down to one fact: only the hair at the sides is treated, and only near the root.

Your usual products still work afterward. Wax, pomade and spray go on the top as before. The sides simply stop needing them. Many men find they use less product overall, because half of what they used to apply was there to fight the sides.

A down perm shows most on cuts where the sides are short and the top is longer. The contrast between the two is the whole design of those cuts, and side hair that sticks out blurs it.

• A two-block cut, with short sides under a longer top. Flat sides let the top fall over them cleanly.
• A side part or a comma fringe. The parted side lies close to the head and the shape reads as tidy.
• A taper or a low fade as it grows out. The first week is sharp, and by the third week the sides push out. A down perm buys those weeks back.
• A crew cut on thick hair. Even at half an inch, coarse side hair can stand up like a brush.

• Leaving the solution on past the stated time. Longer is not flatter. It is drier and weaker.
• Applying it to wet hair. The method is for dry hair, and water thins the solution.
• Brushing it over the top of the head. Only the sides and the back hairline are treated.
• Skipping the perm paper. The paper is what holds the hair flat while the solution works.
• Choosing the cream for coarse hair because it sounds gentler. Coarse hair is what the gel is for.
• Repeating the treatment a few days later. Give the hair weeks, not days, between rounds.

These are not our best-rated products, and we would rather you knew that before you buy. Across 827 ratings, the scores run from 3.4 to 3.6 out of 5. A down perm depends on the hair it meets. On thick, coarse hair it can change a haircut. On fine hair there is little for it to do.

The complaints fall into three groups. The smell. A result that lasted less than the stated weeks. And hair that the milder cream could not hold down. The praise is narrower and stronger: buyers with stubborn side hair who had tried wax, spray and a tight cap, and for whom this was the first thing that worked.

A barbershop down perm is a paid service each time. A tube is a one-time purchase that covers more than one treatment on short sides, depending on how thick your hair is and how much you brush on.

The stick costs the most by the ounce, because you are paying for the applicator and the refill. The tubes cost less and ask for more care with the brush.

A practical note for anyone who flies. Mega Hold Super Hair Spray comes in an 8.45 fl oz (250 ml) bottle. The Transportation Security Administration allows hair spray in a carry-on bag only at 3.4 oz (100 ml) or less, so a bottle that size goes in checked luggage. The band and the stick wax raise no such question.