What you need for a Korean digital perm: the full list

In short

A Korean digital perm takes five things: a machine with heated rods, a set of rods in the diameters you use, a perm solution designed to work with heat, a hair steamer, and hair care for before and after the service. A cold perm on rods needs no machine at all - just non-heated rods and a cold perm lotion. A flat iron, a curling iron and a dryer with a diffuser cover straightening, iron perms and drying the curl. Below is the full list, with links to the catalogue and what to check for each item.

What you need for a Korean perm: the list

Think of the table as an inventory of the perm station. Each row is covered in more detail further down.

The minimum to start offering digital perms is the machine, rods, a solution with its neutralizer and a steamer. Everything else can be added as your client list and service menu grow.

The Korean digital perm machine

A digital perm machine is a control unit with heated rods plugged into it by cable. You apply the solution, wind the section onto a rod and connect it, and the machine heats every rod on the same programme, at a set temperature for a set time. Once heating stops the rods cool down and the curl sets in its new shape. The stylist is responsible for the diagnosis, the choice of solution and the winding; the machine makes sure the heat is the same across the whole head.

In our catalogue this is the Create Wave Master, a Korean machine with film heaters in the rods. According to the manufacturer:

• temperature 60-140 °C in 1 °C steps, time 1-30 minutes in 1-minute steps;
• a temperature sensor in every rod, with the current and target temperature and the remaining time on the display;
• an alarm and a flashing lamp if a rod is not connected or is faulty;
• preset programmes Direct Perm, S-, M- and L-Style Perm and Special Mode, each with a sub-menu by hair condition;
• a cooling fan, and the option to run two clients at once;
• a wall-mounted or a wheeled stand version, with the same control unit.

The manufacturer does not list the voltage, so we confirm it for your country when you order. How to compare machines spec by spec, and what to ask a supplier, is covered in the guide How to choose a digital perm machine. The catalogue section is Perm machines.

Korean or Chinese machine: what to check before you buy

Digital perm machines are made by many brands in different countries. It is more useful to compare them by what the product page and the manual say than by the country on the box. Check these points for any machine:

1. Temperature control. Is the range listed, and the step it changes in? If the listing only says "heated" with no figures, ask the seller.
2. Timer and modes. Can you set the time manually, or only pick a preset? Presets help new stylists; experienced ones also want manual control.
3. Per-rod control. Is there a sensor in every rod, and an alarm when a rod is not connected? Without one, a single cold rod is easy to miss.
4. Rods included and sold singly. How many rods come with the machine, in which diameters and lengths, and can you buy more one by one, now and a year from now?
5. Rod compatibility. Rods from different machines are usually not interchangeable: the connector, heater and sensors differ. Check which model the rods are made for.
6. Brand and country. Are the manufacturer and country of origin stated on the listing and on the unit?
7. Spares and service. Where do replacement rods come from, and who do you contact if the machine needs repair?
8. Voltage and plug. Which mains supply is the machine built for, and what will you need for yours?

A gap in a public listing is not a verdict on quality - it is a question to put to the seller before you pay. For the Create Wave Master, the answers to these points are in our machine guide, and anything the manufacturer does not publish we confirm with your order.

Rods for a Korean perm

Heated rods are curlers with a heater inside: they plug into the machine, and the hair is heated right on the rod. The rod diameter sets the size of the curl; the length decides how much hair fits on it. Ordinary curlers and cold perm rods do not heat up and will not work with a machine.

The Rods and consumables section has three lines:

• Create Wave Master rods - standard 9 cm and long 13 cm for long hair. Sold singly, with the diameter chosen as a variant.
• Create rods for Minimini machines - nine diameters from 12 to 30 mm, each with a colour band, plus long 13 cm rods in 18-25 mm. The manufacturer does not state compatibility with the Wave Master, so these are for Minimini machines.
• Gratia Anion Volume Up rods - non-heated rods for root volume and classic chemical perms: ten sizes from 25 to 7 mm, an open-through body and protection against band marks.

Rods wear out and go missing faster than any other part of the kit, so it pays to keep spares of the diameters you use most. Build the set around your technique and your clients' usual hair length: long hair needs long rods.

Korean perm solutions: digital and cold

A perm solution is a pair: a step-one solution with the reducing agent, and a step-two neutralizer. The reducing agent makes the hair pliable; the neutralizer locks it into the new shape. Digital and cold perms need different solutions, chosen by technique and hair condition.

For digital and heat perms you need a solution whose instructions include a heat procedure. In Perm solutions:

• Beati Miracle Silky Glow - cysteamine-based solutions: H for healthy hair (pH 7.0), N for damaged hair (pH 4.5) and neutralizer L, 400 ml each. H and N are mixed according to the diagnosis; the line covers digital and heat perms and straightening.
• Beati Multi Silky Glow - one acidic solution (pH 3.0) for healthy and damaged hair plus a neutralizer, 400 ml each. You tune it with time and heat; the brand describes it for classic rod perms and heat perms.

For cold perms on rods, see Cold perm lotions:

• ISTHIEF Balance Perm - a multi perm in 150 ml bottles for classic and heat perms.
• Iljin Keron Cysteine Wave - a cysteine lotion and cream neutralizer, 90 ml each, for cold perms without heat.
• Iljin Acetyl Keron Cysteine - a 155 ml lotion and 165 ml neutralizer; the manufacturer's instructions use gentle heat up to 60 °C.

Which solution suits coloured, lightened or dense hair, and how the reducing agents differ, is covered in the guide How to choose a Korean perm solution. Always do a strand test before working on the whole head.

Hair steamer: why it belongs in a perm room

A hair steamer delivers warm mist or steam to the hair. In a perm room it earns its place whenever a solution or a mask needs a warm, moist environment: while the solution processes, during cold perms with gentle heat, and for treatments after neutralising. Even, warm mist keeps the solution from drying on the surface, which makes processing times easier to repeat from one client to the next.

The Hair steamers section has four Korean models:

• Create O3 Mistimer - mist and steam together, 35-60 °C in 5 °C steps, timer, modes A and B, a 2,800 ml tank.
• Asia Electronics Eco Quick Steamer - a wheeled stand with mist and steam, 3 steam and temperature levels, ozone and a touch panel.
• Airafa Himitsu Head Spa - a cabinet unit with ultrasonic mist, three programmes, ozone and two outlets.
• Airafa Ion Spa Care - a steamer with a clear hood, ionised mist, ozone, 40-50 °C.

A compact stand suits a small room, a large tank suits a busy salon, and a model with programmes suits scalp spa treatments.

Tools: flat iron, curling iron, dryer with diffuser

Beyond the machine, these tools from Irons and tools come in handy around Korean perms:

• Flat iron for straightening and styling. The Beati Professional Magic has titanium plates, works on wet and dry hair, offers 9 temperature steps from 50 to 220 °C and comes with four plate types.
• Clinic irons for treatments. The set of two Beati irons seals in treatments at a low 50-70 °C and styles dry hair, with 16, 24 or 32 mm plates.
• Curling iron for iron perms. The HairPro Iron Master PRO-101 is a 16 mm barrel with a ceramic heater and a temperature sensor.
• Dryer and diffuser. The JMW Air Sens dryer with a BLDC motor, five speeds and three heat levels, and the JMW diffuser for drying perms and curly hair.
• Heat cap. The Beati electric cap with a titanium coating warms masks and treatments: 10-15 minutes under the cap after applying the product.

Aftercare: PPT, masks, shampoos

Hair care comes in at two points: in the salon, to prepare the hair for the service and finish it; and at home, so the client can keep the curl in shape between visits.

• Pre-treatment. Hair Food US6 Terroir Silky is a Korean PPT product with hydrolysed collagen, keratin and wheat protein. It is used as a pre-treatment before colour and perms and as an additive to colour and neutralizer.
• Beati masks. The rich Silk Treatment 1000 ml for salon pre-treatment and home use, the hydrating Moisture Treatment at pH 4.8, the leave-in Return Treatment and Premium Oil to finish.
• Shampoos. The mildly acidic, amino acid-based Beati Natural and the Dr. Clean Head scalp shampoo at pH 5.5.
• Sets. Ready-made sets for home and salon, including ones for severely damaged and lightened hair.

All of it is in Hair care after perm, Shampoos and Sets.

How to order

Every Silkybon product is made to order from Korea. We keep no ready stock, which is why the site has no prices or cart. Here is how it works:

1. Choose the product, variant and quantity on the product page.
2. Message us on WhatsApp, Telegram or by email - the buttons are on every product page and at the end of this page.
3. Within 48 hours we send the price, lead time and shipping cost to your country.

Lead times run from the moment the order is agreed: solutions and hair care up to 30 days, equipment (the machine and steamers) up to 60 days. To Russia and the CIS we ship by CDEK; for Europe and other countries we choose the carrier for each order. Payment terms are agreed per order, and equipment is covered by the manufacturer's warranty. Full details are on Shipping and payment.

Training

If you are new to digital perms, it makes sense to get the machine together with training so you start from a proven routine. Send a request on the Korean perm training page; courses for stylists are listed on our academy site, versionacademy.com.

Questions and answers

Which machine do you need for a Korean perm?

A digital perm machine with heated rods, temperature control and a timer. It helps if every rod has its own sensor and the machine raises an alarm when a rod is not connected. In our catalogue that is the Create Wave Master: 60-140 °C, a 1-30 minute timer, wall-mounted or on a stand.

Which solutions do you need for a Korean perm?

For digital and heat perms, solutions whose instructions include a heat procedure, such as Beati Miracle Silky Glow or Multi Silky Glow. For cold perms on rods, the ISTHIEF and Iljin lotions. Each solution needs a neutralizer, and it comes in the set.

Can you do a Korean perm without a machine?

Not a digital one: the curl is formed by heat on the machine's rods. Without a machine you can do a cold perm on rods with cold perm lotions, sometimes with gentle heat from a steamer if the lotion's instructions allow it.

Do you need special rods?

For a digital perm you need heated rods made for your specific machine; rods from different machines are usually not interchangeable. A cold perm uses plain rods that are not heated.

How is a Korean machine different from a Chinese one?

The country of origin on its own tells you little. Compare the listing and the manual: temperature range and step, timer, sensors in the rods, rods sold singly, service and voltage. If something is missing from the description, ask the seller before you pay.

How much does a Korean perm machine cost?

The price is on request. It depends on the configuration (version, number of rods) and on shipping to your country. Message us and we will send a quote within 48 hours.

How do ordering and delivery work?

Choose the product and message us using the buttons on its page. Equipment arrives made to order within 60 days, solutions and hair care within 30 days. To Russia and the CIS we ship by CDEK, to other countries by a carrier chosen for the order.