Permanents Can Be Stylish

It takes special help to carry off the new, sleeker hairstyles in vogue this year, and so pomades, perms, hairsprays, setting gels and other beauty aids are making a comeback.

But women need not adopt the rigid plastered look of the 1950s. The new setting aids rely on a softer touch, say stylists who met in New York at a show by Zotos hair products manufacturers and Intercoiffure, a stylists' association.

All this has been a boon for the hair care industry. The permanent wave - which ranges in cost from $25 to $100 - is enjoying its biggest popularity since its inception 50 years ago.

Of the $11-billion women spent last year in U.S. hair salons, $3.5- billion went for permanents. Stylists expect the figure to go much higher as the short, full-volumed look replaces long, weighty hair.

Volume is also flattering, drawing the eye upward to the hair and away from facial lines. For older women, the look is softening. Unless a woman has naturally curly hair, she needs a permanent to achieve the look. Other techniques include layering on top for height.

Whatever the technique, the cut is important. What 1950s stylists slicked into place, today's hairdressers achieve with scissors. As important as the cut for achieving youthfulness is color. Hair tinting is enjoying a new vogue, and stylists say that red, which flatters most skin tones, is the most popular.

There are definitely more reds, vibrant reds, not burgundies. The color is more flattering. U.S. women are getting older. They want to look younger. What's clear is that women will have to learn new techniques for hair care in the 1980s. The blow drying that came into its own in the 1970s ruins a new permanent.

Here are tips for care of that essential permanent:

>Wait two days after perming before shampooing.

>Blot hair dry, do not rub. Try to let hair dry naturally, if possible.

>Never brush permed hair while it is wet.

>To fluff up your perm, comb hair from underneath or use a hair pick or wide comb.