Perm stands for permanent hairstyle. In this (roughly) 2 hour-long process, hair strands are wrapped tight around curling rods, covered with chemical solutions aimed to make your hair “save” the shape of the curling rod. After chemical treatment, permed hair is dried and neutralizer is applied with a goal to halt the perming process and save those curls.
While perms are widely associated with curly hair, curling rods come in all shapes and sizes. You can choose a diversity of curls - from small, tight curls to just slightly wavy hair made to look like a straight-from-the-beach hairstyle.