Jon Snow is making man perms a thing
This ain't your father's tightly wound '70s ringlets. Nor is it Justin Timberlake's crispy 2000s ramen noodle waves.
Nah.
These are man curls, and they have officially arrived.
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Call it the Jon Snow Effect, but men are now flocking to barbershops and hair salons requesting curls.
"It's definitely become bigger in this year alone," said Sara Benitez, of NYC-based salon, Hayato. The stylist, who's worked at the location for three years, says perms give men definition and texture — and of course, sex appeal. "It's very of-the-moment."
Hayato's procedure costs $145 and takes about two hours.
Benitez says that instead of tightly wound ringlets, men are requesting tousled, soft waves, just like Kit Harrington (a.k.a Jon Snow).
"Men are more confident and now it's more public that it's okay to get perms and okay to change your image," she says.
And it's not only requested at salons. Barbershops are getting in on the trend as well.
In the U.K., a shop called R&G Barbershops is offering its own version of man perm services, advertising the style all over Instagram.
"Men's perms are becoming extremely popular in our barbershop," says Gemma Davies, co-owner of the business. "We have guys who come back after having perms wanting more."
According to men's grooming expert Laura Bolt, former editor at Details magazine, curls on dudes are alluring.
"Good hair, and lots of it, is sexy," she tells Mashable. "There's something about curls that feel luxurious and a little genetically blessed."
Bolt describes Kit Harington's curls as appealing to both men and women.
"The Jon Snow look has a looser, scruffier, undone edge to it," she says. "Like, he's too busy defending the wall to think about how his hair looks and at the end of the day. The IDGAF attitude is hot."
Man perms, of course, aren't anything new.
Japanese and Korean people, who have been at the forefront of men's grooming, have been flocking to salons to get their hair permanently curled.
John Park, owner of JP Hair Salon in Glendale, California, says he's been providing men with perms for the past decade.
"For Asian men with super straight and coarse hair, giving them texture and waves makes their hair more manageable," he explains to Mashable. "They need a perm to give it a nice, good texture."
At his salon, he uses a procedure called the "cold perm system," one that doesn't damage the hair. At his salon, the procedure takes only an hour and a half.
"It's still a popular style for men, and I think it's definitely flattering," he says.
With more and more men opting for Jon Snow curls, count these waves as the hottest grooming trend for the summer.
As Snow would probably say it, "Summer is coming." Get ready for the curls, dudes.
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Topics Game Of Thrones
David joined the Mashable team as its first fashion hire. He's written for the Wall Street Journal, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Details, Nylon, Refinery29, Fashionista, and covered the men's market at Women's Wear Daily. David has appeared on E!, Vh1, the Style network, and was a stylist at Capitol records.
