What is a digital hair perm? How to replicate K-pop idols’ dreamy waves with the treatment

Sep 7 , 2025

Korean stars like Sana, Moon Ga-young
and Han So-hee boast immaculate hair. Photos: Getty Images, Handout — Korean stars like Sana, Moon Ga-young and Han So-hee boast immaculate hair. Photos: Getty Images, Handout

Ever wondered how K-pop stars like Suzy and Ive’s Wonyoung look so flawless with their wavy locks? Digital hair perms might be the reason ...

There’s a certain kind of hair you can spot in any K-drama scene: loose, romantic waves that look as if they’ve been air-dried on a balcony in Seoul. Soft enough to catch the light, yet structured enough to hold their shape through an entire coffee date montage. It’s not luck, and it’s not thanks to hours with a curling iron. It’s the digital perm: a salon innovation quietly replacing daily heat styling for anyone chasing the “perfectly imperfect” wave.

Some K-drama stars like Suzy are known for having soft, bouncy waves. Photo: Getty Images

Over the past decade, K-pop idols from Suzy to Ive’s Wonyoung, and Korean actresses like Han So-hee and Moon Ga-young, have helped cement that dreamy-natural-waves style as shorthand for effortless sophistication – the kind of hair that looks like you “just woke up like this” (with the unspoken reality that you absolutely did not). It’s this very aesthetic that the digital perm aims to replicate, which is why the treatment has become as much a K-beauty signature as gradient lips or glass skin.

On Instagram and TikTok, tutorials and transformation videos rack up millions of views, with hashtags like #digitalperm and #Koreanperm evolving into their own subgenres of beauty content.

Here’s everything you need to know about the digital perm.

What’s a digital perm?

K-pop girl groups like Ive are known for having chic hairstyles. Photo: @ivestarship/Instagram

Unlike the tight, crunchy curls of the traditional 80s perm, the digital perm is all about fluid, natural-looking texture. Originating in Japan and perfected in South Korea, the technique uses heated ceramic rods alongside a chemical solution that restructures the hair. “The difference between a digital perm and a traditional chemical perm is the use of heat,” explains Ada Buliga, hair and beauty specialist at Irresistible Me.

“Traditional [or ‘cold’] perms rely only on perm solution to break and reform the hair’s bonds, creating curls from root to tip. A digital perm uses a similar solution, but the rods are connected to a machine that applies controlled heat.” In a nutshell, the heat helps create softer, looser, more natural-looking waves (especially at the ends), while keeping the roots smoother.

The benefits of a digital perm

There are plenty of things to consider before getting a digital perm. Photo: Shutterstock

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