Is it possible to add come wave/curl to a piece by perming it at home?

The Toplace piece i'm wearing at the moment has the perfect density to match my natural hair, but i do have a stock piece (from another supplier) which i am trying to prepare to have as a backup piece. i've colored it to match my Toplace piece.. but the hair in it is way too straight and would just look silly with my naturally curly back and sides.

Has anyone permed a piece themselves? if so, how? and how long did it last?

I'm curious about this as well. I would like to order a stock piece to cut to partials and I will need just a slight degree of wave at the front to match my natural hair. It would be easiest if I could just add this bit of wave myself, because then I will get the right direction too.

I've successfully permed several of my pieces. Here's my advice:

Go to a good beauty supply store (Sally Beauty here in USA). Take care selecting the right size perm rods. I recommend going with the largest ones (usually white) for body wave. The smaller the rod size, the tighter the curl will be.—Stay away from the small ones or your hair will turn into an afro! Also, be sure you get a Cold Wave perm solution that is made especially for Processed/Treated hair. (This step is extremely important—The perm solution for natural hair will fry your unit!)

Follow all directions carefully and be sure to check the curl during the processing often. (Since you're processing already processed hair, the perm will usually "take" quicker than the printed instruction time indicated.) After the perm be prepared to have to recolor the newly permed hair with Back2Natural, or some other color, because the perm solution will strip some color out of the hair. The newly permed hair definitely absorbs color faster, so be careful when applying color. Strand test a small section of the permed hair (somewhere along the back edge) to determine how much time you'll need to leave the color on before coloring the entire unit.

Something to also note is that the hair will be MUCH dryer than it was before the perm since it's a harsh process. Applying a deep conditioner and leaving it on the hair wrapped in plastic for a few hours will help this somewhat, but no matter how much or how often you condition the permed hair, it's always going to be dryer, stiffer, harder to style—and also prone to shed more than before perming.

There are some good videos on YouTube that show step-by-step how to do perms. You should watch a few before you proceed... Best of luck! (BTW, it lasts a long time—that's why it's called a PERMANENT, LOL.)

The fewer chemicals you expose the hair to the better, but if you do find the need to perm or reposition the hair you are better off allowing it to air neutralize for 24 hours (after rinsing the perm solution out of the hair) rather than using the neutralizer that comes with the perming kit. Skipping this step and allowing oxygen to perform the same function will save some wear and tear on the unit, and this is especially important with hair that has already been subjected to so much processing. And as rscout mentioned, make sure you use a mild perming solution.

@JRob, -- When perming hair into curls/waves, I think it's necessary to use the included neutralizer because that's what "locks" the new curl pattern into the hair... When using the perm solution to "relax", reposition, or straighten hair, it's better not to use the neutralizer and let the hair air-cure for 24 hrs. instead, from what I understand. Can you leave the hair rolled on the perm rods overnight to air neutralize into curls too?

This is a really good & informative thread with some expert advice I've not read anywhere else.
I think it should go on the 'sticky' board.