If you have read my previous posts about stubborn male Asian hair, like this one and this one, you would know that East Asian hair is about 50% thicker than Caucasian hair and it is much more resistant to breakage. In general, Asian men have thicker hair than Asian women. This makes thick male Asian hair more unmanageable in some aspects compared all other hair types.

The good news is, that I am not the only Asian man confronted by our hard hair hassle! The guys at DPERM came up with this brilliant solution for our gravity defying male Asian hair.

What is DPERM?

DPERM stands for ‘Down Perm‘. It is a serum specifically developed for stubborn male Asian side hair.

For you Asian men out there, you understand what I mean when our side hair sticks out perpendicularly in the most gravity-defying manner. To things worse, our hair grows up to 1.4cm longer per month, much faster than all other hair types.

Down Perm is a method developed in Korea to deal with this issue and is used by many Korean celebrities to keep their side hair in check.

DPERM developed this wonderful serum that breaks down the stubbornness of our male Asian hair and by applying pressure, the serum keeps the side hair down for about a period of three weeks.

How does one use DPERM?

The DPERM Serum Concentrate Kit comes with:

  • Down Perm Serum Concentrate
  • D-Brush
  • A pack of end papers
  • 2 hair clips

Step 1: Wash and dry your hair

Wash your hair with shampoo to get rid of any hair product, oil or dirt. Dry it thoroughly.

In the photos, you can see how my side hair is jutting out.

Step 2: Use the D-Brush to apply over your side hair

Hold the top of our hair with the hair clips or a rubber band. Make sure you have complete clearance to work on only the side hair you want to flatten and your top hair does not get in the way.

Put some serum onto your D-Brush and apply it liberally over your side hair. The smell of the serum may be a bit strong for some, so make sure there is ample air circulation if you don’t like it.

Personally, I don’t mind it at all, reminds me fondly of hair salons which I miss so much.

Important: Make sure you comb the side hair well and in the same downward direction before you proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Cover the serum-filled hair the end-paper supplied

Make sure you cover the serum-filled hair with sheets of the end-paper that comes with the kit. The paper will make sure the serum won’t stick onto other surfaces of course, but also work to make sure the serum stays in the hair.

Step 4: Apply pressure and wait

Now you have a choice.

You can either lay on either side of your head with a towel over your pillow while you wait, or you can use a ‘DBand’ which will allow you to move around while the serum is at work.

Whichever way you choose (I used the DBand), there must be some kind of pressure on the serum-filled hair to keep it down, and the process takes around 20-25 minutes.

Step 5: Rinse with water

Once the process has ended, rinse your hair with water. Do not use shampoo for the next 4-5 hours so that the rest of the serum can continue its magic to ensure the down perm will last for the next 3 weeks.

And that’s it! For detailed instructions, check out the video of the handsome Jonathan from DPERM below:

My Verdict

What I really like about DPERM

It’s a godsend for the millions of North Asian men like me with thick stubborn hair.
The process is extremely simple, and the effects are long-lasting.

The issue with our side hair is that it is too short to be tamed effectively with strong gel and too long to be ignored. For guys who like to spot longer side hair up to 1-3cm, it is a nightmare to tame the sides.

I highly recommend the DPERM Serum Concentrate to all Asian men out there for this purpose! You can see from my photos that the side hair has indeed been tamed.

What I like less about DPERM

It is a great product overall. But it does seem to suit guys with longer side hair. For me, I tend to like a good undercut with closely shaved sides, thus the DPERM would not be useful for my usual hair style.

Another problem which I have personally faced is that you need some amount of practice with DPERM. I have so far used it once, and being an extremely clumsy person, I did not make a nice clean line between the serum-filled hair and the top hair. And after pressure is applied, the final result looks like I have this messy uneven division between the down-permed hair and the top hair. If I had someone to do it for me or if I had been more careful myself, the result would have been better. Thus it is something for you to note.

Where can you get DPERM?

You can get DPERM on their website: dpermco.com
This includes free shipping in North America at the time of writing.
Make sure you sign up to their newsletter to get a 10% discount on your first purchase!

Disclaimer: This product review is entirely independent. I was kindly sent the test kit by DPERM and was allowed the liberty to review the product without any interference.