Hair Glossary

This technique used for a traditional perm wrap for hair is quite similar to the actual technique that bricklayers use when building a brick house. Perms that are wrapped in a bricklay pattern are not as popular as they used to be but are still done in some salons in current times. The curlers used to wrap the hair are like the bricks. The base sections of the hair are actually offset by rows of hair rollers to prevent gaps or splits in the finished perm. A bricklay pattern also helps to blend the flow and the texture of the hair after it has been permed.

Hairstylists start the bricklay perm wrapping at different starting points on the head ranging from the front of the hairline to the occipital bone area to the crown or top of the head. The starting point selected affects the actual directional flow of the hair and the resulting curls and/or waves created by the perming process.

Special curlers must be used when wrapping a perm that will not melt from the perm solution.

The bricklay pattern is also sometimes used as a uniform way of sectioning hair, even when a perm wrap is not being performed. Bricklay pattern can be used to section hair for cutting for wet sets or other hairdressing work.

The bricklay can be used with various sectioning, base control, base direction, wrapping techniques and with other perm tools. It is a standard technique taught in many cosmetology schools and still used currently.