Bradley Cooper admits to perming his hair: hot, weird, or no big deal?

Bradley Cooper

Here are some photos of Bradley Cooper yesterday in Madrid for the premiere and photocall for Silver Linings Playbook, and he’s looking basically the same as always, right? Same shifty stance, same serial killer good looks. His hair is a bit different though, and I apologize for the slightly misleading headline about Bradley admitting to perming his hair because that makes it sound like he does it all the time just for fun. As in, this would completely dovetail with my recent delight at a Star story claiming that Bradley was freaking out over hair loss and had hired his own on-set hairstylist to hide his insecurity.

Yes, I do think it’s amusing when dudes freak out over a receding hairline because it seems like such a small thing to worry about in comparison to what women have to go through in the aging process. Bradley really seems like a “hair guy” though, and he’s always flaunted his Stamos mane as much as humanly possible, so I guess maybe I shouldn’t poke fun at his alleged panic over losing what he views as a great asset. But back to Bradley’s perm, which was apparently a new style that was initiated for an upcoming role. Here are the details:

He’s taken the top shot on several lists which source out the members of the male species who are worthy to be called the world’s sexiest men.

However Bradley Cooper recently made a confession that could see him falling down the rankings. The handsome 38-year-old Hangover star revealed that he perms his hair.

Bradley made the shock admission while speaking to E! News during the BAFTA Tea reception. Luckily the actor explained that he only had the curling treatment done for his latest role in which he’ll co-star alongside Christian Bale.

Making light of the not so sexiest man in the world experience, over the weekend Cooper said: “I permed my hair today.”

Going into further detail about the procedure, Bradley continued: “We did a camera test today and we were playing with the idea of him having curly hair. Like rollers! Oh, yeah bro, like rollers in the hair!”

In the untitled film, which will be directed by David O. Russell and was written by Eric Singer, Cooper will play a character called Jimmy Boyle.

The movie which is currently in post-production is based around a FBI sting operation in the 1970s called Abscam which led to the conviction of United States Congressmen.

[From Daily Mail]

The Mail has apparently confused post-production with pre-production, but that doesn’t really matter to this story. Essentially, Bradley admits to perming his hair before the Golden Globes, where he looked like this:

Bradley Cooper

So basically, now I am obsessed with looking at Bradley’s “new” hair from every angle:

Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper

Does he really look that different? It’s a very subtle perm, which is not exactly “curly” like those perms of the late 1980s. Man, I used to have some really big hair in those days, and my dad really enjoys embarrassing me with photo evidence of my former Rave hairspray addiction. But hey, at least I never blew kisses at anyone like Bradley was doing on the red carpet yesterday. Strange.

Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper

Photos courtesy of WENN

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53 Responses to “Bradley Cooper admits to perming his hair: hot, weird, or no big deal?”

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  1. HotPockets says:

    I didn’t even know perms still existed! That was so 15 years ago, so yeah, strange. Strange for anyone who still gets perms.

    • Emma - the JP Lover says:

      LOL!! And yet, many black individuals get their hair (or new growth) permed every 6 – 8 weeks.

      If Bradley is perming his hair he’s probably doing so to keep it straight.

      I think this man is an incredible actor. I hope he surprises everyone and wins the Oscar for “Silver Linings Playbook.”

      • Lucija says:

        I like him a lot, he seems so nice and down to earth, but saying he’s an incredible acter is a little much.

      • nina says:

        Yes he seems like such a nice guy… Love him !

      • Dee says:

        I’m so tired of this misnomer. AA women do not “perm” their hair, they relax it. They are two very different processes. One curls your hair and the other relaxes the coils making it straight. A “perm” or permanent is what a lot white and Asian women used to curl their back in the day. Some still do.

  2. Amelia says:

    Stupid question from someone who has only stepped foot in a professional salon once in her life (a sharp pair of scissors and a Mum with a rock steady hand saves a helluva lot of money!) – how do you perm hair?
    Does it damage it? I was looking at the new pictures of Amanda Seyfreid in Lovelace and thinking ‘”Thank God that went out of style!”

    • Erinn says:

      It’s a chemical process, so it’s definitely damaging. Chemical treatment is applied, and then your hair is wrapped around a rod, and let sit to set the curl.

  3. MsAubra says:

    Wasn’t looking forward to a Mike Brady reboot! #DoNotWant

  4. bopit says:

    i’d still hit it.

  5. hoya_chick says:

    I clicked on the link in the article and his hair was so full and awesome! Now it looks limp and thin, not a good look.

  6. Lemony says:

    I don’t care what he does to his hair but could he at least wash it? yeeeesh

  7. Lemony says:

    I didn’t know perms still existed? Do salons still give them? I’ve never had one as my hair is naturally curly. Sidenote: had weird dream the other night abt my still-in-the-womb child’s hair….I have long curly strawberry blonde hair & my hubby has curly dark hair so we love to speculate what kind of hair our child will have…anyway I had a dream that we had a child whose hair was so damn curly we got combs stuck in it trying to get ready for school in the morning! Ahhh pregnancy dreams.

    • Emma - the JP Lover says:

      Some people (even white folks) get perms to ‘straighten’ their hair. Have you ever seen Barbara Streisand without a perm to straighten her hair? We’re talking Shirley Temple city. 🙂

      • Lemony says:

        oh, wow! I had no idea! That might be fun to try, I straighen my hair every now & then w/ a flat iron but it takes sooo long as my hair so thick. If I did something permanent likely my family would have a fit…evidently I’m the only one who inherited my great-grandfather’s curls & honey-colored hair. He died before I was born so I’ve only seen him in pictures. My hair is my “identity” in my huge extended family…”Oh, that’s the one who got Fritz’s hair”. So it seems as though I must keep the hair. Oh well, I could’ve inherited something much more unpleasant! 🙂

      • FassDaActor says:

        Yeah, It’s almost an afro. Joy Behar says that she used to go to the black neighborhood to get a straight perm for her tightly coiled hair. You can find a picture online.

      • Dee says:

        A perm and a relaxer are two different things. I wish people would get it right. They are two very different processes. One relaxes your hair and thins it out flat and the other curls your hair (in varying degrees) and adds the illusion of fullness. Some AA relax their hair and some White/Asian women perm. Big difference.

    • Christie says:

      Yep, perms do still exist. My grandmother gets one at least once a month. I will say, though, that I’ve never heard of someone under the age of 65 getting a perm in order to curl their hair.

  8. Samantha says:

    Has he always been so…greasy?

    • carrie says:

      his hair is wet because of the snow and the cold in Spain (i just saw a video of the premiere to illustrate his hair gossip)

  9. LadyMTL says:

    If he did it for a movie role…meh, no biggie. I mean, actors do all kinds of things to get in character so it’s not anything I find weird.

    What IS weird, however, is how creepy he looks in that pic where he’s blowing a kiss. Honestly, I feel like I should be calling Dexter with a serial killer alert or something.

  10. Kim says:

    Not sexy

  11. MoxyLady007 says:

    Second photo from the top. He looks like a lop sides Rafe Finnes.

  12. Maggs says:

    I get perms to add body and fullness to my hair. One a year. It really does help too, I have baby fine, straight, flat hair. With the perm, I do my usual styling and it holds my hairstyle better, longer and I get lots of compliments on how my hair looks. I blow it out and then curl it with a big curling iron, kind of like the “Rachel” cut but longer.

  13. Reece says:

    NBD.
    But um did they kill it before it set because that’s what his hair always looks like.

  14. Jess says:

    I’ve loved BC since his Alias days but lately I find myself confused by him. Half the time he looks incredibly hot and the other half of the time he looks fugly. It reminds me of the old Seinfeld episode with the girl and the lighting. Maybe he’s not aging well.

    • Lemony says:

      I feel the same way about him. I wonder if it’s cuz he has a unique face that is very angular? so from certain angles he can look weird. Sometimes his face reminds me of my hubby, again, from certain angles. Mostly the shape if his jaw & chin. But my hubby has completely diff coloring-he has olive skin, really dark culy hair & green eyes & is very tall…I just reminded myself how hot my own man is… hmmm:)

    • Cecada says:

      Yup that sums it up for me too. Keep him in the right light, please, because when it works he’s really hot.

    • Jilli says:

      I agree with this observation. BC is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He has consistently nice hands, though……

    • mercy says:

      Angular features don’t always photograph well, but if he had stronger cheekbones and jawline to match his nose and chin he would be aging better. He should cut his hair. This length does him no favours.

  15. Michele says:

    If he got a perm for filming purposes, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Actors change their hairstyles all the time for their roles. Charlize recently shaved her whole head for a movie she just wrapped. I do think he uses too much product in his hair, though. It sometimes looks really greasy in pics. I don’t think his hair is unclean, just too much styling products in it.

  16. LIVEALOT says:

    i thought “perm” meant “to curl” in the caucasian world but “to straighten” in the AA community?

    • Jilli says:

      A ‘reverse perm’ is generally known as a ‘relaxer’ and these are used by people of all races who have curly (or kinky, be that as it may) hair they wish to straighten or loosen the curl.

      • LIVEALOT says:

        ok so i was right. In the 80s, girls used to “perm” their hair – as in extremely curl it.

  17. Cecada says:

    The only man I’ve ever known to get a perm was my husband… When he was 9 years old. His mother was a salon nut and “experimented” on him just before school picture day. Said he got the snot beaten out of him for it. I lost my sh*t completely when I saw the picture. He has since destroyed every copy of it – even the yearbook.

    That is all I know about men and perms.

  18. Tommy says:

    Ironically, I think he looks ten-times better when he has short hair, like in “He’s Just Not That Into You.” I don’t think he looks very good with long hair like this.

    • mercy says:

      Agreed. He’s got deep set eyes. Short hair makes his eyes pop. Long hair accentuates his weak jawline.

  19. Memphis says:

    It’s Hollywood.. perming his hair is probably the least weird thing he does.

  20. nina says:

    I saw him tonight at the premiere of Silver linings in Paris and he’s ten times more handsome in person.

  21. Sam x says:

    He’s still hot though with his crazy blue eyes and all, I prefer his hair shorter too. From what I’ve read he is a lot more hotter in person. If I was there I wouldn’t have mind him blowing kisses in my direction lol. x

  22. A Fan says:

    Wow, such a gross turn-off. Not that he ever turned me on.

  23. mandalala says:

    all the brady men get perms!

  24. F5 says:

    He needs a better toupee to perm..

  25. ZenB!tch says:

    my dad really enjoys embarrassing me with photo evidence of my former Rave hairspray addiction…………

    Rave also used to make home permanents but I digress.

    I think he greased his hair to get it to look as non-permy as possible at the awards. His hair is not normally that greasy and being the movie is set in the 1970s, I was thinking Mike Brady. Couldn’t they just get him a wig?

    • CocoBelly says:

      Just saw Silver Linings movie and have a new found love for B. Coops, dayyyyaammmm boy is fine.

      Perms or not,the boy look good!