Olivia Munn just got a perm too: cute or ’90s?

Yup. These waves are permanent. Thanks to bb @bykileyfitz 🌀

A post shared by Olivia Munn (@oliviamunn) on

Every time I see the word “perm” I remember the last time I succumbed to the desire to have curly hair… and afterwards sitting in a movie theater alone in 1991, crying the whole way through Beauty and The Beast looking like a sad poodle (true story). Never again.

I may never be tempted to get a perm again, but a few actresses are trying to make them a “thing” again. I blame Emma Stone, although Jamie King and Lola Kirke also recently spent some time with their hair rolled in rods and drenched in foul-smelling perm solution. You can now add Olivia Munn to the list.

Last week, the 37-year-old actress, pointing out a desire to add some waves to her thick, straight locks, enlisted the help of LA-based stylist Kiley Fitzgerald. I wish she would have just called me. I would have been glad be her perm avoidance sponsor.

And, since things don’t happen if they’re not on social media, Olivia documented the entire, hours-long process through a series of Boomerang videos and Instagram stories. She posted pics (complete with IG filters, of course) of Kiley wrapping her hair around the orange foam rods, insisting, via caption that the process “doesn’t hurt.” Another shot, she captioned “we’re busy.”

olivia1

olivia11

Right after the rods were removed, Olivia showed her IG followers tight, spiral curls that were more appropriate for a Disney princess than a woman who once hosted a show about video games. She captioned that snap, “it’s not really done, calm down folks.”

olivia21

On Monday, Olivia shared some quick videos of the finished look on Instagram, praising Kiley’s work.

Amateur twirling BUT professional curls by the brilliant @bykileyfitz 🌀#perm

A post shared by Olivia Munn (@oliviamunn) on

I got a #PERM! 🌀Thanks @bykileyfitz

A post shared by Olivia Munn (@oliviamunn) on

Am I the only one who thinks that perms have eluded the improvements and technology so many other beauty treatments have benefitted from? Her hair looks fried and the waves look sad. Speaking from personal experience, you can use a straightening kit 90 days after a bad perm. You’re welcome.

The perm isn’t the only reason Olivia’s made headlines recently. Last week, rumors circulated that she was dating her buddy Jennifer Aniston’s ex, Justin Theroux. Olivia immediately took to Instagram to debunk those rumors, just like she did when rumors of a fling with Chris Pratt materialized back in January.

In an IG story, Olivia posted a screenshot of a text from her publicist, who brought up the alleged relationship, to which she commented, “Oh my god. That is so stupid.” She went on to write, “Dear tabloids, please stop matching me with my friends’ exes. No disrespect to people who do date their friends’ exes, that’s just not my style. Kthxbye! — OM.” Oh, and to drive that point home, she posted a photo with Jennifer on Insta with the hashtag #girlfriends.

#fbf #girlfriends 👯‍♀️

A post shared by Olivia Munn (@oliviamunn) on

Way to handle your own PR, Olivia, but, please, stop trying to make perms happen. Tell your friends too.

CFDA Variety and WWD Runway to Red Carpet

Breitling Roadshow 2018

2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones

Photos: WENN.com, Instagram/Olivia Munn

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

90 Responses to “Olivia Munn just got a perm too: cute or ’90s?”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Alix says:

    She paid actual money for that bedhead?

  2. Goats on the Roof says:

    My parents never let me get a perm. Thank god I missed out on that bad-hair trauma. I’m definitely giving it another miss this time around. It’s just…not cute.

    • Snazzy says:

      When I was in grade 8 I was being bullied in school and would come home crying every day so my mom took me to get a perm as she thought it would make me feel better. At the time it did but boy when I look back did I ever look terrible 🙂 Oh well, it was the 90’s

    • Dita von Katzhausen says:

      My dad finally gave in when I was 16. I got the perm and cried for a whole week after. Thankfully my hair is very thick and heavy and it hung itself out after about two weeks the perm was gone…

    • FLORC says:

      For a few years I had a perm. Every few months for it done. It was fine. Also had a friend that for poodle curls and shaved her head. So, it can go both ways.

      P.s. what tf did she do to her face?

  3. T.Fanty says:

    How comes nobody has ever heard of these dating rumors until she addresses them?

    • Lucy2 says:

      So true!

    • Chaine says:

      Came here to say the same thing.

      • Ankhel says:

        “I am not dating Brad Pitt, even if he’s very dear to me. Those rumours are slanderous and without any merit! People are so silly! If you have further questions, I will be at the wedding boutique all day tomorrow.”

  4. Snowflake says:

    I’ve been wanting to do something different with my hair but not sure what. Perm crossed my mind, but probably won’t do that. I like changing my hair color but its so expensive. Then the maintenance. Then when you get tired of the color, you either have to grow it out or dye it. I remember when perms were in, I looked cute with a spiral perm. Isn’t it funny how you always want what you don’t have? I have real straight hair but I think curls are so cute. But the curly haired women are always straightening their hair. Lol.

    • Domino says:

      Trust me, curly hair comes with a lot of issues. Like meghan markle saying, the thing that would most surprise her younger self would be that she now has straight hair. It is that level of beauty trauma at times, especially when you get told your natural curly hair is unprofessional, ugly, etc

      I really like the hair products from mixed chicks, after a lot of childhood issues with my mom doing my hair terribly. It took me so much courage and help to go natural. But hair, for me, like markle, will always be something that surprises me.

      • NotSoSocialButterfly says:

        Have you tried any of the products from Curl Junkie? I range from 2B to 3A, but they have products that work for the 2a through 4c. Love them.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I’ve become a fan of DevaCurl.

      • Antonym says:

        I second devacurl, love their stuff! I also use some Carol’s daughter products and they are pretty nice.

  5. tracking says:

    I like the waves, usually more flattering than stick straight hair.

    • BearcatLawyer says:

      Alas, some of us Asians are naturally doomed to have unflattering stick straight hair. No amount of styling or product will change that either.

    • raincoaster says:

      The waves look good, but this hair is fried. She would have done less damage with daily curling rod use.

  6. Fhmom says:

    Curls soften a face, and I think her new do looks good on her.

    • V4Real says:

      She’s also not trying to make perms happen. They already have. Black women often gets their hair permed and it’s our choice if we want our hair to look a certain way. Not everyone is blessed to have naturally straight hair.

      I like the waves. She looks good

      • ash says:

        blessed to have straight hair…hmmm seems like boring hair

        Speaking as one of those black women who use to been natural over 6 years.

      • V4Real says:

        That’s good for you @Ash but not every Black woman likes going natural. Our hair texture varies as you as a Black woman would know. Some of us perfer natural or Kinks, while others don’t.

  7. OriginalLala says:

    all that time, work, chemicals, damage etc just for some barely noticeable undefined waves? She could get that kind of wave from letting her hair dry in a high bun. Celebrities are weird. More money than brains I guess.

    • BearcatLawyer says:

      It does not necessarily work for all hair types. I am half Asian, and while I might get a *slight* wave from drying my hair in a bun, within an hour or so it would revert back to its usual pin straight look.

    • Alocin says:

      Ha ha ha – no. Her hair looks much like mine and all sleeping in a bun would do would be to promote split ends and end up with maybe one kink in your hair.

      Seriously – I slept in ringlet rags for a high school play once and my hair was dead straight again about an hour after they came out.

  8. deets says:

    Hmmm, I let my hair dry in a loose bun and it makes my hair look like that, but I guess that’s just my hair texture.
    It makes more sense to me to use a perm for tighter curls, rather than be any waves which can be got through other means, but I too, suffered a perm debacle, so maybe I’m just anti perm?

  9. Redgrl says:

    Stop Olivia! STOP messing with your face! You were lovely and unique before!
    Xo – everyone

    • Gretchen says:

      ^ this. She’s a gorgeous woman and the work she has had done looks terrible. I hope the procedures she’s doing are the kinds that wear off, like injectibles, so there’s no permanent damage when she finally comes to her senses.

      • whatWHAT? says:

        she needs to get rid of those GIANT veneers. and stop with the lip injections, FFS.

    • Eleonor says:

      Whatever she is doing to her lips it’s awful.

      • They do look terrible with her delicate features. And both lips are the same size, that makes them look super fake, so they’re not even well done fillers.

    • Domino says:

      If you google actress Lyndon Smith, she and Olivia look like fraternal twins now. And in some pictures they are identical twins.

      So sad because Olivia used to look so unique. 🙁 those damn japanese potatoes!

    • Obvious is Obvious says:

      Omg. Why does everyone think she’s messing with her face? It’s from these special potatoes!

      The last time I ate beets, I looked like a Kardashian for a week. Vegetables work, people!

    • Leigh says:

      Well said, she’s barely recognizable now.

    • psl says:

      The eye job completely changed her face. She was a sexy, pretty lady before. Now she just looks…….different.

  10. Huckle says:

    Her hair hardly looks fried. It has the look and texture of normal wavy hair.

    • xpresson says:

      I agree with you.. the problem is people see glossy hair that has products to make it shine like
      in her straight hair photos and think : Natural healthy hair.

      I like her waves. i think they look very beachy .

  11. Lucy2 says:

    It doesn’t look terrible, but it also doesn’t look like a perm- as others have said those results are easy to replicate, without all the chemicals and damage.
    I did a perm back in junior high, with poodle results. It was not fun. Through most of high school I had very long hair and cut spiral perms. That looked better, but after that I just accepted that I had straight hair and didn’t care anymore.

  12. Julie says:

    Every time a female celebrity gets a new or drastic cut/color/style it seems highly likely they are trying to distract from some face “tweaking” they got. For example: the Kartrashians. These women are all so much more beautiful to start with than I will ever be and I find it very sad they end up plastic cookie cutter clones of each other.

    • Domino says:

      I agree with you. Except, To be honest, I think of beauty as joy at being yourself. I live and enjoy that definition much more.

      Feminists like Naomi Wolf say beauty is such a patriarchical myth about who is f*ckable or not.

      notice how beautiful or beauty ideals rarely get applied to men? And so beauty as an ideal is anxiety inducing pedestal that women fret over – because others determine your value and worth.

      So, I blame society for pressuring women to externalize their worth, rather than celebrate who and rejoice in they are.

  13. Gobo says:

    They are still pretty common in a lot of Asian countries like Korea, where people tend to have quite straight natural hair. More for waves and bounce than the tight 90s curl.

  14. Elena says:

    I *hate* boomerang videos and snapchat animal filters! I*hate* stupid short text descriptions on Instagram pictures.

    I feel better now.

    • Slowsnow says:

      Let me sit in the venting bench with you.
      I thought only up to 13 years olds used these. She appears to have the brain of a pre-teen in this.

    • Esmom says:

      Those animal filters drive me crazy. Especially when a grandmother I know uses them. Ridiculous.

    • Domino says:

      Your venting made my day! I think it cute when people bond over instagram, but agree that so. Many. Animal filters is annoying.

    • Sana says:

      I hear you sister.

  15. smcollins says:

    I got my first perm in the mid 80’s when I was in the 5th grade. I continued to get them fairly regularly into my high school years. Then I started bouncing back & forth between perming and straightening my hair. My hair was so incredibly damaged from all the chemical altering that I had to practically cut it all off to get it healthy again. Aside from getting occasional highlights (like, once a year) I don’t do anything to my hair anymore. I don’t even blow dry it, and my hair is much happier about that. I will NEVER revisit those days, I don’t care how “in” it may become again. Nope. No way.

  16. rahrahroey says:

    She could braid her hair at night and get similar ( sometimes better) results. Also, there are wave wands out there that do a really good job at making hair wavy. In case she didn’t want to go extreme with the hair damage. Just saying. In any event, she’s so pretty and I think her hair looks okay.

  17. Eliza says:

    Now she looks like the girl from that 90s show “Popular”. Says google: carly pope.

    Nothing like her former self.

  18. Plaidsheets says:

    My reaction from seeing the header picture was “Who is that?”. She’s barely recognizable now.

    • huckle says:

      I think she looks the same as she ever did. I just don’t see the tweaking or whatever that everybody else does. I really like her.

      • whatWHAT? says:

        https://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00025105.html

        the woman pictured on this page and the woman in yellow above look the same?

        ok, then.

      • psl says:

        You need glasses if you think she looks the same!

      • huckle says:

        Yes, they look like the same woman. The link shows a picture from 2009 anyway. Do you look the same as you did almost 10 years ago? Maybe you are the one in need of the glasses psl.

      • psl says:

        Actually, yes I do look the same as I did 10 years ago. Because I haven’t had an eye job or stuff a bunch of fillers in my face.

        When 1 person says she looks different and no one agrees, it is one thing. When 80 other people are saying she looks different…..

      • whatWHAT? says:

        yes, I actually DO look the same as I did 10 years ago. I may have a few more wrinkles, but my eye shape, nose, jaw line, freckles and lips absolutely look the same.

        and this woman does not. her features have changed. if you choose not to see it, I don’t really care, but I think you’re the only one who DOESN’T see it.

        peace.

        ETA: lol @psl…ME TOO! 😉

      • Snowflake says:

        I think she looks pretty much the same too. I think she did her eyes and you can’t see her freckles now. But overall, to me, pretty much the same.

    • xpresson says:

      She has fillers in her lips for sure. Google any picture of her in 2013 and look at her top lip compared to now. you can def see it.

  19. mint says:

    Well, this time she can´t blame her look on the poor potatoes

  20. Mrrreow says:

    I know this post is about hair, but goodness I can’t wait for this overly-plastic face trend to die down. It just looks so uncomfortable and cringe-y when everyone is sporting the same face work, like it’s an order number from a fast food drive through menu. I’ll take the number 5 please, heavy on the lip filler.

  21. elephant says:

    This kind of thig really bugs me. “And, since things don’t happen if they’re not on social media”‘ You just wrote a whole article based on that social media post, so how are you any better than the person you are judging for their posting habits?

  22. Jessica says:

    Olivia:
    Please stop trying to make me happen.
    Sincerely,
    Your Face

  23. Cher says:

    I am still trying to figure out why she is relevant!!!

    • elle says:

      She’s not, and apparently she thinks it’s because of her face, so she’s trying to turn into someone else.

  24. Jess says:

    What has she done to her face?! She looks so different!

    • whatWHAT? says:

      what HASN’T she done to her face.

      I see nose job, eyelid lift/reduction, jaw shaving, veneers and lip enhancements.

  25. clarice says:

    What she’s done to her face over the last 5 years is just tragic.

  26. poppy says:

    WHO IS THIS?
    she almost looks like olivia munn

    Wtf 🤦🏻‍♀️

  27. Aren says:

    Can anybody from the newer generations (or with young daughters) tell me what you’re supposed to wear underneath that ‘oversized sweatshirt’ look?
    It doesn’t look like she’s wearing shorts or a skirt, but I’m sure she’s wearing something.

  28. Rachel in August says:

    Love yourself much? lol She also got a very noticeable brow lift and too much Restylane. Her facial expression looks like that of someone who’s just been goosed.

  29. Harryg says:

    I think the hair is nice, but why did she have to ruin her face?

  30. OnyxXV says:

    That’s not much of a perm!

    • Team Hardy says:

      @ OynxXV right?? More like, she got tousled beach waves that everyone wants. As a girl with natural curls, that’s my version of straightening!!!

  31. Grant says:

    Something nice–I think she looks good with a red lip.

  32. Veronica says:

    I have naturally wavy hair, and uh, you might regret that choice girl when you realize how high maintenance curlier hair really is.

  33. Happy21 says:

    I had the sad poodle hair in 1991. It was awful. Then in 1997 I let my friend give me a home perm with some old perming stuff her mom had under the sink (I has 19). What the hell was I thinking!?! Thankfully it didn’t last long and wasn’t the type to stay in long because it was awful too. LOL! I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll just use product to give me curls now.

  34. Lyla says:

    Perks have been back in Asia for a while. I remember my cousin, who lives there, told me about digital perms for waves. I haven’t really seen them here though.

  35. Zeddy says:

    I’ve got curly hair, but a part on the right side always goes nuts, so I perm that portion of my hair to make my hair more uniform. It looks fine on me, but that’s because I have curly hair. My friend tried it because she saw mine and she has quite straight hair… it wasn’t great.

  36. IMUCU says:

    I got a perm a couple of years ago…mine looked wavy like hers unless I scrunched it and put product in it, and then that only lasted a day before going back to sorta wavy. I enjoyed it, it was a fun, temporary change to my straight hair, but I won’t do it again because of the work required. And now that I’ve cut my hair to above my shoulders, it has a lot of body, which is nice.

  37. hogtowngooner says:

    I wish she’d stop messing with her face. Every time I see her on a red carpet she looks even more bizarre. She looked amazing in The Newsroom (and was really good in the role).

  38. Ankhel says:

    Am I seeing things, or has her boobs gotten bigger at some point during the last year? I’m pretty sure she used to be an a-cup. Work in progress, people.

  39. Fed Up says:

    Are perms really making a comeback? I remember 80s perms. Everyone had them back then! HA!

  40. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Hair is fine although slight waves are hardly an homage to 80s and early 90s perms. Plus foam rollers are an upgrade from their tight plastic ancestors. It’s her face! Is that really OM?

    Also, I can’t imagine sitting forever for light waves when you can do up wet hair before bed and wake up with… waves!

  41. tw says:

    HER FACE OMG.

  42. Jessica says:

    Since when are she and Jennifer Aniston friends? Has Jennifer actually confirmed this or is this just according to Munn? Just because they were in a bad movie together doesn’t mean they’re friends.

  43. A Fan says:

    It’s not the perm I’ve got an issue with…it’s her freakin’ face.

    [*Ruined.*]

  44. Sana says:

    Her face looks soooooooo jacked in the Boomerang videos. So sad to see a stunningly beautiful woman destroy her looks to fit into the Western ideal of beauty.
    https://goo.gl/images/uHvRYx

  45. Eveil says:

    Just so y’all crazy people here know – that’s a 3D digital perm not an 80’s perm. It’s meant to give curls and beach waves to straight Asian hair that lasts for about six months or so.

    It’s nice to have options for stick straight hair instead of busting out the curler and frying hair that way instead.