I just had a client call me today that had a perm done 2 weeks ago.  She said that #1 the perm didn't hold real well, and #2 there's a strange smell that she hasn't been able to get rid of since the perm.  she's an older client that has had plenty of perms before and she says it's not a perm smell, it's bad.  I used an ISO perm, which I've been using for 6 years and i swear by them.  She said that the perm started right away and after a few washes it has gotten a little better, but gets worse when she sweats, that wouldn't be caused by a perm would it? She also said that it didn't hold very well, but also said that she put vinegar on her head to get rid of the smell. I'm sure that didn't help how well it held. 

This was the first time seeing this client at my shop I just opened.  I always take redo's hard and I'm redoing her hair on Friday.  I'm going to use a stronger ISO perm. The mistake I"m really thinking I made is that I only wet her hair down before the perm, not washed it, and she said she had a lot of product in it. I"m really kicking myself for not washing it now. It jsut looked like she had dry scalp and I didn't want to aggitate it too much. Coudl the perm have reacted to a product in her hair?

i figured the perm would've goen through anything too. but i guess you never know what older clients are putting in their hair. i'm definatly going down a size on the rollers, and i'm thinking i should use a stronger perm? what do you think? the perm i used was an ISO I, for normal and previously permed hair, I'm thinking of using an ISO III, for stronger curl or resistant hair.

I'm really curious to figure out what this smell is.  She tells me that she goes to a lot of different salons, so I"m hoping that that's not a bad sign that she may be a difficult person.