The majority of clients seeking perms at Mai Hoa Beauty Salon in Minneapolis are not older Asian aunties. They are men in their 20s and 30s who care about personal style and grooming, who know their way around coconut oil, sea salt spray and an effortless center part.
Some enter the salon armed with pictures on their phones of telegenic K-pop singers or K-drama stars.
"They show us a picture, and we say, 'You'll need a perm to achieve this look,' " said stylist Trang Nguyen, adding that the alternative would be for her clients to use a curling or flat iron to style their tresses every day. "Now about 80% of our perm clients are men."
Fueled by TikTok videos and Korean boy bands and soap operas, the "soft perm" trend among young males has officially migrated to Minnesota. Today's perm is wavier and beachier, far from the spiral ringlets that dominated women's heads in the 1980s. Some men wear a mop of curls on top of their head, with the sides and back trimmed short. With other styles, the waves are so subtle — just an extra oomph of volume — you'd assume maybe he was born with it.

One of those trendsetters is Josh Bonde, 23, of St. Louis Park. Today he's wearing ripped jeans, camel-colored work boots and a shoulder bag. The recent Bethel University graduate set aside three hours of his day to have multiple stylists at Mai Hoa wash, cut and chemically treat his dark russet locks into curls that would complete his Midwest-chic aesthetic.
Bonde's mother is Malaysian, and his father is white. His hair is naturally straight, common among many east Asians, and had trouble staying in place.
"I never really loved my hair," he said, adding that he spent most of his life wearing it short and combed over, just like his father. "My dad would always give me haircuts, and he's a white dude from South Dakota."
When Bonde got his first perm in February 2022, he recalled, it was a "leap of faith." But he was intrigued after a male friend gotten one at Mai Hoa, which specializes in Asian hair and attracts a global clientele that also includes Somalis and Latinos.