Bio perm or Korean digital perm: which a hairdresser should learn

In Russia, "bio perm training" is searched for more often than any other perm training. I am Oksana Prisyazhnaya, and I get this question in different forms: "is this bio perm?", "how is your perm better than bio perm?", "should I learn bio perm first?". I will answer in order, without judging other people's courses: what lies behind the word and what a hairdresser needs from it.

What "bio perm" means in Moscow

This is what Moscow salons call a perm with gentle solutions, and in recent years also a perm with Korean solutions. The word is convenient for clients, but it tells a hairdresser little: at least two different courses are sold under it.

A basic bio perm course. Gentle solutions, winding on perm rods, no machine. You learn diagnosis, winding, processing time and fixing. This is a sound foundation for a hairdresser who wants to work with perms.

"Korean bio perm". There is no such name in Korea. There they distinguish cold perm without a machine, digital perm with heat, and root perm. What courses call "Korean bio perm" is most often cold perm with a Korean solution. It is a working procedure, but not a digital one: a client who came for a wave on dry hair will see the difference after the first blow-dry.

How Korean digital perm differs

The digital technique is Korean solutions plus the machine. The curls are heated on heated rods; the temperature on the hair stays within 60-120 °C, and the setting is chosen for the hair and changes during the procedure. The result shows on dry hair and lasts 4-6 months.

• What you need besides your hands. A gentle perm without a machine - solutions and perm rods. Digital - the machine, Korean solutions and heated rods.
• Heat. Without a machine - none. Digital - 60-120 °C on the hair.
• Where the result shows. Without a machine - on wet hair. Digital - on dry hair.
• How long it lasts. Without a machine - less. Digital - 4-6 months.
• Price at Versiya Lab studio. The studio does not offer a gentle perm without a machine. Digital - 18,000-39,000 ₽, 30,000 ₽ on average.

Entering the digital technique costs more: the machine and solutions are a separate investment. We work it out in figures at a consultation, before you pay. But the service is different too: the client sees the wave every day and books a touch-up on her own.

Which basics to start from

If you have no basics. Start with any basic perm course in your city, including a bio perm course. The Korean digital technique builds on a foundation you already understand: how hair behaves under a solution, what over-processing is, why a test strand is needed. Without that, a day with a teacher from Seoul will not give you a quick result.

If you have the basics. If you already do perms on clients, a second basic course will add nothing. The next step is a technique with heat. It is worth learning from someone who took it from the source and shows it in full, from diagnosis to result.

Where to see the difference live

On 25 November 2026 in Moscow, the two of us lead one day. Hong Jihoon, Creative Technical Director of MASSTIGE HAIR Academy in Seoul, demonstrates Korean digital perm on a live model, with interpreting from Korean as he goes. I lead the adaptation to Slavic hair. Every participant has their own mannequin and repeats the winding straight away, and a kit of Beati solutions for practice is included in the price. You do the whole procedure on your own model on a separate day, one-to-one with me.

The schedule is in the programme of the day; the price and deposit are in the terms of participation. For a closer comparison of the Korean cold and digital techniques, see Korean cold perm or digital perm.