To Perm, or Not To Perm?

This is a really random post but I'm basically having a massive dilemma and I thought

I'd turn to you guys for advice.
'Cause you guys are the bee's knees!

So basically, I'm considering a curly perm?

WAIT, KEEP READING!
I've had one before, back when I was about 16, and I can't find any pictures of when I first, first
had it done, but this is what it looked like about a month/6 weeks into having it;

This is January 2010, basically the first month-ish or so of me having it. I had this cute little fuzzy

'fro thing going on. And then as it grew the 'fro kinda got bigger. Here I am in April '10;

And eventually it grew out pretty nicely. Insert September '10 GPOY;

That's a lot of my 16/17 year old face that I bet you weren't expecting!

Now, I had a perm for about a year.
The timeline of pictures I've shown you, is from the end of January to
the beginning of September.
You can't see in that last picture, but my hair had reached the top of the middle
of my shoulder blades. About 4/5 inches lower than the 2nd picture.

That's 5 months, FIVE MONTHS, and look how much it grew.
I remember quite clearly, it just grew like nobody's business!

Pro #1: It helped my hair grow really fast.

At the moment I'm at Uni and I don't have as long as I'd like to deal with my hair most

of the time; it'd be nice to just get up and go and not have to worry about hair

being pinned/hair-sprayed down in place.
And this is what I'm generally look like on a daily basis.

This picture is about a month old (Feb '13) and recently I've been giving less
 of a shit about my hair being stuck down to my head and wanting kind of, looser hair.
If that makes sense. Though at the moment, I really can't 'wear' my hair loose/down.
Which is a look I kind of want to have in the warmer months..

Pro #2: It's really low maintenance and I'd have a lot more freedom with styling etc.

Curly hair is a style that I'm really attracted to.
I just think it looks beautiful and I always get really jealous of Hispanic and mixed race girls

with their gorgeous curls, I WANT ME SOME OF THAT.

Pro #3: CURLS dammit! 

But alas, of course there are some cons.
Obviously, or else I wouldn't have any trouble making a decision!

The process of the perm is a double-chemical whammy.

The stylist has to chemically straighten my hair, and then lock the
curl in around the hair rod to get the desired curl pattern.
So my hair would go from the crazy fluffiness of now, to smooth sleekness.

Con #1: That's a lot of chemical damage :/

The upkeep can be a bit of ball-ache.

For example, the kind of 'gel' moisturiser you have to put in it is horrendous :|
Like, it's horrid. In the summer it was this vile, stickiness that just made my hair a magnet

for dust and bed fluffs. And in Autumn/humid weather, it'd be this horrible, wet, slimy

mess that'd get all over my hands and face.
As seen in this picture of my face back in October '10;

I don't know how well you can see, but what you're looking at is how wet and stringy my hair

looked. It looks fresh out of the showere when in actual fact I was just sat at a bus stop - the

weather was just really humid.

Con #2: I loathe one of the products needed to maintain the style. It's one of the main reasons why
I stopped perming.

However, having said that, I'm a lot better at hair care now.
I understand the whole moisture and sealing thing, and I know what kind of products my
hair likes, and the ones it hates. I know a lot more about damage prevention and
I reckon if I had had this knowledge when I last had a perm, I would've had better
results and enjoyed it more.
Pro #4: My hair and I get on a lot better now, than we used to, and I can 
usually handle the tantrums.

Okay, so that's basically it.
I mean, it's not because I am a little insecure about people's/friend's reactions
to it (at first, they'll get used to it). I don't know; maybe I'm just channelling my inner
AndreasChoice, with her boho Californian lifestyle and amazing hair.
Sigh.

Now I know I have more pros than cons, but the cons are big ones so I'd say
the pro:con ratio is about even.
Either way, tell me what you think guys!
Seriously I need your opinion.
Shall I go for it again? Shall I not bother and try something else instead??
I'm over on Twitter: @JanelleBlogs, if you don't want to comment here,
but please, please, please give me some feedback!!

Thanks for reading!