Customers from all over the West Coast are heading to TEN PACHI SALON in Seattle to get a Digital Perm, a cousin of Japanese thermal reconditioning. During the treatment, hair is wrapped around electric rods using a wrapping pattern that "breaks basic perm-wrapping rules," says salon owner Dot Hachey. The rods are then hooked up to a machine via cables and heated, completely drying the hair, which is then neutralized, washed and styled. The result, according to Hachey, is a set of beautiful, soft waves that don't look, feel or smell like a perm. —L.M.