Kitchenette Run-ins, Fashion Discussions

We have a kitchenette at work that I was practically running through last week (my new job is what I would call "demanding") when I almost turned a co-worker into roadkill. We'll call her Carrie. Carrie is the mother of young children, very nice, and most relevantly to this narrative, never sarcastic. So I know that what she was saying to me was sincere.

C: Oh, Josh, hi! I've been meaning to ask you about your hair.
JD (internal): Oh crap. Oh no.
JD: Um, yeah...what about it?
C: Did you style it differently?
JD (internal): Lie, dammit-- Lie! Say the humid summer is wreaking havoc on your hair! That's what girls do! Say it!
JD: Um, yeah. I, uh, So I... got a perm...
JD (internal): Idiot.

(At this point in the conversation I realized that the kitchenette is central to a dozen or so cubicles occupied by coworkers that I see every day. And that they've likely heard that I permed my hair. So I feel like I have to explain -- in a noticeably louder voice so all can hear -- the circumstances of my getting a perm.)

JD: ...I did it as part of a bet with a friend -- this is not something I would ever do on my own.
C: Well, I think it looks good.
JD (internal): She's messing with you! There's no way you look good. You look stupid, and you know it!
JD: Well, that's nice of you to say, Carrie. But really, you don't have to lie. I realize it looks pretty ridiculous.
C: Where did you get it done? I've been thinking about doing a perm myself.
JD: I, uh...my friend just bought a box of stuff from the store.

It's a bad sign for me when women are asking me for fashion-related advice. Almost apocalyptic.