As a licensed hairstylist I will say that yes a body wave is still a perm. It is done chemically usually with a waving lotion chemical called sodium thioglycolate that does contain ammonia although more and more perms on todays market are ammonia free. However the way that a perm or body wave works is that once the hair has been rolled onto the rollers of whatever size is desired by the way bigger the rod bigger the curl smaller the rod smaller the perm and more kinky for body waves I suggest peach to larger rods for longer hair; as any small rod will make the hair appear more permed and kinky. Anyway the way that a perm chemical works is that once the hair is rolled a perm solution is used to saturate the hair which then goes inside the hair and breaks the chemical bonds inside the hair. This usually takes 20 minutes without heat. Then after that is completed the chemical is rinsed out completely; also the more thoroughly the hair is rinsed the less the perm will smell as well. After the hair has been properly rinsed another solution will be used to saturate the hair. This solution which is usually called a neutralizer is composed mostly of hydrogen peroxide and this is what actually reforms the bonds inside the hair causing the hair to take the shape of whatever size rod that it is rolled up on. Hope this helps