Natural Black Hair Care » natural black hair book review

No Lye: The African American Woman’s Guide To Natural Hair Care by Tulani Kinard

Nappy Hair — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:35:05 +0000

If you are trying to decide what natural style to wear? Should you loc? How much maintenance natural haircare will be, or just plain confused about natural haircare, this is the book to have. Tulani’s African-American Womens Guide To Natural Hair Care is a wonderful tool.

NO LYE! is probably my favorite book on the topic of natural haircare for Black women. Although I’ve owned it for several years, I still find myself pulling it off the bookshelf when I’m contemplating a new style.

Tulani takes a decidedly “Afrocentric” approach to hair styling so you won’t find any braid styles that “mimic” European hair (for example, there are no weaves or individual braids w/ human hair ends left free flowing).

Sisterlocks, Flat Twist, two-strand twist, palm roll twist, Comb Coiling, and just about every thing on braid extension and hair wrappings can be found in “No Lye”. And those of you looking for the “Root of it all” that’s chapter 1, understanding our hair and the composition of it.

NO LYE! is full of useful information about the various “types” of African hair and how to best care for it in it’s natural state. It also contains information on hair adornment, proper diet, caring for children’s hair, alopecia and dryness/breakage.

In this book I learnt what is the best PH balance for our hair, why my hair might be dry or flaky. Tulani explains how you can make herbal and fruit conditioners from your own kitchen.

The book is full of beautiful black and white pictures of sisters (with and without extensions) sporting braids, naturals and locked styles. Since I’m considering locking my own hair, I found the info in the lock chapter to be inspiring and extremely helpful.

Tulani mentions in the book and I quote” Eventually your status as an “educated consumer” will have an impact upon the product manufacturer’s research and development process. You will move away from products that are popular or familiar, toward products that you know will satisfy your hair’s biochemical needs”

In any case, I would recommend this book to anyone that has recently made the commitment to natural hair.

Nappy Hair 101 by Ayana Hardin

Nappy Hair — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 03:27:19 +0000

As a strong advocate of African-American women wearing their hair in its natural state I loved this book. It is an easy to read book. Meaning that one could breeze through the 41 pages of actual text quite easily and quickly. Nappy Hair 101 is not a book for those looking for lots of jargon, how to directions and formulas or vivid color pictures on the stylings of natural hair.What Nappy Hair 101 is in the beginning is the author’s personal journey to napturalism. Her journey is very enlightening and a must read for those who are afraid to take the plunge forward to a better being of self. Following are Questions and Answers for those pondering the idea of going natural from a relaxed, or as the author put it, chemi-kills state of mind and being.

Nappy Hair 101 does have 19 black and white photos of natural hair styles. Although the photos are not in color nor are they blown up to full page size scale they do serve the purpose of showing styling alternatives of natural hair for those of the African-American culture. Contained within the book are also a few natural recipes for hair products and remedies. Some may end up purchasing this book and wonder why I gave it the highest rating. Well, my reason for the high rating is due to the fact that Nappy Hair 101 offers the author’s candid honesty and simplicity. Also there are several quotes throughout the book by famous people such as Harold Washington, Frederick Douglas and Malcolm X,to name a few, which add to the message Ms. Ayana Hardin is trying to relay. To me it is a book of value for the value. So go ahead and add this book to your collection of Natural Black Hair books….I know I have!

Don’t Go Shopping for Hair-Care Products Without Me: Over 4,000 Products Reviewed, Plus the Latest Hair-Care Information by Paula Begoun

Nappy Hair — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 16:22:21 +0000

Are $20 shampoos and conditioners worth it? Can good hair-care products be found at the drugstore, or are the expensive salon products really superior? In this comprehensive guide to all things hair care, consumer advocate Paula Begoun answers those questions and more in her reviews of more than 130 drugstore, salon, and department store hair product lines, from Aveda to Matrix and Pantene to Zirh.

Thousands of products are described and evaluated according to their performance, reliability, price, and claims. Begoun compares good and bad ingredients, dispels hair-care industry myths, evaluates what helps and what hurts hair, and explains how to tell the difference between reality and hype with respect to a product’s performance. Hair sprays, shampoos, conditioners, gels, mousses, pomades, silicone serums, and other items are covered. Her “Best Products” lists make it easy to find items worth trying in any category. The consumer bible of hair-care products, Don’t Go Shopping for Hair-Care Products Without Me shows how to find the best products available at the most economical prices. Ultimately, Begoun shows consumers how to have beautiful tresses without spending a fortune.