Hair and Beauty Book Reviews

For those of you building a natural hair care library, this might be one you want to check out. I haven’t read it yet, but I’ve seen some other people mention it online.

Has anyone read it yet? I would love to know what you ladies think about it.

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Authors: Ayana D. Byrd & Lori L. Tharps

To put it simply, this book is the bomb. If me saying that is enough for you, go out and buy the book. If not, keep a’readin.

Hair Story has really opened my eyes to a lot of things. I think most of us  naturals go out and try to get their hands on as many books about natural hair care as we can. There are plenty of books out there about hair care, all different and helpful in their own ways (and some not so helpful).

This book is on a whole ‘nother level. In its pages, you will find no information on how to do twists or braids, or how to moisturize…but you will find out more about black hair then you ever thought. I was floored, amused, surprised, and enchanted by some of the information I read in this book.  If you were already doubtful of relaxing ever again, this book will give you major pause.

The first bit of the book explains the importance of hair in Africa, and moves on to slave trade and the rise of self hatred of black hair.  I know a lot of you are saying, “Yeah, yeah, I know all about how slavery made us hate our hair, Tell me a new one” but it is actually a very small part of it. The remainder shows the evolution of African American hair as the country itself evolves into what it is now.

Some things covered in the book:

• The first black woman to become successful selling product for black hair (NOT Madame CJ Walker)
• The part played by the media (tv, magazines) in black hair
• A very in depth, informative chapter about the “ethnic” haircare business
• Runs the gambit of popular black styles, including where they originated and how they faded away
• Discrimination of black hair styles and the political importance that hair played during our nation’s history

I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to ruin it , but it’s full of juicy tidbits. I encourage everyone to read this book. When I read it over a year ago, it gave me a whole new meaning to being natural and made me take a step back and really take a good long look at how we view our hair.

It’s definitly a welcome addition to any Natural Hair library.

I’ve also discovered that one of the co-writers Ayana D Byrd has a great blog: My American Meltingpot

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This is a wonderful children’s book that I found and read at work. The illustrations are so cute and there is beautiful natural hair, both on the main character (the toddler) and others (mom and dad).  I am going to be purchasing this to read for my son. It’s a board book and perfect for those toddlers/babies that like a fast paced book.

The premise of the story is the toddler getting into all sorts of typical toddler situations and the parent admonishing with lines such as “Go back to bed, baby, please, baby, please”.  You may find your child chanting along with that line, as it is a constant on each page.

It’s a book written by Spike Lee and, his wife,Tonya Lee Lewis. They also wrote another book called “Please Puppy Please”. I’ve not read this book yet, but it’s about the adventures two young children have with their new pet puppy. Again, there’s a lot of  “Please Puppy Please” on each page as the pup gets into silly situations.

The cover looks adorable!

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Wavy, Curly, Kinky: The African American Child’s Hair Care Guide by Deborah R. Lilly

;

*hold forehead and heaves a big sigh*

I hated this book.

Really hated it.

Even though I don’t have a little girl and my son’s hair is for all intents and purposes as unkinky as it gets, I decided to review this book because it was available at my local library. Please, if you are looking for advice on how to care for your daughter’s or son’s hair, find another book.

It starts off well enough: Kinky hair is not “bad hair”, nurture your child’s hair, seek professional advice if you feel overwhelmed. That was the intro. Then the first chapter  starts off with:

Many African American infants are born with very little or no hair; I call it “angel hair”. It’s so pure and new, but when that DNA kicks in, the true texture starts to push out the angel hair and the real hair comes in.

WTF? So what is that new hair coming in? Devil hair? And I see AA infants on a regular basis and most of them have a good deal of hair, so I don’t know what she’s talking about.

She goes on to talk about taking care of infant hair. The book is divided into sections based on age and nothing truly bad comes up in those early years except she wants you to shampoo the mess out of those babies’ hair. I really don’t see why a3 month old would need his or her hair shampooed every 3-5 days, but *shrug* maybe that would work for some.

She does mention some good things, like combing the hair when wet, using satin pillow cases, widetoothed combs, etc. She suggests braids, twists and cornrows, especially for that darn “kinky” hair cuz you know you can’t do much else (sarcasm, ya’ll).  But then it just gets terrible.

In the 8-12 year old section there’s a helpful hint that says:

Most conditioners do not work well on virgin hair–hair that has no chemicals in it–so it’s important to use a cream rinse followed by a detangler.

Ok, I guess I have virgin hair and it lives and dies by conditioner. I did notice that she didn’t really mention conditioner up until this point and that she was all over some oils, hair dressings , and cream rinses. Then I get to the curly section for the 8-12 year olds and she suggests conditioner followed by a leave in conditioner for curl definition. Hey, I’m all for curl definition, but the “kinky” hair could benefit from the moisture that a leave in and regular conditioner can provide.

But beware, reader, of those “unruly and wild” curls, you might need to texturize or relax those to “control” them.

So then she gets into relaxing. Another crazy statement, after she mentions the need to be knowledgeable about relaxing products:

Fortunately, many African American beauty companies have put a lot of time and money into research and evelopment to provide us with quality products.

Time and money? Poured into …what?…mineral oil sales? I’m sorry, I just don’t’ know how true that is. I will say that she did have a good chapter on preparing the child’s hair for the relaxer, even suggesting the strand test. I guess if you’re going to relax your kid’s hair, this might be a nice guide for you.  She then goes into caring for the relaxed hair, styling it, etc.

Then I get to the little boy’s section, which is all of 3 pages long. She claims that:

Hair texture plays a key role when deciding what you can or cannot do to your son’s hair.

and then

The styling will come easy as he grows. Either continue using the same techniques and styles that you used when he was three, or experiment with different variations of combing, trimming, cutting, braiding or locking; but please, no chemicals.

No …chemicals….for boys… but….? I have no words, ya’ll.

None.

Ok maybe a few more. She has another chapter on cutting or trimming the hair and this was a little jewel of wisdom I picked out for ya’ll. After mentioning again that texture is VERY important in what you’ll do with your son’s hair, she says:

For instance, if you son has kinky wooly hair and braiding is not an option for you, then it is probably time to cut his hair when it’s too long to comb  or brush.

I was done at this point. She mixed some good information with a lot of misinformation and misconceptions. I’m so glad I didn’t buy this book.

Let’s see, let me say something good: The kids in the book were really cute.

Things that might’ve helped this book:

• Product suggestions, instead of “dentagler” or “conditioner”. Maybe even what ingredients you should look for.

• Before or after pictures of some her clients

• A labotomy

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