Lorraine Massey

This book had such polarizing reviews I had to read it myself. It reads like a terrible coming out manual. Aside from that there are sections of good advice and atrocious advice within. Rule number one is keep hair hydration in balance. This is good. The suggestion of finding a botanical conditioner and saturating your hair with it is not. This will result in 2 things: thinning from blocked follicles, and rotting (when combined with the gel/mousse on wet hair tip).

If you want to invigorate curls all you need is 1 part natural healthy conditioner that works for your hair to 3 parts water in a spray bottle (this is leave-in conditioner the custom way). For me, I do a coconut oil and cornstarch or baking soda deep conditioner monthly in the summertime. The part about avoiding silicones and waxes is good. The part about using a microfiber towel/t-shirt/pillowcase to dry hair doesn't make any sense.

My hair takes four hours to air dry if, and only if, I scrunch it in a cotton absorptive towel first. if I used one of the books options here my hair would take more like two days to dry. I usually just gently squeeze it out before leaving the shower then blot it with the towel. The tip about brushes is not quite right. Some hair textures can't be brushed. Others can. I can only brush my hair after it's dry. If I do it wet I lose more hair and have more pain. Also on no planet shout styling product be put on wet hair, it will rot over time. Ultimately you know your hair better than a stranger does.

PS. If you deal with dandruff like I do (my hair is hella thick), wash your hair more often concentrating on the scalp. massage as long as you can stand it. Do a massaging water wash first, followed by a cleansing wash with your non clarifying shampoo.… (más)

I really liked the comprehensiveness of topics covered for curly hair, including washing, styling, cutting, coloring, dealing with chemo, etc.

You have to wade through an exhausting number of hair-related puns and "confession" sections from different people bemoaning their hair before they tried the curly girl method. I ended up skipping them. The book does outline effective methods that are very different from mainstream advice and products, but the year 2020 makes it very difficult for me to relate to a story about hair ruining a date when it went poofy in the rain as "traumatizing." That said, if you are struggling with your hair and looking for a self-help type of boost, those sections would be great.

I had started using Massey's curly girl method based on information from the Reddit community, but the book definitely includes additional, easy-to-understand information, methods, and recipes broken down by specific curly hair type that I plan to use.… (más)