Customer Reviews

No Lye: The African American Woman's Guide To Natural Hair Care

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I LIKE THIS BOOK VERY MUCH.
However,there is one scientific error in this book,at the beginning to do with the chemical make up of hair....I am not at home and I can't quote it from memory.
This book could still be more informative....
This book is like having group therapy or interviewing other women,but it is not all black women's views.
I am reviewng it because I think it is worth a read.

As you may or may not know African coily hair is quite unique in vision, texture, behaviour and probably in chemical make up too. Coily haired women around the world, go to the most extremes in terms of spending.
(Spending time, spending pain and the spending price to have African coily hair styled)
A hairstyle that we believe looks good or will help us to become socially and economically advanced.
Or maybe for our own self-esteem and maybe to attract the charms of a love interest.
Either way, psychologically and philosophically I believe that your hair is a reflection of the state of your consciousness, your internal beliefs and your relationship with the world.
What about exploring physics through african hair?
For example how much pressure, gravity and tension and tearing do we put our hair through by combing it?
let alone excessive harsh combing.
Mathematically speaking how many of you readers can tell me how many curls/coils per inch your hair has, and does it vary in coil and moisture?
Next question:When does the nature of the hair change and why?
(i know it does!)
It seems to me all these books on afro hair are good and I welcome it, but we still need to be more informed and they all seem to need better editing, just like Black American beauty magazines.I must campaign for better grammar and less air brushed photos!!!
It is as if we like to see ourselves falsely rather than the reality of what we are...
Black women need to demand more scientific reasoning from our books and be less competitive over black men which only fuels their egos and as a result probably creates more baby-mothers!!!
Sorry but I had to vent out my opinions.

I maintain that this book is still worth reading,more than any carcinogenic chemical so called hair treatment that you pay for.

Anyway what do I know I am a black african british woman!!!!
Most of you Americans think we in Britain have no trains or any kind of progressive development!!!
Anyway if I wrote my book answering my questions that I recently put to you, how many of you would buy it?

I have several copies of this book! I give it as gifts and everything -- it's absolutely excellent, and here's the reason: The author explains in easy-to-understand, layperson's terms not only how to care for and style natural hair, but how to care for and style hair while it's IN TRANSITION from being treated with chemicals to being chemical free! It also gives a list of the lifestyle and dietary changes that complement healthy hair, whether it's natural, permed, straightened/pressed, etc. It has so much information and is so easy to read that I've given it as a gift to sisters who refuse to go natural, just to give them some tips on how to eat, care for their hair, etc. Again, it's an EXCELLENT BOOK.

This book has greatly helped me to get started on the right foot on my journey to healthy, natural hair. The book's strength is Ms. Kinard's thorough review of hair structure and honesty about the products we incorrectly use. Its minor weakness is its limited number of natural style photos that one can wear to the corporate office. Buy this book to keep in your personal library as reference. I wish every natural hair care professional would seek out her expertise.

Lovely book by Kinard! This book gives great pictures and Ideas of how to style you beautiful "nappy" hair! Her tips on hair care are priceless and can keep you from losing your hair with crazing suggestions the "unnaturals" will give you! Also if your vegetarian or vegan her practices will not go against your standards!

I thought it was a good book. IT gave alot of information on natural hair care. If you are just beginning the natural journy this is the book for you.

After years of going through the continual, depressing cycle of relaxing my hair and watching it break, despite following some of the rubbish advice given by hairdressers, I found No Lye to be a welcome relief.
I found it to be a helpful and informative guide on how to manage natural afro hair. Although I was already familiar with some of the books pointers on braids and twists, I think that No Lye offers some useful tips on how to condition and maintain tight kinky head of afro hair. I found Tulani Kinard's advice on natural conditioners and hair creams to be particularly useful. The the banana conditioner remedy really softened/moisturised my hair. I have had my hair natural for about 9 months and I don't intend to relax my hair any time soon. I would reccomend this book as a good starting point on how to maintain natural hair after years of damage caused by relaxers.

The author turned me off as soon as she started classifying all the textures of coarse black hair as "rough". Long winded information about locs and dreads weren't what I was expecting either. We need more information and pictures of individuals with free flowing, healthy, lengthy "kinky" black hair. When that's done, we can get to the different styles such as dreads. I hope the title of the next edition is changed to more accurately reflect what the book is really about.

The author explains the basics of African American hair care all the while embarking on self-acceptance and positive self-image issues in African American women surrounding hair. Her objective? To convince African American women that natural chemical free hair is beautiful and healthy. And one's true spirital being is connected into this natural part of the African self. She argues that chemically processed hair is damaging to African American hair and to the phyche. Why? Because African Americans has embraced and is embracing a Eurocentric form of beauty due to years of racism and internalized racism even if this embracing means the demise of mental and physical health or the risk of losing the hair permanently. I found this book to be more of a spiritual awakening and should also be listed under the "Self-Help" or the "Spirituality" sections of the bookstores. I enjoyed reading it. It is very liberating, easy to understand and quite simple to follow. This is a great book to include in your African American hair care library. For those persons who has reached a place in their lives where natural hair is the preferred way or for those who have always been there you may find this book to be refreshing and may want to purchase copies as gifts for your sisters who are struggling with issues surrounding Black hair.

I enjoyed this book, I think it had a lot of high points. I really found her recommendations for specific oils to put in my hair and what each of them did helpful, they helped me choose some excellent products at Sally's. Good brief explanations on washing your hair and the types of drying. It also provided in depth explanations for people with dry scalps and dandruff problems like me. And I liked looking at the pretty pictures of people with braided and locced hair. It would've helped to include specific products that weren't her own or the line of products that her salon made. Overall a pretty good book.

Tulani, I remember when you first started braiding. The day you had an aha! experience and knew there was more to this than just the physical. You've taken an idea and turned into a masterful piece of education and spiritual wealth for all women, because whatever frees some - frees us all, whether we agree with your research or not, at least we are now educated to have the choice to agree with it or not. Your book is exceptional as has of all of your accomplishments - even in terms of negotiating and fighting to make natural hair styles acceptable in corporate environments. Actions taken from this type of work have birthed an entire generation of folk who empower themselves to say - I will accept this part of myself - floppy, frilled, or grilled! Keep on showing informing and enlightening us because it's more than a hair thing, my sista, it's a self esteem, a self love, an acceptance, a fearless, a no mo'shame, and more thing! So keep up the magnificent work. Keep looking ahead when some are trying to get even, and most of all keep "walking in the way of love."

Peace, Yasmeen and Summer