Ok I had my phone consultation with Mr John earlier this week and I have to admit...I'm a little confused....
We talked for almost an hour and the main thing he kept stressing was to keep moisture out of the hair b/c moisture will destroy black hair???? If I didn't hear of his reputation to grow hair very long and see the pictures in his book I would be the first to say that this is old school thinking!
This goes against everything I have heard or thought to be true about our hair. He is against roller setting, airdrying, washing and putting in a bun and letting it dry that way.
He strictly goes for blow drying and press and curl. I almost wanted to say remeber the Jheri curl...Ola Ray..all that moisture and all that long hair!!?!!? But I didn't want to cut him off as he was on a roll.
I ordered the book and sent him my picture so he could see my hair for the consultation and maybe why I am so upset is b/c he told me to get away from the curly wash and go look that I love so much!!!!.
He advises not using gels and curl activators!!! at all.
He says my hair shaft will get overloaded with moisture and cause it to swell and break over time. He also is against daily washing or rinsing...again too much moisture and it can cause mildew in the hair shaft. Once a week is what he suggested.
He prefers the hot comb as opposed to the flat iron. He told me it's ok to use the comb attachment instead of the bristle brush method described in his book (and the one that that they use in the salon) b/c it may be hard for you to do it properly yourself and you can cause damage to your hair when done incorrectly. He said Ion dryers are all hype. And suggests using oils instead of moisturising products like humectress, pink oil and other water based products.
Tippy75 and CoilyKinks what did he tell you guys during your consultation? Tippy you actually went in to have your hair done right? He says his hair is long like long enough to put in a pony tail.
Don't get me wrong he did give me some good advice regarding deep treatments and how to apply them and product recomendations...most of them Nexuss. He explained that black hair needs to find the proper balance between too much moisture and not too dry in order for it to grow and reach its true potential. All in all what he said made sense the way he explained it but.... I LOVE my curly look and more than likely will continue to wear it this way...I even asked him if it was OK to diffuse it if that will make it better and at that point I think he was very frustrated with me!!!
I think his methods are good ones and will lead to long hair if applied properly. But I do think that they are only one of several methods to grow black hair. And b/c of how I like to wear my hair it just won't work for me.
He said ALL hair including black hair can grow long...very long if maintained properly at home and we do not rely solely on the hair dresser. Coming from a professional stylist this meant a lot. Like he's not out just to make money but really cares about health of black women's hair.
I am going to take his advice with a grain of salt and continue to use what has worked for me .....if I smell mildew then I guess I will have to call him and tell him he was right!!!
Valleygirl
. I'm interested in his pressing tips only..his theories are interesting but over the top.
The only way I'm paying $200 for a book is if it is a rare, out of print classic! 
