Ultra Black Hair growth 2000 (Your thoughts)

[Roselyn]

I just read the book Ultra Black hair growth 2000 by Cathy Howse. You know, that book does make a lot of since, though my hairdresser is telling me that it's a shame to make money. My hairdresser also wanted to trim my hair again. It's only been a month and I don't have split ends yet! I'm thinking of giving it a try and buying the products (Deep conditioner, dew spray moisturizers) but I'm a still a little scepticle. Have any of you every read that book? What do you think of it? Do you follow it accordingly (buy her products and things)? Do you have a dom dryer at home? Which type should I get? Help me out here ladies

 

[Nonie]

I've read the book and I liked it. I think it's a great introduction book for someone who's a true novice on black hair care. I believe it helped me appreciate this forum more. It's hard to know where to begin if you're a newbie on the forum with no clue on hair care. Cathy's book and any other book out there arms you with the basics: a summary of what it takes to grow long healthy hair. Indeed, all the info in the book can be found on this forum but it can seem overwhelming to a first-timer, so I found the book very helpful in starting me off. With that foundation, I was able to gain more from the forum.

I have used Dew and the UBH Conditioner and liked them both, but I got cheap and decided to either make my own or skip the shipping costs by buying local alternatives. I never tried the moisturizer but I have heard nothing but great raves about it.

I do have a dome dryer which I got from a friend. It's called Lady-sth?... (Sorry I don't remember). I think if I didn't have one, I'd get an ionic one...if I could afford it. I forget why ionic, but I just know I would.

(If I were seriously looking for one, I'd have the reason at my fingertips.

)

 

[Michelle79]

I finally got a copy of this book yesterday. I've read a few pages and already I can tell it's gonna be a good read. I've been using the moisturizer for a few months now & I have no complaints!

 

[HonEB]

i read the book also. I was not completly impressed. mainly because i did not learn anything i did not know already. Also there was no mysterious "secret" to growing black hair long that we all sometimes think we are missing. This book is just gives you a healthy dose of some good ol' fashion common sense

Over all it was a good book and a great place to start your hair care journey. it also inspired me to take better care of my hair.

 

[moneychaser]

I loved the book personally. Aftering read this book, I did a search on the web for her site, and whola I found this forum. I recently started her regiem again, protein every three days, and my hair is loving it

 

[bellydancer]

i agree that it is a good book for a beginner in hair care. My sister used her routine, but it didn't work for her. Her ends were VERY thin due to no protective styling or trims. She had to cut 3 inches to get it back thick on the ends. I tried her routine but protein every 3 days is too much for my hair. so is washing every 3 days. I find that natural hair doesn't need all that protein. A little bit does best for me.

 

[Supergirl]

You were definitely corredt in no tletting your stylist trim your hair again so soon

Welcome to the board!

 

[moneychaser]

I don't use her conditioner, I have read that it is pretty harsh. I use a mild protein, that has moisturizing properties...
Supergirl, Ruben looks good in that pic

 

[Tebby1017]

I have never purchased her conditioner online but I have made the recipe and that conditioner is one of the best out there (at least for me).

Tebby

 

[lisatamika]

[ QUOTE ]
Denali03 said:
I don't use her conditioner, I have read that it is pretty harsh. I use a mild protein, that has moisturizing properties...
Supergirl, Ruben looks good in that pic

[/ QUOTE ]

Ruben always looks good!

 

[GodMadeMePretty]

I think it is a good book to read to begin to know how to take care of your hair. From your post, I gather that you have really honed into the part where she said that trimming isn't necessary for growth. And she's right. As far as the hair getting thinner on the ends, I read in the Cooking Light's Beautywise section that hair gets thinner as it gets longer. It makes sense. The older something is the more worn it is. Hair is no different.

Also, check out Ouidad's site for curly headed people. Ouidad. She backs up what Cathy Howse says and I have personally seen from personal experience that you can not get rid of split ends by cutting them off because you would have no hair. I have had hair split in the middle of a strand. No way I'm cutting my hair to 2-3 inches because of a split. And if your ends look frizzy and dry, don't assume it is from splits. It may be from the way that you dry your hair. If you dry your hair with a roller on the ends, you would be amazed that it is the same hair that you saw the day before.

AND I don't really trust stylists to cut my hair. Scissors have to be really sharp and I just don't trust that the black stylists are sharpening their shears every night unless they work at one of the chains.

I have purchased her Dew and her Creme moisturizer. I really liked the creme moisturizer for my daughter and for my new growth. However, the shipping is a bit much so after I bought the last 3 32-ounce containers, I decided that I would just find something here locally.

 

[NYREEROBERTS]

I started to use Kathy's conditioner and her Dew 2 years ago and i absolutely love the Dew as a leave-in. As others have said here before, the book is the very good for someone who is just learning about how to take care of their hair. Something to have as a reference from time to time. The conditioner has a great tingle to it and makes your hair stronger after following the routine of deep cond. 2x per week. It just takes some getting used to. I recently saw that she has a moisturizer, and i plan to order that very soon.

 

[rowandaP]

I just started reading it about a few wks ago, I had already fallen in love with the dew from a friend I would always spray up when I was at her house so she bought me the book and the dew for my Birthday.

I agree with the earlier poster that it contains a lot of good common sense ways to care for our hair, but things that your stylist or momma did'nt share because they did'nt know.

I wanna try the conditioner. **

Hmmm, I wonder if I can talk Nish into sharing I think she has a large bottle of that too**

 

[Falon]

I bought it and the products and they work and it is a common sense way to start taking care of your hair. I've found that I had to tweak my regime a bit. For example, I don't like the Dew It does nothing for my hair. I thought it was to light to truly mosturize it so I won't be buying anymore.

I do like her cream mosturizer. But I'm not the type to worry about having hair that is very light and bouncy. It isn't heavy at all and when I run my hands through my hair it isn't greasy but it does weigh the hair down a little.

The UBH conditioner makes the hair hard with the protein but you can rinse with a cheapie conditioner for slip. It does help stop breakage. I don't think that you can really go wrong if you try it. It is a good place to start. Good luck on your hair journey and think about it if your hairdresser is doing such a good job why do you need a book to improve your hair? Just look at some of the beautiful hair on LHCF. When I saw that 4a/b (that is my type so I'm using that example) types like Supergirl and others could grow waist length hair I turned into a believer!

 

[Aerie17]

Hi there Roselyn,

I first read the book about 8 months ago and I thought it was good; it was where I was first exposed to the idea of moisture, moisture, moisture! I tried washing every three days and eventually, found that I was shedding too much. I don't know if it was because of the washing or because of the products I was using...serious product junkie here.

But more recently, I am becoming reformed

... some.

I am using less products as I discover what works for me, but I do switch up after a while, as I find things stop working if I use them all the time. Just recently, I re-read the book and am again implementing the suggestions. I have washed twice this week for the first time in a long time. I will see how my hair responds to this for a month or so. It is interesting to see your note, as there was a rush on Cathy Howse months ago, much like the Surge rush. I have bought her creme conditioner, the Dew and the deep conditioner. I like the deep conditioner in combination with GPB (just started doing this and the results are great...my hair is noticeably stronger). I was not impressed with the deep conditoner when I first bought it, except that I love how it makes my scalp feel. You definitely need to add the moisturizing step after use. I like Dew more now than I did originally. It has been hard for me to find a spray moisturizer that is light and contains no protein. Any suggestions, anyone? The creme moisturizer is a keeper as it definitely lives up to its name. I think all in all, Cathy's advice is sound and a great beginning to learning how to take care of your hair. I am going to embark on a test of no trims for the rest of the year, to see what kind of growth I get. I will have achieved her challenge of 6 inches in one year at the one year mark and I get regular trims now. I only use heat to condition and sometimes to dry under a dome dryer for 30 minutes to insure my hair is dry in the morning. I don't ever seem to have split ends, so the regular trims are not needed.

Welcome to the boards!

 

[Isis]

I enjoyed the book mainly because Cathy Howse was very straight-forward, and while some things are common sense, I learned a lot about relaxed hair. Washing every 3 days is a permanent part of my regimen. Of course, much is learned on the hair boards but once in a while, I'll look at her book again for info I really liked Carolyn Grey's book too.

 

[simcha]

Thank goodness for Cathy Howse! When I read her book several years ago I had no idea what I was doing and had no idea what my hair felt like healthy. It was a good place to start from. I threw out my brushes and stopped blow drying my hair. I started moisturizing everyday. And stopped those 6-8 week trims. The rest has been trial and error. I've also started arguing with hair stylists more. (At the time my hair stylist was very supportive, but she had to go away for a looong time). I also bought a dome hair dryer but it has since died. I now use a soft bonnet dryer.

Because I have fine hair (I think 3C/4A) her moisturizer products were too heavy and I can't remember why I didn't care for her conditioner. I met her at the Los Angeles Black Expo and I do have a different hair type then she does but still her techniques are a good.

Also, she mentions in the book how a lot of hair dressers try to discredit her book by saying it is a sham.

Welcome and good luck!

 

[Leshia]

that conditioner JACKED me up! waaayyy too much protein for my fine hair..

 

[Healthb4Length]

This was one of the very first books that I read in the begining of my hair growth journey. Very practical, common sense guide to black hair care. I liked it alot, I followed the method (not 100%) but my hair did grow alot and my hair really loved the products. Although I use other products now, I found that reading this book gave me a great start towards proper hair care. BTW the Dew is really good and I LOVE the deep conditioner makes ur scalp tingle!!!

 

[mytia]

I read it and this was a very good book, I bought the conditioner and the dew moisturizer and they both work well. There's just one thing in her book that I didn't follow and that's not using protective styles, I love wearing my hair in protective styles and as long as I keep my hair moisturized I never have a problem with my ends drying out.

 

[Babygurl]

I LOVE this book so much, it was the first place I learned about the basis for taking care of my hair. I have never used her products but I DO follow her advice such as washing every 3 days etc. and I have seen tremendous growth and my hair is pretty healthy. I do wear protective styles but they have helped and not hurt me!

 

[Gmaimai]

I don't know...I was looking at her website and read exerpts from her book and I did not like some of the things she was saying. First off,she said that you don't have to trim your hair. She is the only person who I have ever heard say that and even professional hairstylist advise all women to get a trim every 6 to 8 weeks. Also she said that vitamins are a waste fo time and that all your hair issues are external. Well, I beg to differ on that one. Vitamins have made a signifigant difference on my hair. Also,it seems as if her process is slow, a women on her site talk about how they got the growth over a period of years while girls on this site are talking months. Well I don't want to wait that long to have my hair grow just to my brastrap. So i don't know about her.

 

[Ayeshia]

[ QUOTE ]
Gmaimai said:
I don't know...I was looking at her website and read exerpts from her book and I did not like some of the things she was saying. First off,she said that you don't have to trim your hair. She is the only person who I have ever heard say that and even professional hairstylist advise all women to get a trim every 6 to 8 weeks. Also she said that vitamins are a waste fo time and that all your hair issues are external. Well, I beg to differ on that one. Vitamins have made a signifigant difference on my hair. Also,it seems as if her process is slow, a women on her site talk about how they got the growth over a period of years while girls on this site are talking months. Well I don't want to wait that long to have my hair grow just to my brastrap. So i don't know about her.

[/ QUOTE ]


She purposely didnt trim her own hair to PROVE that trimming does not make your hair grow. 6-8 weeks trims are good if you want to maintain a length or if you are really strict about clean ends...but if you are trying to achieve brastrap length from a shoulder length cut at that rate of trimming it could take about 2 years vs if you only did about 2-3 trims per year

It took her that long to achieve the length because she was still in the learning process. She didnt figure it all out in a day

The reason why her customers achieved that length was mainly because of her advice. She wrote the book so that we didnt make the same mistakes she made during her growth journey (brushing, excessive trimming, not deep condiioning, overprocessing)

 

[moneychaser]

[ QUOTE ]
Gmaimai said:
I don't know...I was looking at her website and read exerpts from her book and I did not like some of the things she was saying. First off,she said that you don't have to trim your hair. She is the only person who I have ever heard say that and even professional hairstylist advise all women to get a trim every 6 to 8 weeks. Also she said that vitamins are a waste fo time and that all your hair issues are external. Well, I beg to differ on that one. Vitamins have made a signifigant difference on my hair. Also,it seems as if her process is slow, a women on her site talk about how they got the growth over a period of years while girls on this site are talking months. Well I don't want to wait that long to have my hair grow just to my brastrap. So i don't know about her.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't think shes against trimming, she argues that we have been lied to by stylist who say regualar trims are needed for growth. Her main thing is trimming has nothing to do with hair grow, and I agree.
I don't think shes against vitamins since she recommends taking iron and zinc in her book...