Hi ladies,
I just wanted to give a quick review after reading Cathy Howse and Nicole Elizabeth Smith black hair care books. I must say that IMO Nicole's book was a much better book than Cathy's because in Nicole's book she was very detailed with what she was trying to bring across to her audience. I could definately follow her regime because it explains everything step by step and she also made some product recommendations as well throughout the entire book. With Cathy's book it was very informative as well but it didn't explain everything in details.
Both books did have the same information but the only difference was that in Nicole's book she doesn't see anything wrong with brushing your hair in order to stimulate or massage your scalp but you must only use a cushioned paddle brush or a wooden massage brush designed specifically for this use. She also mentioned yoga exercises and tugging your hair to increase circulation to the scalp and stimulate growth (yoga pose) but only pull your hair from the scalp and not the ends.
On the other hand, in Cathy's book she is totally against brushing your hair and hair tugging. Another thing that I discoverd after reading both books is that Cathy Howse puts alot of emphasis on moisturizing your hair and she is also against using grease on your scalp while in Nicole's book she doesn't mention using a moisturizer in her regime. She only mentioned using gloss (shine), leave-in conditioner, light hair oil on ends (jojoba, wheat germ oil, almond oil, olive oil), heavy hair on your hairline morning and night as a physical barrier between your hair and your cosmetics, protein gel and setting lotion.
Giving your hair a break by using protective styles such as braids, slick to the side and ponytails, no heat styles (wrap, split-wrap, french roll, roller set and braid-out) and also thyroid and how it affects your hair was also mentioned in Nicole's book while in Cathy's book none of these useful tips were suggested.
Anyway, I am very glad that I read both books. I did learn alot from each book in addition to being a member of this board.