Cathy Howse Reviews Shamboosie

Crystal

Well-Known Member
Cathy did a review of Shamboosies book and gave it a one star... I was wondering what some of you thought about her review? http://www.ubhpublications.com/ReviewCompetitors.html

I read Shamboosies book and while I didn't agree with everything he said, I came away far more educated about my hair and I learned a lot about relaxers and coloring.

I thought his book was way more deserving than one star. Her review was two pages long but was actually kind of short and I'm not sure how I feel about it... I think she spent far too much time finding things to contradict Shamboosie on than realizing the educational benefit his book provides.

I think Shamboosies book is a good book to have in your hair library.. what do you guys think?

Do any of you know if someone has done a review of Cathy's book? I'm even wondering why there is a need of competitor reviews... I think all books on black hair care provide some kind of essential information.
 
Hi Crystal,
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You know, I read Shamboosies book and I liked it. I learned a couple of things from him and what I didn't think would work for me, I left.

Now, I'm a fan of Cathy's and her book was the first book I read on haircare. It worked very well for me, and for that I'm grateful. Cathy's main flaw continues to be the way she communicates her feelings about competitors and information from other people who have something to say about black hair care.

If she could simply disagree with what competitors have to say minus the heavy sarcasm, I think she'd be better off. She does make valid points. It's her tone that continues to be a turn off.
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Quite interesting to see both views.
The ladies at LHCF need to write a book on hair care.
It would be much better than those that are already out there. We have proof here that contridicts everything that is said in these books. Look at all of the pictures of beautiful ladies with healthy thriving hair!
 
I've read both and I came away with more detailed information from Shamboosie regarding hair care and coloring. I know that most of you aren't a fan of Nexxus but his system is working mad wonders for me. So, I guess it all depends on what works for you.
 
I can't get the review. Could someone 'copy' and 'paste' it? Thanks.
 
1 of 2
5/29/2003
A review of Shamboosie’s
book: Beautiful Black Hair
By Cathy Howse
I expected more
The first thing I noticed was that four other co-authors contributed to the writing of this book. Two of them
are Charlene Carrol and Yvonne Rose. I found it interesting to note that these two ladies were listed among
the people who praised this book. Additionally, “Amazon.com” lists James Dixon and Frederick Parnell as
co-authors. What credentials do these individuals have regarding proper Black hair care? Why are they
hiding under the name “Shamboosie”? The writing makes it difficult to discern which author is speaking.
Between the number of authors and the lack of voice distinction, it was difficult to sort between which
comments were Shamboosie’s or one of the other authors. This is the first thing that disappoints me about
this book.
The presentation was similar to textbook reading, although light and upbeat. This encouraged me to continue
reading because I enjoy learning from the “professionals,” and scrutinizing what is “customary” within the
industry. Because my focus and 18 years of experience is on Black hair growth, I focused on the “collected
knowledge of the authors” and what they stated about black hair growth. I read the book in its entirety
extracting as much content as possible before forming an opinion. Since Shamboosie is really not the sole
author I will reference the authors by using the acronym CKA (collected knowledge of the authors).
Throughout the book the CKA rebukes the user of no-lye relaxers. I read that oils like olive oil are bad for
no- lye relaxed hair. On page 74 it stated: “…all of the hair will eventually come out. The same thing will
likely happen with the use of a no lye relaxer.” Oh my GOSH! For the past 15+years of using a no- lye
relaxer and having my hair grow to the longest length it has ever been am I SUPPOSED to suddenly believe
this is true and go with a lye relaxer as suggested? NO WAY!!! Having read this book I know that if I apply
the techniques outlined in this book I would sabotage all of my hair to it!!!!! It contradicts everything that I
have learned through research and experience.
Finally, I struggled with recommending this book to other readers because frequent recommendations are
made to encourage using a multi-market conditioner. (NEXXUS) Based on my experience and knowledge of
the requirements for Black hair growth, multi-marketed conditioner lacks one very key ingredient the oil
necessary for keeping Type 4 hair on our head!
Beautiful Black Hair A review by Cathy Howse
2 of 2
Point – Counterpoint analysis:
Page 24 In the chapter entitled “It’s Growing; Understanding Hair Growth, CKA instructs readers to
…”do a deep conditioning treatment every 4th week including after each retouch. Have your
hair cut or trim split ends every four weeks or as needed”
Cathy Type 4 hair needs to be deep conditioned weekly. Trimming has nothing to do with hair growth
and the ends NEVER need to be trimmed to achieve it!
Page 48 CKA says, “hair grease is for the scalp not the hair. It should be used lightly to grease the scalp
once or twice a month. It will help keep the scalp soft and pliable.”
Cathy Don’t put anything on the scalp! The scalp does not need your help! Putting things on the scalp
increase our scalp problems. The scalp is not the problem. We are focusing on the wrong part.
We need to focus on the ends!
Page 53 CKA says, “The more times you use this product (no-lye relaxer), the drier, and more brittle
your hair will become and the faster your hair will fall out.”
Cathy After 15+ years of using a no-lye relaxer religiously I have to question the research behind
such claims. My experience and knowledge proves this statement to be unfounded and
inaccurate!
Page 56 CKA says “shampoo the hair at least twice, and be generous with the shampoo” Another point
on the same page says “make sure that the hair is fed on time”
Cathy The more lather you get, the drier the hair becomes. The use of two and three shampoos
removes the precious oils from our hair that we so badly need to keep our hair on our head.
Also hair because it is “dead” cannot possibly be “fed”.
Page 60 CKA says “Conditioners containing concentrated levels of protein are not suitable for hair that
is very dry or hair that has been treated with a “No-Lye” relaxer”
Cathy On the contrary, protein is a key requirement.
Page
76/77
CKA says “I have never seen any reason for a hot oil treatment” and on the adjacent page they
recommend crème hair dressing
Cathy On the contrary, oil lubricates our dry hair and it does that best in the conditioning stage as
opposed to laying hair “dressing” on the cuticle.
Page 78 CKA says, “The opposite of dry is wet, which means that the answer to dryness is not oil, but
moisture.”
Cathy Moisture is PART of the equation. Oils are needed to lock in the moisture for Type 4 hair.
Page 95 CKA says, “People of other races secrete a lot more oil from the scalp. This is the reason they
must shampoo and condition more often and on a regular basis. Black people secrete little or no
oil.”
Cathy What is this founded on? We need to shampoo and condition on a “REGULAR” basis too and it
has nothing to do with the fallacy of a “less production of scalp oil! The scalp is not the
problem. Our hair is actually drier due to a tighter curl pattern!
Page 98 CKA says, “The irons I use are Marcel irons, which require maximum heat to do the job well.”
Cathy With my chemically processed hair I would NEVER allow anyone to put Marcel Irons in my
hair because just like the pressing comb, It will Destroy the hair.
Page
151
CKA says “The biggest problem with the no- lye relaxer is that the calcium buildup locks the
hair, sealing the cuticle, and will not allow the hair to receive the moisture from shampoos and
conditioners it needs to remain soft to the touch, pliable and capable of holding its curl and its
style.”
Cathy Baloney! My 15+ years of experience with using no-lye relaxers has proved otherwise!
 
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I think she spent far too much time finding things to contradict Shamboosie on than realizing the educational benefit his book provides.

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I don't understand why she feels the need to do this, either.
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Her book has some great advice in it. She should forget about "reviewing" her competitors. It makes her look petty, IMO.
 
My hair gets in terrible condition if I use a "no lye" perm so I agree with the Shamboosie person.

Cathy's experience is based on her personal knowledge not any tanglible scientific data so she, herself, is not an expert on anything and can't tell someone they are wrong just because she disagrees with them.

She needs to concentrate on putting more information in her own book rather than criticizing others.
 
I was reading her review on Barry Fletcher's book and a lot of her replies to his suggestions were "Do whites and asians do this?" That seemed contradictory to some things she recommends like adding Peppermint essential oils and coconut oil to conditioner. I'm thinking, "Do whites and asians do this?"
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Wow, I've never read Shamboosie or Cathy Howse's book but she seems very immature in her "review". It appears that she's knocking everything he says so you can follow what she says. Hmmm...
 
I will say one thing. She is wrong when she says that multi-marketed conditioner lacks one very key ingredient the oil
necessary for keeping Type 4 hair on our head. That is simply not true. All of my favorite conditioners right now are so called "multi-marketed conditioners".
 
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Wow, I've never read Shamboosie or Cathy Howse's book but she seems very immature in her "review". It appears that she's knocking everything he says so you can follow what she says. Hmmm...

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Cathy's info is good info but her ego is ridiculous. For instance, her DEW is an excellent product and should be at the beauty supply for $3.00 per bottle; instead she sells it herself for like $10.00 per bottle - this is ridiculous.
 
I just went back and read our review here at LHCF of the book. Everyone's opinion is different, as is her's.

I still have not finished Shamboosie's book YET. I really need to finish it, I just read bits and pieces skipping chapters. *sigh* One day I'll be done.
 
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That seemed contradictory to some things she recommends like adding Peppermint essential oils and coconut oil to conditioner. I'm thinking, "Do whites and asians do this?"
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ROFLMBAO!!!!
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Her attitude is off-putting!
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Yeah, however, I found her comments refreshing. After drying my hair out with relaxers, my stylists didn't understand that I had oily scalp. After treating it with anti dandruff shampoos for dry scalp, I had a mess on my hand. I went to the dermatologists and spents a lot of money in treatments to no avail and went to the hair stylist weekly.

I knew that you could get dandruff just as quickly from oily scalp as dry so, I stopped using the stuff I got from the derm, bought a shampoo for oily scalp, convinced my stylist to use it (who thought I was crazy) and within a month my scalp was back to normal and I haven't experienced that problem again. It's been about 5 years.

I never had that problem before or after that. So, this thing about Whites secreting more oil is not completely true. You have a lot of White people with dry scalp. I also did the trim every 4-6 weeks thing for a few years and got no where. I've always noticed when I missed a trim I would gain a lot of length quickly. There were other points in shamboosies book that I disagreed with.

I've always liked Nexxus. But one of the products he recommended leaves my hair dull and coated if I use it like he suggested.

Cathy has some points here, though I don't agree with everything she says.

I think it would've been better to know who wrote which part, because at times his book flowed nicely and made a lot of sense, and at other times it ....

Leigh
 
i agree. although there will be parts of both books people will disagree with it seems a bit off for her to call him out on it. not every method will work for everyone so there will be some people who will find one method better suited for them than others. it just doesnt sit well with me that she felt the need to do a review in the first place. why? what is the point? her critique of him to me seems like she is trying to make herself into some expert on hair care and if it doesnt fit into what she decided it should be then its wrong. i just dont get it. they are trying to educate people about hair care just like her and instead of just working on her own stuff and stepping up her game she's trying to squash someone else. people need to explore what is best for them and how will you know what works best for you if you have someone trying to convince you that unless you do it their way you will be bald. i'm sorry but regardless of whether she argeed with shamboosie or not it is up to the reader to determine whether or not his methods are good or not. her jumping in and giving her two cents especially when she is considering him her competitor like its some kind of competition and feeling the need to make comments to me is tacky. yes we can review books and discuss methods because we are coming from an objection point of view. we arent trying to sell our book and our methods as the best so obviously we can give a review without being bias. its like if burger king gave a review of mc donalds. it makes no sense to me. God bless you all.
 
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Now, I'm a fan of Cathy's and her book was the first book I read on haircare. It worked very well for me, and for that I'm grateful. Cathy's main flaw continues to be the way she communicates her feelings about competitors and information from other people who have something to say about black hair care.

If she could simply disagree with what competitors have to say minus the heavy sarcasm, I think she'd be better off. She does make valid points. It's her tone that continues to be a turn off.

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Ditto, Pebbles! One would think she'd cultivate a more professional manner when she chooses to disagree with her colleagues. I'm not sure why she feels the need to review her competitors - probably just to prop herself up - but the tone of her review of Shamboosie's book (which was extremely informative to me) is bordering on hoodrat. But she seems to favor that tone, so oh well. . . no surprise, I guess.
 
I read both books too and Shamboosie's book taught me ALOT about black hair... I did what he suggested and I have seen a MAJOR difference in my hair. I read the book in October. . . found this site in March and I can't believe how "ignorant" I was about my hair. Shamboosie teaches you how to care for you hair. I liked his step-by-step approach to teaching the basics. I for one had NEVER been able to do my hair on my own and now I can. I credit the book AND this forum for the recent compliments I've been getting on my hair length and health.
 
Common, my point was this....Cathy was very critical of Barry's book..shooting down several of his methods by saying "Do Whites and Asians do this?" For example, Barry suggests the usage of scalp stimulators and slant boards to encourage blood flow to the scalp...Cathy's response was, "Do Whites and Asians do this?" Well how is that any different than her suggesting that we add peppermint eo and coconut oil to conditioner? Couldn't one use her argument of "Do Whites and Asians do this?" And, I'm sure that scalp stimulation would benefit white and asians, but adding oil to their hair probably wouldn't.
 
My Shamboosie "Beautiful Black Hair" book just arrived.
I will see for myself what I agree with!

*To be honest, this forum has taught me alot about hair care.*

*What's the purpose of Cathy's critique?*
Is this her way of getting people to follow her regimen/suggestions over other publications about hair care? If so, she should be less out spoken and use a different approach with her words!!!
 
I have read Cathy's f&q, reviews on her website, but have not read her book. I have not read Shamboosie's book, but have read comments from members of this board. I think you have to know your hair and use good old common sense when comes to healthy hair. i love coconut oil, and cathy doesnt think black hair needs it. But i have been using a no base relaxer for over a year and have great results, ie, little breakage, and hair growth. The coconut oils helps me keep the shine in my hair. Hence, Cathy has some great suggetions and Shamboosie has some great ideas.

The point is a person has to learn what thier hair likes and responds to.. Never just try something because it is written in book (I learned the hard way.)

Since, I have taken control of my own hair ( no more salons ) I have seen positive results, and I am trying to gather pitcures of my hair at different stages to share with board
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I just recieved both of these books in the mail and I'm reading Shamboosie's first and then Cathy's, but so far I like the points he has mentioned. I'll give my review after I read both books,but we must also realize what works you might not work for others. Like for me the Nexxus Humetress Conditioner didn't work for me.
 
One of the problem that Cathy has is her tendency to make her conclusions based on her personal experience. Just because a technique works for her doesn't necessarily mean that it will work for everyone else. Before she disputes any claims she needs substantial data.
 
Someone was err... kind enough to e-mail me the link to the review.
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One of the problem that Cathy has is her tendency to make her conclusions based on her personal experience. Just because a technique works for her doesn't necessarily mean that it will work for everyone else. Before she disputes any claims she needs substantial data.

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ITA! She's says Shamboosie's warnings against no-lye relaxers are "baloney". Well, no-lye did exactly what Shamboosie described to my hair. Now what? It's "baloney" for her, but not everyone. I think Nexxus Humectress is a "baloney" hair product for my hair, but I won't ignore the fact that it works for a lot of other people.

Edited to add:
Shamboosie also presumes that no-lye is bad for everyone's hair.
 
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i love coconut oil, and cathy doesnt think black hair needs it.

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on the contrary, she stresses the importance on oils for our hair. there is coconut oil in both her products!!
 
Actually Jen, Whites do add things to thier conditioners.
I was reading Aubrey Shampoo review and quite a few remarked how adding certain oils or other additives, enhanced the product, so this is not uncommon
 
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Edited to add:
Shamboosie also presumes that no-lye is bad for everyone's hair.

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Right Sassy and that's incorrect information. Did he research whether NO lye expericences were due to self relaxing, follow up hair maintenance etc?? So people have excellent results with no lye and lye burns their hair out. I think something this important should be weigh in the balance, to tell everyone to use lye is crazy. I mean not even mention the fact that everyone may be different
 
no bk and mcdonalds have the customers make their own conclusions. toothpaste companies have dentists come to their conclusions, cough or cold medicines have doctors come to their own conclusions about their product. but they have a reason to do this they are in an active competition amongst each other. burger king and mcdonalds are the top two fast food burger chains. so of course they will throw in that america loves their fries better or their burger better in a taste test. same with colgate and crest. but cathy is not in a competition. she does not have the monopoly on hair care. so therefore when she comes out and writes a review it seems to come more from her own need to try to presuade the consumer from trying out the other persons regime by trying to find loopholes here and there. and also it is not her job to be a literary critic. focus on your hair care regime and stop trying to find the faults in others. i bet if people do the same thing to her she would be crying foul. it makes no sense to do it. none of these other people said a peep about her so why does she feel the need to comment about them. haircare was here before her and it will be here after her. she does not have to be the end all be all of haircare. people can make up their own minds and decide what works for them. i'm sorry but i just dont appreciate her trying to knock people down for doing the same exact thing she is trying to do. educate people of color about hair. there is always some misinformation or things that dont work for everyone and thats fine. we all dont have the same heads of hair so what works for some wont work for others. therefore there is a need to explore your options. cathy is not the last stop in the haircare train line. God bless you all.
 
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Actually Jen, Whites do add things to thier conditioners.
I was reading Aubrey Shampoo review and quite a few remarked how adding certain oils or other additives, enhanced the product, so this is not uncommon

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and whites use scalp stimulators too! So that would make Cathy's criticism of Barry Fletcher 100% invalid. It just seemed like she's trying extra hard to make others look bad.
 
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