CURLY LIKE ME: How To Grow Your Hair Healthy, Long, and Strong
by Teri LaFlesh of http://www.tightlycurly.com/
Countless women across the globe consider their hair to be as much a part of their self-identities as the style of clothes they wear and the face they present to the world each day. As evidenced in Chris Rock’s 2009 documentary Good Hair, women, particularly women of color, consider their hair to be an investment to the tune of thousands of dollars annually, rather than just a casual trip to the beauty salon.
For author Teri LaFlesh, who is the bi-racial daughter of a black mother and white father, she truly once thought that her curly locks were possessed, an unruly, time-consuming source of frustration, hate and shame. For much of her young and early adult life, Teri didn’t know how to take care of her curls, so she tried to perm, relax, texturize, Jheri Curl, and weave her tightly curly locks into submission, only to experience the isolating abyss of awkwardly styled and chemically damaged hair.
In her new book CURLY LIKE ME: How to Grow Your Hair Healthy, Long, and Strong (Wiley; May 2010; $16.95; Paperback; ISBN: 978-0-470-53642-1), Teri literally lets her hair down as she not only opens up about her own oftentimes painful journey (with photos of decades of hair disasters), but she also serves up practical, holistic tips for the millions of women who struggle each day with their curly hair.
“Ever since I can remember, I wanted long mermaid hair –hair that flowed down my back, locks that I could toss dramatically over my shoulders…It has taken me more than thirty years to learn how to have long hair falling down my back in a riot of spirals,” writes LaFlesh. “Every lesson I learned, unfortunately, was at the expense of my hair.” Teri is but one of many women whose hair has paid the price, both literally and figuratively, for their own lack of knowledge about curly hair care. But hair we love doesn’t have to cost lots of cash or hours of one’s valuable time in a salon.
CURLY LIKE ME shows readers the natural way to treat their hair right. LaFlesh addresses key issues for women with very curly hair such as, what to do when a brush doesn't work, how to take care of curls that explode into frizz then quickly mat together, or how to handle hair that continually breaks off.
The simple secret? Eliminate all sources of damage.
For women fed up with a dizzying array of tips and techniques, CURLY LIKE ME will serve as their "one-stop shopping" resource. They’ll find information on hair structure, how to prevent damage, how to care for curls, the best products, tools, and ingredients to use, what happens when people use chemicals, as well as ideas for hairstyles that enhance the curls. The simple and streamlined advice – paired with over 250 demonstrative photos -- can easily be implemented without an army of stylists to assist.
For women who don't have the time or energy to execute elaborate, labor-intensive styles, finally there is a guide for them to become their own expert on growing long, natural hair without costly treatments, products, or stylists. “After twelve years of chemical-free growth, my hair is down to my hips. I use few products on my hair…I no longer spend hundreds of dollars and frustrated hours in stores searching for some magic potion that will fix my hair. I know that product doesn’t exist,” writes LaFlesh. “The hair I once felt so ashamed of has now become my best feature.
About the Author:
Teri LaFlesh has spent the last thirty years working on a natural solution to curly hair issues. Her website is http://www.tightlycurly.com/.
CURLY LIKE ME: How To Grow Your Hair Healthy, Long, and Strong
By Teri LaFlesh
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