Deep in Thought - LaShaun Beal
And here we are, once again, as I share with you my thoughts on selected titles devoted to the care and maintenance of black natural hair! As previously stated, I started my natural quest with very limited access to materials that specifically dealt with just “how” to “go natural”, since it seemed a very weighty task from all of the information and media stereotypes I’d been fed over the years. My initial idea was to start a natural hair library, but after two years of going it “on my own”, my goal then changed to perusing the available list of books on the subject in order to research what’s offered for my own book project, as well as help other naptural newbies by providing info on which books I think will best assist them along the way.
I started out with Textured Tresses by Diane Dacosta, which I did not find all that helpful, and moved on to:
My first impression of the front cover design set up was less than favourable due to the elementary font choice and the sub-par type text alignment and what seems to not be enough image bleed to account for the edge cut (my friend Mark often calls me a book snob, and I guess that would be part of the reason why). While the back cover boasted blurbs from life coach and author Iyanla Vanzant, as well as singer, composer and social activist Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagan, it still wasn’t enough to get me hyper-fired up about what I’d find inside the publication. But they say you should never judge the whole of a book by its cover (which is most cases is not true; low quality covers normally denote low quality books) so I looked past the topical “imperfections”, cracked No Lye open and gave it the looksee it deserved.
Since I had no clue who Tulani Kinard was, I held very little expectation of what I’d find within the pages. I was a bit apprehensive that, judging by her name and the cover art, No Lye would primarily focus on braids and braid-like styles, and I was not disappointed (it was the first bullet point on the back cover). However, in light that the book is only eight chapters long I was delightfully amazed Ms. Tulani made sure that the foundational chapters of the book actually focused on the care and maintenance of natural hair as a whole! It was way more than I’d anticipated which left me pleasantly surprised. Turns out this truly would be a natural hair care manual worth recommending.
Getting into the book, the Introduction presents a concise history of Tulani’s personal experience as a former permer, natural hair wearer, and graduation into professional braider who worked to establish legislature governing braiding and other natural hair care salon practices. Formerly a cosmetology student who worked primarily with chemicals, Ms Kinard reveals that through her braided styles and learning the various techniques of natural hair sculpting, she was brought into deeper reverence for the natural beauty contained within “nappy” hair, and African-Americans as well. It was through the transformative process of taking hair that had been damaged by chemical processes and improper braid execution to healthy vibrant tresses, that Tulani gained the inspiration to write No Lye, and further fight to ensure that future practitioners receive the proper licensing.
The first chapter makes short, yet intensive, work of defining hair composition, shape and texture using everyday language and descriptive illustrations. Explaining such components as the hair follicle, sebaceous and papilla, as well as each elements function, Tulani educates readers not just on the make up of hair, but how and why each strand reacts to various products such as chemical straighteners and even shampoo. In describing the hair’s shape and texture, Ms. Kinard separates what most cosmetologists lump into a blanket category of “hair type.” She illustrates that the shape, which is the form the follicle takes when forming into the papilla, is what is known as the S-pattern of the hair (curly, wavy or straight), while the texture (fine, medium or course) is determined by the diameter of the hair strand and layer of cuticles on the surface of the hair shaft. This inclusion may seem an elementary and tedious inclusion on the onset of reading when you want to get to the meat of what it takes to “go natural”, but proves very necessary because until you can understand how your hair behaves, there is no way you can understand how to keep it healthy.
The second chapter breaks down the science behind the process of chemically altering hair, and illustrating how it can be pinpointed as the culprit for many women’s hair loss. Through a review of historic beauty culture development, Ms. Kinard establishes how relaxers and curly perms facilitate breakage by thinning the hair strand structure and promoting dryness of the hair and scalp. In addition to that, the causes of alopecia are outlined, as well as foods and supplements which promote growth and health, and how to keep “baldness at bay.” Throughout this chapter, an emphasis on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, as well as avoiding chemical processes, as a way to prevent pattern baldness is presented, and Tulani also offers “cosmetic” suggestions for concealing extreme hair loss by way of braids, and/or weave styles which work with a braided foundation, that promotes healing to the damaged hair and scalp. While I am not a “fan” of braiding for my own purposes, I was amazed with the sculpture photos that were used within this chapter as examples of how to “hide” hair loss, especially the style created by Nicole James which created a beautiful basket weaved type style for a woman who’s hair loss was so excessive, she’d only had hair along the sides of her head:
After readers are boned up on the basics of hair make up and how chemical processes work on the natural structure of hair, in chapter three Ms. Kinard provides no-nonsense facts about the proper cleaning and grooming of hair. She begins the section by describing the purpose of shampoo and conditioners and how to know which is best for your hair type and cleansing/conditioning needs. In addition to these products, attention is paid to the types of oil that contribute to scalp health and how to apply them, the proper way to dry hair using both air and heat drying methods, how to properly comb natural hair to avoid damage, and common scalp disorders that may hamper health and growth. I found this chapter to be an excellent resource following the first two chapters, because now that you’ve identified your hair structure and specific type, it is of extreme importance to know which products work best for you. The part I found particularly helpful were the natural oil recommendations (I have become a fanatic for using natural products over the past year) and recipes for antidandruff solutions. For those of us who are partial to homemade products over commercial brands, these are a nugget of naptural gold.
Chapters four through six focus largely on the art of braiding and loc’ing, so I pretty much skimmed this group since I am not interested in these styles for myself, but I admire the way Tulani details the 4,000 year old history of braiding as an African tradition, as well how braiding has evolved here in the United States through the differing techniques of East coast and West coast stylists. Additionally, Ms. Kinard explains how braiding with extensions can help protect hair while growing and hold longer styles, compares the pros and cons of the different extension fibers used for each braiding style and conducts a brief tutorial on how to braid using extensions. Chapters five explores alternative styles such at two strand and flat twists, while offering simple instructions on how to achieve such styles. I dug a little deeper in to chapter six than its predecessors, though not by much, admittedly, because it primarily deals with locs and I have been courting the idea of starting some in the near future. In the same fashion as she began each chapter, the author provides a personal story dealing with the emergence of locs into popular culture, and a dynamic “history lesson” of the style’s progression. Further in the chapter she reveals that the length of time it takes for hair to loc depends on the curl pattern of the hair (wavy and curly hair tend to loc best - the typical time period is six months to one year), but that styling techniques can help shorten the length of time. Tulani also shares the various techniques and necessary tools that can be used by women wish to start their own locs (ie. braiding, twisting, palm rolling), as well as techniques most used within the salon and how to properly maintain locs. There’s also a section on how to properly colour locs. I found this portion of the three chapters because it simplified and demystified the process, and gave me a lot more to consider concerning my loc’ing decision.
Chapter seven deals with adorning braided and locs styles with elements such as beads and jewels (it is noted that adornments of this nature help promote blood circulation in the scalp), and introduced me to the technique of hair wrapping, “which incorporates the use of thread to wrap braids or loose hair , to create hair sculptures.” A lastly, chapter eight contains advice on how to properly maintain the natural hair of children, giving a condensed version of the entire book as styling and grooming related to their tender scalps. At the end of the last chapter, Ms. Kinard provides a few words of wisdom, using her own children’s experiences with natural styles, on how to choose the right style for your child and possibly combate any negative reactions they may encounter while wearing them.
Overall, I love this book and would not mind having a copy for my personal library. Despite the focus the author places on braids, I feel that the naptural novice will get a lot of much needed, and well researched, assistance in making their personal transition, even if they are not considering braids. Being that the book is twelve years old there are probably new developments when it comes to the topics covered within the pages of No Lye, but this publication is a more than adequate place to start natural training and education. Well worth the original list price of $12.95 (or Amazon’s price of $11.16).
Book Details
- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (September 15, 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312151802
- ISBN-13: 978-0312151805
- Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
- Average Customer Review: 4 stars
- JBTM Review:
Healthy Hair Wishes…
M. Michelle
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