Customer Reviews

Andre Talks Hair

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Although heavily promoted, Andre's book did not provide any new information on how to care for hair. What I particularly disliked was the negativity involved in his presentation of the type 4 hair type. He just added another myth to the list by saying our only two options are to either crop our hair short or relax it. I don't recommend this book.

I totallly disagree with many of the African-American reviewers. They said exactly the OPPOSITE of what the book is about. He did NOT lump blacks in one category. If you could read, you would see that he says, NO hair is black hair, NO hair is of any race. All ethnicities have all different kinds of hair. He then talked about each type of hair. And by the way, just because he is black does not mean he has to focus only on blacks. That is not the title of the book. Its title is Andre talks HAIR, NOT Andre talks black hair. I'm sorry that you didn't open your mind when your read this magnificent book. He focused on all hair types the same amount of time. So I highly recommend this book to any one interested in learning more about hair, how to get it in it's healthiest state, and to gain well rounded knowledge. And Andre, please don't let these few narrow-minded people bother you one bit!!!

I read this book hoping that I would be able to benefit from some professional insight on my hair. I wasn't too happy with what I got out of this book.....a lot of his ideas stem from things we've all probably read in Essence or Ebony or Cosmopolitan or Vogue at some point in time before (Come on now....we've ALL read that we should avoid heat and chemicals....but there aren't any practical alternatives in this book). It's a good book to have if you want to know some basics, but if you're looking to find out how to solve some of the more pressing problems with your hair (breakage, how to relax and color simultaneously, styling tips), you may want to look elsewhere.

I have always admired Oprah's hair,so when I found a book written by her stylist I thought my haircare problems had been answered.Unfortunately this book is just full of Andre's personal thoughts and experiences rather than giving useful advice about hair.
As a woman of afro-carribean origin,I found the book focused on all types of hair which doesn't exactly help me out.Yes,he highlights the importance of conditioning hair, and the damaging effects of no-lye relaxers-which has prompted to change to a lye one.
His hair classification system of 4 basic types of hair is useful,but overall I have to give this book the thumbs down!
I have ordered books by Shamboosie & Lisa Akbari and I'm praying for a far better result.

I loved this book!! It really helped me learn about my kinky/african american hair type and it helped me to learn about other hair types and to see that no matter what type of hair you have it can be beautiful as long as it's healthy and you take care of it. I also like how he did not lump all races together - that was very refreshing. The only thing that disturbed me was that it said black hair can't get long, but other than that it was a great book. Thank you for this book Andre!

This book is pretty much useless. It just briefly tells of different hairtypes. Basically restates many things people already know. Clean hair is good. Heat is bad. blah blah blah.

Andre's book seems to have a narrow-minded view of African-American hair and its capabilities. I wore my hair in its natural state as a child (except for pressing it), and I remember it growing long enough to style in a small bun in the back, and even in chinese bumps to make a good-sized curly Afro. Yet Andre would classify my hair type as not having the ability to grow long. HA! The problem is that so many of us (myself included) have abused our hair with chemical relaxers for so long that we have forgotten what our beautiful, natural hair texture can do. After 17 years of pressing, jheri-curling, and relaxing my hair, I have finally come to the place of accepting the natural beauty of my hair as a Black woman. I'm amazed at the versatility of my texture, and I know that it WILL grow back healthy and strong again. I don't condemn the rest of my sisters who chose to straighten their hair, but at least Andre should make more of an effort to seek out the TRUTH about wearing it natural.

If you have purchased any of the more current books on black hair care, then I think you should buy Mr. Walker's book. He began the classification of the 4 hair types that some many other authors are referring to (i.e. kinky, 4b hair or coarsly curly 3c type, etc).

I think this is a good book to purchase if you have begun a library on black hair care. Keep in mind it was written in 1997 and I think it would be great if Mr. Walker updated this book w/ a 2003 edition.

Andre categorizes hair by type not ethnicity. Based on your hair type he gives detailed information on how to take care of your particular hair . He gives you the 411 on "lye" versus "no-lye" relaxers, great cuts, great color, and the curveballs. Andre's approach to hair care is down to earth and real. He obviously loves his work. Judging by his clients the man is good. This book was very informative and totaly inspiring. Read it and you'll see. 6 stars.

A lot of common sense and not so common sense. I found the book very helpful for dealing with my type 2c hair. I've followed Andre's advice since reading the book and I've never been more content (I now have my hair under control when it used to tend to frizz with the slightest moisture...and I don't use frizz control products now). Your experience with the book may depend on your specific hair type, but for my moody hair, this contained a lot of the answers I needed.