Customer Reviews

Don't Go Shopping for Hair Care Products Without Me: Over 2,000 Brand Name Products Reviewed Plus the Latest Hair Care Information

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

For years I purchased expensive salon shampoos touting moisturizing properties for dry hair, only to have them dry out my hair. Finally I stumbled across a shampoo for dry hair that along with its conditioner, not only doesn't dry out my hair but leaves it looking shining. If I had first consulted Paula Begoun's book, I would have save myself a lot of money and bad hair days! I looked up all those shampoos claiming to moisturize dry hair, and Paula writes that they can dry out hair. I looked up the shampoo that worked and Paula not only gives it a favorable review, she lists it in "The Best Products" chapter under "Dry to very dry scalp and hair of any thickness." I appreciate that her product reviews contain a smiley, frowning or neutral face for quick reference, price per volume, a listing of what's in the product, and a statement or 2 about product, often with a mention of the type of hair it will or will not work well with.

In addition to 362 pages of product reviews and a 62 page section listing the best products for shampooing, conditioning and styling all types of hair, 191 pages provide an education about hair and the hair care industry. Among the topics covered are: Common ingredients in shampoos and why they're there, scientific causes of bad hair days, hair care basics, perming hair, coloring hair, and many more as you can see in the index. I'm not a cosmetologist, but Paula's information basically agrees with what my trusted hair stylist tells me. Also, I appreciate that Paula devoted a chapter to animal testing and gives a 1999 list of companies that do and do not test on animals, along with a website for getting a more up-to-date.

I'm giving 4 stars because of my one reservation about buying the book: as new hair care products become available and old ones go off the market or change their formulas, this book becomes dated. My January 2000 edition is nearly 3 years old and already I couldn't find a new shampoo that I tried, although since she gave all the other shampoos in that line a good rating, I correctly assumed it was good. If you're considering buying this book, I recommend buying a recent edition, or checking Paula's website, cosmeticscop.com, and seeing if a new edition is forthcoming. Other than that one hesitation, I wholeheartly recommend this book to everyone who has hair!

I can't understand how she has the time for all this research but I am sure glad she does! This is a very helpful book especially with all the claims made by the hair care companies! Going thru this book trying to find a product that is good for your hair can be daunting sometimes because there are just SO many products reviewed! BUT if you take your time and go thru the book and look thru her suggestion,,, you will find a good product at a great price. Paula has a real issue with over-paying (G-d Bless her :O) This book has saved me mega-bucks trying everything new that promises to cure my frizzes! Well worth the money at twice the price!

This book is great! I am saving so much money now. She has sifted through all the hype from the hair care companies, and gives honest reviews. Because of this book, I can go into a beauty supply store, or drug store and actually buy something that works on my hair. Some people think that Paula is anti-salon products, but that is far from the truth. In this book, you will see that there are both good and bad salon products as well as good and bad drug store products. There are also many hair care tips in the book for keeping healthy hair. I can honestly say that my hair has never looked better. Thanks Paula!

Anyone who has hair should read this book. Not only does she include an extensive product analysis of what's on the market, including chemical analyses and descriptions on why certain chemicals are bad for the hair, she also extensively explains what hair "is," the cuticle and other parts, and how we damage it every day and can learn not to. She has suggestions on how to care for your hair for every type of hair, from thin to thick. She also describes which products on the market are the best buy for the money. Oh, yes, and don't listen to those hairdressers who tell you only salon products will do. "Uh, uh, uh," says Paula. A consumer reporter, you will find Paula is fair in her reviews and gives companies many a chance to reply to her criticism. She will save many women a lot of money and probably will cause change among the market as a whole.

This book is worth every penny - it helped me find the right drugstore & salon products. Hairstylists have convinced us that drugstore will do evil things to our hair. THeir favorite, "The PH is all wrong." This seemed to the case, because their products seemed to be better. What really happened is that I didn't choose the right drugstore products, because the labels are misleading and I had no idea what I should buy. This book educated me. It cuts through the hype and lists the right products for your hair type. Now I can buy the right drugstore and/or salon products. I save much money with drugstore shampoos and conditioners, but GET THE SAME RESULTS AS EXPENSIVE SALON PRODUCTS. Also, I stopped perming my hair because of the information I gained here. My hair is better than it has been for years! And the bonus, it saves me $300 a year or more.

This is one of two Paula Bergon books I have purchased. I've spent tons of money and countless hours trying to make my hair a little more like the pictures in the magazines. As with cosmetics, I thought if it cost more, it must work better. Not true!! Paula's no-nonsense approach to uncovering and shattering hair-care myths is terrific. I'm now spending $2.25 on a bottle of shampoo from the drug store, and getting better results than I ever did with the $15 dollar bottle of shampoo from the beauty salon. Ladies, buy this book and save yourself time and money.

Ms. Begoun should be commended for her massive research but I found her information biased, and her opinions flip-flop from chapter to chapter.I did not understand her vicious attack on companies that produce natural and organic products, especially one particular organic company so I did a little more digging. She has her own haircare line which is full of all the things she says are bad for your hair. Her book seems to seeks to discredit any companies that make great products that do not use the chemicals she uses.
She also makes a very ridiculous statement about black hair in its natural state not being an acceptable fashion statement. Yet later in the chapter she asks the question why these women allow themselves to be slaves to fashion styles such as braiding, cornrowing, and weaving. Her lack of new, accurate, or real information for black haircare probably could have been the catalyst for several black and multi-ethnic haircare website showing up offering real tried and true products she did not review (probably because they don't have all the chemicals she loves, or are so unlike many of the black haircare products she reviewed.) Her book aggravated me because she seems to hide her opinions behind supposed scientific research.

I found this book to be a lifesaver! For years, I've been searching for the right hair products for my long thick hair and sensitive scalp and think I've tried every one. I believed all the nonsence that because they cost more, salon products are better. Not true and Paula's book explains why. In this book, she not only reviews thousands of hair products both in drugstore and salon lines, but tells you what ingrediants work and don't work, what ingrediants are possible irritants and what isn't,tells you exactly what each and every product will do and won't do, and recommends the best products for each hair type. She also has chapters devoted to proper hair care, the different hair types, hair problems like dandruff, hair coloring, and more. Before stepping in another salon or drugstore buying something that might not work for you and wasting money, I highly recommend you to purchase this book first! By the way, if you have sensitive scalp with possible allergies to some hair ingrediants in products like I do and looking for products that won't cause problems I highly recomend you to check out this book. Email welcomed and appreciated too.

Folks, if you even care one iota about the hair on your head, or if you've ever been disappointed in the products you've bought to care for it (expensive or not), Paula will be your personal navigator through a sea of endelss choices! I already thought I knew a lot about caring for hair and what products to use from years of reading popular magazines like Cosmo and Allure. Finally, someone is setting the record straight and being honest in a way the hair care industry can't afford to be! Buy it, read it, live it! Your hair will be all the better for it, I promise!

Just like she did with "Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me" and "Blue Eyeshadow Should Absolutely be Illegal", Paula Begoun has written another book exposing secrets from the industry- this time for hair care! Not only does this book have reviews of over 2,000 hair care products, but it also has useful hair care information including valuable advice about coloring your hair, choosing the right type of hair care products, to perm or not to perm, finding your hair type (and taking care of it!), and much more. The majority of the book takes up the reviews of hair care products, and the brands are helpfully arranged in alphabetical order for quick and easy reference. Brands with products reviewed in this book include Herbel Essence, The Body Shop, Paul Mitchell, Head and Shoulders, Pantene, KMS, Vidal Sassoon, Mary Kay, and much, much more. Paula's reviews are honest and will help you make a good choice on what kind of products you should buy. (Each review includes a price of the product so you see how much you'll be spending). Yes, the book IS a little outdated, but a new edition has been published, which amazon.com does not sell. Whether you're looking for an inexpensive shampoo for your hair type, or you just want some valuable hair care advice, "Don't Go Shopping for Hair Care Products Without Me" is the perfect book for you.