Good Hair: For Colored Girls Who've Considered Weaves When the Chemicals Became Too Ruff [Paperback]

Lonnice Brittenum Bonner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 1994

Good Hair is more than a guide to having good hair without relying on harsh treatments and chemicals; it is a funny, folksy, personal, and very wise reflection on the powerful role that hair can play in creating a positive self-image. 33 black-and-white photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In this funny, funky, and eminently practical guide to hair care for African American women, Bonner shares many of her own Bad Hair Days (and weeks and months) and her experiments with weaves and wigs and braids and Jheri curls; what's more, she illustrates her text with several dozen photos of the results of those experiments--and the healthier alternatives she now recommends. Bonner's basic advice to readers is to understand the structure and composition of African hair and find styles that take advantage of its natural curliness instead of injuring it with strong chemicals and heat in an effort to change its nature. Good Hair covers grooming tools, shampooing, conditioning, and daily maintenance; suggests substituting light texturizing for perming; describes newer wet-set styling approaches; and offers pragmatic "lifestyle" advice about coping with humidity, wind, and hot and cold weather. A useful contribution to readers' self-esteem--and to libraries' fashion and beauty collections. Mary Carroll

From the Inside Flap

Good Hair is more than a guide to having good hair without relying on harsh treatments and chemicals; it is a funny, folksy, personal, and very wise reflection on the powerful role that hair can play in creating a positive self-image. 33 black-and-white photographs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (May 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517881519
• ISBN-13: 978-0517881514
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.3 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #68 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > African-American Studies

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Place To Start, April 25, 2001

By 

Wanda D "wpmld" (Hercules, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Hair: For Colored Girls Who've Considered Weaves When the Chemicals Became Too Ruff (Paperback)

This is the first book I read while I was considering going natural. I found it funny and entertaining, and I read it cover to cover three times. The book was recommended to me by a hairdresser who had given up relaxing her own hair. When I talked to her about possibly going natural, she said that some people still "texturized" once or twice a year. While reading "Good Hair", I noticed that the author also talked about texturizing hair as an option, and in fact texturized (lightly relaxed) her own. I felt somewhat disappointed by that because the main reason I wanted to stop perming was so that I did not have to rely on anyone to do my hair. Texturizing was something that I knew I'd be unable to do myself. Furthermore, it made me feel as though the many styles Ms. Bonner modeled and gave instructions for would not work on my super tightly curled/kinky natural hair. I persevered however, and using this site, found the book, "Let's Talk Hair" by Pamela Ferrell. That book was much more encouraging to me because it offered free form natural styles that were achieved without any chemicals. I have been completely natural for almost a year now, and I love it. The funny thing is, I have recently begun to rely more and more heavily on "Good Hair" for styling help and hair care advice. I have now found that most of those styles can be accomplished without texturizing--all you need is enough length. If I had read "Good Hair" only, I may not have embarked on my natural journey. But now that I am well into it, I find this book to be very helpful.

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Oldie but Goodie, January 21, 2002

By 

sfbibliophile "sfbibliophile" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Hair: For Colored Girls Who've Considered Weaves When the Chemicals Became Too Ruff (Paperback)

Just so no one is disappointed, Lonnice writes that she uses a texturizer on her hair. Don't expect your chemical free hair to look like the hair in her cover picture. Just as we ladies all don't have the exact same skin color, we won't have the same hair texture or curl/wave pattern, grow hair at the same speed, etc. Keeping this in mind will decrease the chances of being disappoined by your chemical free hair. This being said, you may be surprised and hopefully pleased with what's naturally yours.

Many of use will relate to Lonnice's funny recollections of the hair drama that led to her own natural journey. She then discusses the "science of hair": why hair grows straight, wavy or curly; the chemistry of how relaxers work, etc. She also explains how to best grow out a relaxer if you don't want to to lose your hair length by cutting off the relaxed part. I did this unknowingly as I was always lazy about touchups and had had about 2 inches of new growth when I decided on a major cut instead of a touchup.

Though almost 10 years old, this books contains timeless, practical suggestions such as washing the hair in sections rather than dumping on shampoo on top of the head and using your fingers to rub it into a lathered mess. The best kinds of shampoos, conditioners, and hair dressings are discussed along with the best kind of hair accessories to use. This is an enormously, useful book and I only gave it four stars because the book doesn't go beyond what I consider basic styles(afros, braids and twists, undone braids and twists, roller sets, etc). Once I got beyond the basics I also purchased Pamela Ferrell's Let's Talk Hair because it includes a lot more info about styles, braids, locing, etc.

Ultimately, Good Hair remains a trusted, back-to-basics guide that I've started giving to friends to start them on their own natural journies. I wish it had been available when I went natural in the summer of '93. Give going a natural a try because you can always relax again if you don't like it.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I took the advice; too bad the author didn't!, May 25, 2000

By 

Jemnist (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Hair: For Colored Girls Who've Considered Weaves When the Chemicals Became Too Ruff (Paperback)

I toyed with the idea of natural hair since the idea first entered my head, about five years ago. I'd noticed more and more sistas with natural hair around me - and not just in dreads, locks or braids. That was important because I didn't favor any of those styles for myself personally. Finally, after seeing enough 'nappy and happy' alternatives, I started looking for a book to introduce me to natural hair care. (Isn't that sad, that any of us need guidance to care for our natural hair?) But I'd been perming since puberty, and didn't even know what my natural hair looked like or even what to expect from it. I got a lot of encouragement from the book, along with good advice and that cultural connection that Ms. Bonner establishes with her readers. Unfortunately, she doesn't exhibit natural styles in this book, her hair is texturized - but that's my only complaint. She should practice what she preaches, or at least show natural AND texturized styles. I went natural after a grow-out period of six or seven months (yikes!) and haven't looked back. My hair has a natural curl I never even suspected, and it loves the "shake", described in her book. I can hardly wait till it's longer, and I can experiment more. I get a lot more compliments now than I ever did with processed hair, and black men especially go for my new look. We've been told FOREVER that we needed euro-hair to attract men, am I right? - but take if from me - we definitely do NOT. Black, white, asian, hispanic - they can all get with my new 'do. Best of all, I'M loving it! I only wish I'd done it sooner. Been natural for about four months now and have been stylin' and profilin' ever since. Try it; what have you got to lose? You can always go straight again in 1/2 hour, if you want. But it's worth an honest try to see (and experiment with) what you've already got. Why straighten your hair to within an inch of it's life, only to curl it up tight afterwards? I highly recommmend working with what God gave you; you might be very pleasantly surprised. I've sure been! - jem