Customer Reviews

Grow It: How to Grow Afro-Textured Hair to Maximum Lengths in the Shortest Time (Volume 1)

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I purchased this book back in Jan/Feb 2009. I was skeptical. I've been on my natural hair journey for 6years now. I felt like nothing she could say could possibly prove me wrong..well Miss Chicoro sure did!

Not only did I complete the reading in 24hrs (awesome read btw) but I also started implementing the process the first night! I threw away my shampoo and started co-washing. I learned about cleansing my hair and scalp into sections, using smoothing techniques both before and after detangling.

It took me 6 months to sit down and actually write this review. Why, because I want YOU to know that the information in here is golden. My hair has retained at least 4 inches since I've started w/ Chicoro's methods!!! It's healthy and strong and I LOVE IT!

Anyone who is hesitating on purchasing this book, don't. This is some solid, valuable information that I wish I had learned 6 years prior to my hair journey! Chicoro is a beautiful woman inside and out, and I am so thankful that she was willing to share her knowledge with all of us!

Happy natural journey,
Cinammon/NasdaqDiva

i've been natural almost 10 years but about 6 years in there i had locs. i wish i'd had this book when i first went natural. chicoro does an excellent job of dispelling a widely held myth that black hair can't grow long!! of course i had long hair when my hair was loc'd but even i thought it seemed impossible for my hair to get long in its loose state.

the book lays out a well thought out plan that, if followed, will help you retain your hair. this is the key since breakage is the biggest enemy to longer lengths. no this book doesn't present any rocket science but it did help me reconsider/rethink some things. namely for me the concept of detangling with my fingers on dry hair and only wetting the hair with water, conditioner or oil if needed to further detangle. i always thought i had to have my hair sopping wet with conditioner while standing in the shower when detangling. this often lead to utter frustration and no doubt some breakage. the dry detangling before cleansing takes a while (the first time) but i did feel like i had more "control" of getting tangles out of my hair and loss less hair.

the rest of the topics were things that were a good reminders and some new tidbits of information i'd learned along the way from experience or the internet or other natural haircare books.

i would highly recommend this book especially for someone who is newly natural but even veterans can get something out of this. for the price it's totally worth it to help you grow your hair. as someone else commented there are no pictures or diagrams in the book but that didn't bother me one bit because you can find a plethora of natural hair pics online and chicoro does have her blog for all to see. i have several pages marked for reference. good job chicoro!

I have been trying to grow my hair most of my life. But it wasn't until around 1994, that I took it seriously to try and grow long hair. In that time I've read several books about natural hair & hair care -- books like Lonnice Brittenum Bonner's Good Hair, Pamela Farrell's Let's Talk Hair, & Aubrey Hampton's Aubrey Organics Natural Hair and Skin Care. Chicoro's Grow It! will be added to this list.

A true hair book about hair care - Grow It! is the first to demystify and codify the mindset, processes & techniques of growing LONG afro-textured hair.

This book doesn't try to push products on you. Instead, it's all about the process. About you gaining the knowledge, making the decision, & taking the steps to achieve your goals -- lessons that honestly, can be extracted to achieve any goal in life. Chicoro breaks down her process into 6 simple steps -- showing that growing healthy, long, afro-textured hair is not some far-off, lofty goal. It is real & obtainable.

About the only criticism I have of the book -- the reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars -- is that we don't see enough pictures & diagrams throughout. Besides the cover & back cover, we don't get to see her hair. As a member of longhaircareforum.com, I've seen her lush, mane of hip length natural hair, & I've also seen evidence of the process she entails in her book working for her & others. She documents her journey here: [...]

All of this is to say, the proof is in the pudding. It's one thing to talk about "growin' some hair". It's a "whole `nother thing" to have a head full of natural hair cascading down your back as evidence:). I'm glad she finally put down her words in book form. The world of hair care is better for it.

I would have given this book 5 stars but I had to knock off 2 stars because:

There were no photographs inside the book. None. No drawing, no diagrams showing how to do some of the things the author recommended. Authors need to remember that for How to books, a picture is worth a thousand words.

There was no section on protective styles, that is, the kind of hairstyles that are best at protecting the ends of the hair. It would have been great to have pictures or drawing showing different types of protective styles and how to achieve them.

OMG! What a wakeup call! My eyes have been opened! I've been natural for almost five years, experiencing growth that I never had while relaxed! I thought that because my hair is naturally curly and since I was no longer killing my hair with heat, that I did not have to do anything extra to take care of it! Once my hair achieved a length that I had never had, it started to break off due to the permanent, lighter hair color, lack of moisture and basically not protecting my ends. I did not think that I could incorporate Chicoro's methods into my daily routine (moisturizing, washing hair while braided, tying hair down at night with a satin scarf, protecting ends daily, etc.) because I thought that it would be time consuming. Once I started to practice these methods, it was not all that time consuming at all! To my surprise, I have experienced one inch of growth in six weeks! I'm excited about continuing this journey! Thanks Chicoro for your research, testimony and this book!

Chicoro mentioned that she wanted to write a book that wasn't yet written, one that kept women of African descent in the forefront and addressed their hair needs. Well, ladies, this is exactly what she provided the natural community: a book for us. As the title indicates, the book is a blueprint for growing Afro-textured hair. all of us may not be on a mission to grow waist length like she has, but it is rather safe to say that the majority of us want some growth and would love to place our efforts in methods that will help maximize our efforts and investment in our hair.
Not everything in the book was new to me, so more than likely you as well are already familiar with some of the concepts she mentions. If you've been following this blog or any other hair board for that matter, I am sure you already know the importance of properly detangling or moisturizing your hair. that is to say not everything in the book will be a discovery. However, her style, perspective and approach were all very refreshing to me. She has so much passion in her tone throughout the book and so much enthusiasm and optimism that she amazed me.
What will this book offer you?
A fresh perspective and some very useful guidelines for growing your hair. from detangling, cleansing, conditioning, moisturizing, protecting and growing, you will surely find areas in which you can improve and where her advice will be beneficial. I plan on integrating some of her techniques into my routine over the next few months and will definitely observe my hair for any changes that could be directly linked to her techniques.
What you will not find in this book:
Chicoro explains that every head of hair is different and therefore she does not feel that her book should provide a list of products. Instead she focuses on the importance of understanding one's hair and making informed decisions from there. Truth of the fact is that products that work for one person may not work for the next.

Basically, if you are in search of techniques, especially in the early days of your journey, this book might be beneficial for you.

this is what's so great about this book and the author.....I'm currently in the middle east (US NAVY), and i had questions about the detangling chapter (because I wear full sew-ins here), so I decided to go her website, and email her. I thought she wouldn't respond, but i had a response from the author in less than 15 minutes on the same day, i was shocked. Here i am many moons away, and she responded. She was more concerned with me having an understanding of the information, and the health of my hair. With that I would give 10 stars if i could. What i like about the book is that she isn't a product recommender, because truth is all products don't work the same on everyone, so you don't go out there spending loads of money on products that don't work for you. The book also teaches you how to get to know your own hair, which i'm in the process of doing now, and this book will guide you step by step.

I found this book to be very informative in explaining why protective styling is so important. Chicoro emphasizes the need to keep for us to keep our hair as close to it's naturally strong state as possible in order to retain length and prevent damage.

The Grow It! method is geared towards natural hair. The author describes how to prevent tangles, cleanse hair with minimal knotting, and how to properly condition and detangle. At first, I thought little of this information was relevant to me as a relaxed head. However, I tried out her bunning method and it helped my hair progress, especially during relaxer stretches. Whether you are relaxed or natural, if you are serious about growing your hair, the information in this book will aid you on your journey.

Overall, if you are interested in protective styling or need help preventing tangles, you should check out this book. If you wear your hair relaxed or straighten your hair often, this book may not be quite as much help to you.

Kimmaytube (the greatest natural hair plus fashion youtuber on the planet!) recommended this book and it was well worth the purchase. I learned a great deal. I read it thinking "why am I in my 30s just learning how to take care of the hair that god gave me???)

When I received this book, I was excited! But as I started reading the book, my excitement quickly turned into regret. Here are some pros/cons of this book:

Pros
-The washing routine offers some great solutions on how to be more effective when washing your hair
-The how-to-detangle portion of the book was also informative
-I really enjoyed the how-to seal in moisture section


Cons
-This book repeats A LOT of the same mumbo jumbo that you've hear millions of times in the natural hair world like:

-Don't comb your hair when it's dry
-Deep condition at least every month
-Don't use shampoos with sls
-Wear a satin scarf
-Hair breaks easier when it's shoulder length b/c it rubs against collars
-Limit usage of heat
-Wear protective styles
-Wash your hair atleast once a week

My advice? Save your money and just do your research online. You'll save time and money...and you'll get the same information that you'd find in this book! I'm trading in mine as I type this.