Grow Hair Fast: 7 Steps to a New Head of Hair in 90 Days [Paperback]

Riquette Hofstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

For more than three decades, Riquette Hofstein has been helping men and women reverse hair loss and grow healthy new heads of hair. Based on her extensive research of what works and what doesn't, Riquette really can help create permanent restoration of hair growth. Find out:
-- What you're doing wrong that's making your hair fall out
-- The secrets of using herbs and vodka to grow your peach fuzz back into a fine head of hair
-- What the makers of Rogaine don't want you to know
-- Riquette's famous haircut that makes hair grow faster
-- The only right way to shampoo
-- How to stimulate healthy hair growth from the inside out

Riquette reveals her exclusive, simple, seven-step program that has helped thousands of people re-grow their hair. Grow Hair Fast also includes Riquette's recipes for the best homemade hair-care products with special herbs, oils and mixtures that she has developed, plus important information on chemical and surgical hair-loss solutions.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Riquette Hofstein has been a world-renowned expert in hair and skin care for more than 30 years. She appears regularly on major media, including 10 appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, and she travels the world to lecture on and treat hair loss. She owns Riquette International Salon in Beverly Hills, where she lives and works.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc. (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402202571
• ISBN-13: 978-1402202575
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #279,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Avoid this woman and her books!, February 3, 2009

By 

A Reader "working mom" (Ca, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grow Hair Fast: 7 Steps to a New Head of Hair in 90 Days (Paperback)

I was foolish enough to pay way too much money (prepaid by credit card, what an idiot) for a 'consultation' with Ms Riquette Hofstein in Beverly Hills. I was desperate, seeing my hair fall out in clumps from one day to the next for apparently no reason, and a friend of mine had read her book and thought she sounded interesting. Make no bones about it, this woman is a charlatan. She handed me a long list of supplements I needed to buy from her as soon as i walked in, before even looking at me. She then read in my 'aura' that i had had hair extensions in the past. (i have big gaps in my hair where they pulled it out, difficult not to notice!) She told me all about how famous she was, about her television appearances (in the 1980s), her ' 9,000 celebrity clients', and how she heals people's karmas with hypnotherapy and iridology (just two in a long list) in order to cure their hair loss issues. (I, apparently, was depressed and overworked) Eventually she took a hair from my head and looked at it under a dusty microscope on top of a dresser. She pronounced it dead, overloaded with natural oil and grease. (It looked fine. Anyway, isn't all hair dead?) She said the only way to bring it back to life I would have to do a series of 12 weekly 'super serum treatments' that she would personally mix up for me at a cost of $900 per treatment. When I told her there was no way in hell I could afford even one treatment at $900 she informed me she could make a 'weak' version for me for $100, but it wouldn't be as effective and I would have to do more than 12 of them to see any improvement at all in my hair.

I was somewhat surprised. From what I'd read, Ms Hofstein's book was all about natural remedies using fruit and essential oils and things you might use in cooking (her wall is full of pics of models applying half tomatoes to their forheads and cucumbers on their eyes.) So I asked her if I couldnt use something containing alcohol instead. She shook her head in shock and said that alcohol would 'completely dry the root out and kill the hair. You would lose ALL your hair.'

Now isn't her book all about how you can stimulate your hair root using vodka and cayenne pepper? I don't know why I didn't mention this, but I didn't have the courage in the moment. Plus I was creeped out and just wanted to leave. When I tried to go she stopped me, saying ' Don't leave! You will never get your hair back. Believe me this is the only way! Everyone who comes to me gets their hair back!' (debatable, she showed me many before and after pics. While some showed a healthier head of hair and slightly more downy bald patches, the ones with really bad hair loss looked just about the same after "2 years intensive treatment" (at $900 a week?)

So I left, poorer and angrier, without even taking her 'incredible Riquette' shampoo. 'It wont work without my serum' she had said earlier. 'Nothing works without my serum.' Good to know.

So I wanted to post this to say that although I haven't personally tried any of the hair recipes in her book, SHE personally doesn't endorse them, as she only endorses her gold dust priced serum. She is a charlatan, a vacuous, rambling self publicist and con artist who makes a quick buck telling follically challenged people like me she can bring their precious hair back. She can't.

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lot of useful information, August 21, 2004

By 

Pom Lover (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grow Hair Fast: 7 Steps to a New Head of Hair in 90 Days (Paperback)

I've been steadily losing hair since my twenties (I'm a woman in my early thirties). I attribute the loss mainly to stress and periods of extreme dieting which are, thankfully, behind me (the dieting, not the stress). I've tried seeing trichologists who mainly prescribed massage, expensive hair treatments and iron supplements, but without much improvement. Most of the thinning has occurred around my hairline -- if I pull my hair back into a pony tail I see areas of bare scalp. All in all I have a pretty healthy lifestyle with exercise, good diet, etc. I decided to give this book a try as a last resort, and because I'm on a limited budget. I Now that I've given you some background, on to the review:

I started Riquette Hofstein's treatment about a week ago and will report back on further developments. My impressions so far: some of the ingredients for the home made products are quite pricey (especially the essential oils) and are only available at specialized health food stores. However, the products last a long time although I find I use more than a teaspoon or tablespoon, which is what she recommends. Also, they aren't as time consuming to make as I thought. I didn't make every product to the letter (for example, I left one herb out of the daily hair shampoo because I didn't have it on hand and I haven't yet gotten the "magic haircut" she advocates). The routine seems as if it's very laborious to follow but, again, it's quite easy to get used to.

So far everything is working well. The hair and scalp shampoos looked thin but they do the trick and my hair feels clean and soft. I also tried one of the conditioning recipes, which definitely made my hair shine. It's too early for me to have seen any new hair growth but the clumps of hair falling out are noticeably smaller. Also, the scalp stimulators are pretty good: the slougher cocktail (with vodka and alka seltzer amongst other ingredients) got rid of the persistent itching and flaking and really made my scalp tingle. I'm not being super strict about adhering to ever single step (I skipped some of the once-a-week treatments she advocates) but I would say that the daily shampoos, conditioners and scalp stimulators are essential.

My one criticism of the book would be that some of the ingredients are not described in enough detail. For example, when lemon, lavender and rosemary oils are called for, does she mean pure essential oils, or essential oils diluted in a carrier oil?

On the whole I think this is a good program for someone with mild to severely thinning hair, and I'm a firm believer that the chemicals in commercial hair care products are bad, so perhaps anyone could benefit.

I'll update my progress in a couple of months.

67 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too good to be true?, May 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Grow Hair Fast: 7 Steps to a New Head of Hair in 90 Days (Paperback)

I was very excited when I saw this book. There is a lot of great information in it and it makes a lot of sense. But now, after trying some of the recipes, I'm not so sure about it. The shampoo recipe made my hair so oily and heavy that I had to rewash my hair with my regular store bought brand. It does say to use only 1 teaspoon per washing and I used more, but I had to use a lot to get all of my hair lathered. The second recipe I tried was the flaxseed volumizer gel, and it was impossible to strain so I ended up just throwing the whole mess away. My third disaster, which I recommend that you DO NOT try, was the flour and water conditioner. Maybe I did something wrong, but when I tried to rinse it out of my hair it turned into something resembling rubber cement. I thought I was going to have to cut it out. My boyfriend spent 1 1/2 hours slowing working it out of my hair using a comb, water, and half a bottle of conditioner to soften it a little bit. Now I'm a little skeptical about trying any other of the recipes. I will make sure next time to only try a small portion of my hair first and not my whole head. Also, the cost to buy all of the initial ingredients is considerable. However, they will last for quite a while.