Customer Reviews

Thank God I'm Natural--The Ultimate Guide to Caring for and Maintaining Natural Hair

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really liked the book for it's candid approach to why so many Black women are afraid to wear their own natural texture. Like the author I also grew up in an upper middle class white community. While the author was growing up watching Wonder Years and such, my TV icons were more like Charlie's Angels. The "Farrah" Flip was all the rage along with the Dorothy Hammill bob! What was a black girl to do! To add to it my mother was a trained hair dresser. She believed my hair didn't grow because I had bad hair. So I had relaxers starting in grade school. I often thought that I suffered this exact story alone and for that I really thought the book was on track. I commend the author for putting her story out there in an effort to educate and unite a group of women who feel ignored by the beauty industry at large.
I made my transition to natural hair more than 10 years ago when it wasn't popular and there was one book on the market that addressed the issue(Lonnice Bonner's book). I also work in an industry that is all about your look and at first I encountered some flack from a few people but knew that if I rocked my natural with confidence they would have less issues the more they saw me. I agree with the author that it was one of the most liberating things I've done for myself letting go of the relaxer.

For me being a long time natural the book didn't bring any new revelations so I wouldn't recommend this if you already are a natural and have a good hair routine that works for you. The DIY hair recipes might be helpful but these can be found on a lot of the hair blogs and black hair care sites for free. I also don't belong to the trim your ends club every six weeks to promote hair growth unless your hair is really damaged. Now that I have be a healthy natural I don't need all the trimming either. I also wished the photos were better quality and in color. The hair styles pictured were small and in black and white and the paper quality just flattened the detail. The Q & A section just was a rehashing of the books contents nothing informative there. The salon listings not very in depth. I found that the most important ingredients that one should look for in cleansing and conditioning products are Collagen, Keratin, and Amino Acids. The building blocks that make up hair and the three ingredients lost and leeched from hair when you use chemicals and heat--were not strongly if at all addressed in this book.

Overall, if you are new to the natural world this book will be of service to you and with that I can recommend. If you are already a natural lady who is on point with her hair I would pass.

I officially did the "Big Chop" two months ago, yesterday. I'm glad I bought "Thank God I'm Natural." The book is inspirational and encouraging, but unfortunately, somewhat of a disappointment.

I liked reading about Chris-Tia's natural hair care journey, and her brief historical overviews of relaxers, and her descriptions about various hair classification systems (which include information on Andre Walker's and the LOIS hair care system.) The book also includes information about coloring, essential vitamins, taking down locks, and transitioning tips. She also gives sample routines, choosing the proper "Denman" Brush for natural hair, and dismantles natural hair care myths.

I also loved the production quality of the work: very classy. The cover vector artwork is cute, the layout simple and elegant. (Loved the near Edwardian font for the numbers on the edges too.)

Although Chris-Tia did an excellent job, her book does have its shortcomings. Essence Magazine touted this as a Natural Hair Care Bible. When I think "Bible," I think of essential information being compiled in one place.

I was astonished at the information that was excluded from the book. There were pictures of natural hairstyles, with no directions on how to recreate those styles. Instead, the author tells readers to visit her Website online. This makes no sense, other than from a marketing ploy to get readers to eventually purchase her products. In my opinion, it probably would have made more sense to include the information, then go for the marketing ploy (that would have been more straightforward).

Chris-Tia also included recipes from Motown Girl, the diva of natural hair care, in her book. It's wonderful to have it hard bound and in print, but you can nab her natural haircare recipes for free from the main Motown Girl site (Google it!) You can also get the step-by-step instructions on recreating natural hairstyles (like afro puffs, curly fros, braid outs, twists outs, etc;) from that site that Chris-Tia excludes.

Other exclusions include the mention of Curly Nikki's fabulous site. (Google it if you get a chance). Although Chris-Tia mentions products for use on natural hair, she fails to mention natural haircare staples like Kinky Kurly Custard (KKC), Oyin products, Karens Body Beautiful, etc; I also wish there were color photographs of different hairdos.

Even though, "Thank God I'm Natural" is not perfect, but it's still worth owning. Just know what you're getting.

At a time when I needed it most this book arrived and lead me to the light. This book is exceptional and should be read by anyone who is thinking of going natural or who have already taken the natural journey. It's funny, witty but also extremly informational. It cut down the time I'd spend ravaging through the web searching for information dealing with shampoo and the many how to's....! It also helped me with the emotional curve for going natural....trust me this is a must buy!!!!!!!!

i purchased this item in hopes that it would help me with hairstyles. i've been natural for five years but had locs for three and needed help adjusting back to my hair being loose. this book seems to be aimed at transitioning naturals or newly naturals (since it uses the term "guide" in the title) so i thought it would have some good information about styling- something i needed when i first went natural. despite having a "stylin and profilin" section in the book, this chapter only provides the reader with pictures. the authors refers the reader to her website for detailed instructions on creating these styles. why the author would send a reader who has purchased her book to a free website is beyond me. further, her website has none of the details she mentioned. it's more of a natural hair blog, which is fine- but not what the author stated it would be. i ended up returning the book.

i would give this item 1 star but I think SOME of the information presented might be useful to new naturals.

I purchased this book after reading all of the great reviews. It was meant to be encouraging for my natural-haired daughter who cannot understand why her hair won't grow like Beyonce's. There was pic after pic of processed hair, weaved hair, sister locked hair, and even wigs. There was ONE pic of a sister with short, natural hair. ONE! Honestly, I don't know what everyone is gushing over with this book. The recipes for home haircare come from Motown Girl (an unrelated website which offers all of those recipes for free online). The book talks about how to save your natural hair with a sew-in weave and/or microbraids! Seriously?!

Additionally, I ordered this book straight from the author's website so show support. I specifically ordered an autographed copy. When it hadn't arrived in 2 months, I sent an email for which I never received a response. Two weeks later my book arrived however....unsigned. The author loves to bring up her Ivy League education throughout the book but she sure lacks common business sense and courtesy.

If you still want to read the book, buy it from me instead of here. I will sell it to you for $2...about all that it is worth.

This book was geared towards those thinking about going natural or those that have just recently transitioned. I've been natural for many years and I'm looking for something to push me to a new level. I didn't find it in this book, but I did appreciate that it was available as an e-book, so I gave it another star.

First I must commend the author of this book; she has done an outstanding job in putting this book together. I purchased 5 other natural hair books at the same time I ordered this one and no doubt, this is the ONLY book you will need for going and maintaining your natural hair. Chirs-Tia, you have absolutely NO competition out here when it comes to other books on natural hair, NONE. I am MORE THAN impressed with everything I have read and learned about natural hair; I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about going natural and maintaining. I am going on 5-6 months without a relaxer, and it's really been tempting to give up and relax again but I've noticed my hair grows so much faster and is so much stronger when it's at its natural state. It's also much thicker but really hard to manage. My curls are very tight (NAPPY), LOL but oh well, what can I say, it is what it is. This is how God made me and I'm going to try and learn how to deal with it it the best way I know how. My goal is to grow my hair down my back for the first time in my life. I started talking to people with locks who had hair down their backs and what I found from all of them was their hair was able to grow longest at its natural state; their hair was much thicker, and more healthier than it was when they were chemically processing it. That gave me the motivation to see what my hair could do at it's natural state. So far, I've been chopping off the remaining relaxed hair every month trying to get to the natural me; and I'm almost there; (I didn't want to do the BIG CHOP so I went this route instead). My hair is definitely much stronger, sheds very little now, and feels sooooo much healthier. As I stated earlier, the biggest challenge I'm having is trying to comb / manage such tightly curled hair. I currently alternate my hair styles from a updo ponytail, braids, and sew in weaves; I also warm comb / press it (from time to time) with a pressing comb to assist me in combing through my jungle. DO YOUR HAIR A FAVOR AND BUY THE BOOK!

What a resourceful and encouraging read for all of us naturals out there! Chris-Tia does an excellent job of relaying what it's like to be a natural in mainstream society, while lending lots of support and insight on getting over the hump. In addition, there's a plethora of information on how to maintain healthy natural hair with countless references to products and styles. Chris-Tia is such a well versed and intelligent woman who REALLY cares about natural hair. This book is such a support mechanism for both transitioners and seasoned naturals. I can't say enough! I know it sounds cliche, but you definitely need to pick this book up. I actually fell asleep with it in my hand on many of nights. It's THAT compelling. Thanks so much for your insight, Chris-Tia. Your working knowledge, personal candor, and genuine enthusiasm for natural hair inspires me beyond description. Thank you for your immeasurable contribution. May God continue to shed His light on you.

I would definitely recommend this book to women who are tired of perming and relaxing their hair .This book will walk you through either the Big Chop or Relax into Natural hairstyle.It teaches you how to take care of your hair,different styles and the type of products that can be boguht and made at home.Excellent read and very informative.

I am currently about 6 months into my transition to natural hair and this book was such an amazing source in providing inspiration for me to continue with my journey and helpful guides to how to style my hair during my transition. I was also able to learn about styles that I did not know much about before, such as dreadlocks and the 2-strand twists that I will be trying soon. If you are transitioning this an excellent book to help you stay motivated towards natural hair and learn how to take care of the new texture that is growing in. The more I read, the more excited I became about deciding to give up relaxers and embrace my natural texture. This book is also a good resource for people that already have natural hair because there are helpful tips on taking care of natural hair.