Ultra Black Hair Growth II 2000 Edition

"Pretty informative book as a stylist I don't agree with all of it. But it does give women a good place to begin to care for their hair."
~ Written on 2008-09-23

"I never read the orginal book. After reading this book i feel so much more knowledgeable and powerful. I have power over my hair now it does not control me. I suggest all women read this book it is worth every cent even if bought at full price ($15) This book will change a black womens life. It teaches us how to take care of our hair down to the "T" From what comes to pick, vitamens to use, how to wear a relaxer or natural hair while growing hair, and much more. I have followed this book and i have seen results and my hair is not relaxed its all natural ladies. Save your life! stop turning to wigs and weaves and read this book. "
~ Written on 2008-07-28

"For 4 years I went without a relaxer to strengthen my hair. Because of basically boredom and wanting to change my look I wanted to get a mild relaxer. I was afraid, but after reading Cathy's Book, I felt more knowledgable. Her advice on the importance of frequent washing and conditioning of our hair was just what I needed. Thanks Cathy for writing such a straightfoward helpful book. "
~ Written on 2008-07-24

"Hair Type:
I am African American woman with natural, soft, thick and tight curl pattern coarse hair. The current length as of 7/20/08 when straighten to its capacity is above my collarbone. Currently it is growing as it should be at about 1/2 inches per month.

Hair Backgroud:
I was 10 yrs old when I got my first chemical texturizer. From age 12-23 yrs I wore my hair in extensions (braids, cornrows & twisties)and at some point in college I got another chemical texturizer always done by my God Mother who I later discovered applied the chemical incorrectly and thus my hair broke off. So I resorted to braids again to grow my chemically processed hair out.
When I graduated from college in 05' I was 23 and ready for a change. I decided to try a full sewn-in weaves. I was hooked from the summer of 05' up until this past March of 08'. It was expensive b/c I would spend around $150-300 to 3 different hairstylist to apply the weave and shelve out another $45-80 to beauty supply stores for Velvet Yaki hair that I usually purchased and another $15-40 for a hair piece.

The sewn-in weave would only look good for about 6 weeks before my natural new growth underneath would be exposed around the edges but because of the expense I would leave it in for an additional 4 weeks. I was tired of being ripped off by hairstylist and beauty supply stores. To make matters worse the beauty supply stores (Asian run and fake hair manufactured in China) in my area hiked up the price btwn 20-30% for the Velvet Yaki hair.

Wearing a Weave:
Though I would get tons of compliments after getting my hair weaved in it only looked really good for about 2 weeks before the following would happen:

-Weave hair would start to thin & the tracks would sometimes be visible.
-Hair piece & hair tracks would recede back as my natural hair that was cornrowed underneath grew and loosen.
-My scalp would constantly itch.
-Trying to exercise & bath/shower with the weave was always a headache b/c when the hair would get wet from my sweat or water it would mat up and look stringy.
-When I would take the hair down, b/c my hair had not been washed in 2 1/2 months, I would have a lot of my natural hair come out due to natural daily shedding, breakage and tons of dandruff.

Time for a Change:
I was tired of the maintenance & the high cost of getting a weave done. The money I was shelving out to hairstylist & beauty supply stores was better off wisely stored in 401(k)retirement account.

So with the urging of my boyfriend who during the course of our relationship expressed his opposition to me wearing weaves and strongly supporting me wearing my natural hair out directed me to Cathy Howse's Ultra Black Hair Growth II book that he stumbled upon in April 08' here on Amazon.com.

Utilizing the Ultra Black Hair Growth II book:
I bought the Ultra Black Hair Growth II book in April 08' and soon after reading purchased her deep conditioner at www.ubhpublications.com website. Though some would consider $16 for 16 oz. of conditioner expensive, it is truly well worth the price and more that most of us African American women have shelved out to our hairstylist to do a hot oil treatment or to beauty supply stores for a pack of human hair.

I will admit that it has taken some time for me to get use to wearing my natural hair out and following Cathy's steps 100%.
These are the steps I currently follow:
-I wash my hair 2 (Wed. & Sun) a week with Garnier Fructis-Strength & Repair shampoo that is for over-processed & damaged hair.
-Deep conditioning for 30 mins under my hair dryer with Cathy's UBH Deep Conditioner.
-Blow dry comb while hair is wet on cool low setting.
-Moisturize with Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter.
-Tie hair up with a 100% silk scarf.

This book has been so life changing for that I was very excited to attend a Ultra Black Hair Growth seminar presented by Cathy Howse at at the Oakland Black Expo on 7/19/08. I got to touch her hair and she lifted it to show it is not a weave. It is her own hair! And it is long and beautiful as you see in her pictures online. She is fantastic. I commend her for being bold enough to come out with her research that she applied to herself and listing the black haircare myths.

Yet sadly we will still have tons of African American women out there who will rely solely on their hairstylist or a cheap hair product to make their hair grow a healthy 6 inches a year.

Proper self-maintenance accompanying by the right products with the right ingredients helps your hair grow to its maximum healthy length. The Ultra Black Hair Growth II book is the first step to achieving that.

So far my hair is:
-Healthier
-Less shedding
-More manageable
-Growing about 1/2 inches of hair per month
-Moisturize


"
~ Written on 2008-07-20

"This is a good book that would be great if it were well-edited. You will likely get annoyed with some of the redundancy.

The fundamentals that she provides really are on point. I don't like that she has a product line. It has a few products that she felt were missing in the marketplace. I will add that she recommends a variety of products from a variety of brands based on her use of them so I don't feel like I am reading an ad for a product line as with another author.

This has to be approached with an open mind. I almost didn't borrow this book because of some of the negative reviews but I'm glad I did because I learned more about caring for my hair. If you're reading the book, you probably don't have the hair that you want. Don't dismiss a book simply because it is not in line what you're used to doing. If what you're used to doing were so great, wouldn't you have a strong, healthy, long head of hair? "
~ Written on 2008-06-03