Great Hair: Secrets to Looking Fabulous and Feeling Beautiful Every Day Book

Deserves a 3.5 at least, anyway, but I'm disappointed that it wasn't the miracle instruction book I'd hoped for.

I never quite feel I know what to do with my hair. I certainly wouldn't say it's bad, or even uncooperative, but I wouldn't flinch from calling it uninspired, at least some of the time. I'm looking at getting a trim soon, and as usually happens when I'm about to get a trim, I feel tempted by what seems like a world of possible new cuts I could get rather than just take off an inch and a half to prevent split ends. One of these cuts, I have a vague sense, could result in my having effortlessly gorgeous hair all the time.

The main thing I guess this book is indicating - something I'd reluctantly guessed from magazines and such in the past - is that my definition of "effortless" is very different from that of people who actually do things with their hair. I do not, at present, own a blowdryer. Or hairspray, gel, or any other product AT ALL aside from basic shampoo and conditioner. I'm sort of squeamish about irons of all kinds, as they seem likely to damage my hair and, knowing me, result in burned hands and possibly a burned face, and anyway anything involving an iron is NOT EFFORTLESS.

Things I am happy to do with my hair, outside of regular washing/brushing stuff:
- attempt to braid it
- pull it back/up
- put clips, pins, etc. into it (although this was one more area in which the book disappointed me - I'd hoped it would give a better explanation of how to actually use bobby pins. Bobby pins are a mystery to me. So many articles in magazines finish a style description by saying, "secure with bobby pins," and I'm like, "What mystical technique allows bobby pins to effect this security?" I get the impression that this is a simple process, but I would like it explained. Ideally, demonstrated. With pictures. Imagine if you'd never cooked anything, not ever, and all your cookbooks had instructions like, "Use water to boil noodles," or "Bake dough with oven."

Anyway, I really like the cheerful, positive tone of the book. I'd just hoped it would contain more concrete suggestions, ideally for ways to sweep one's hair up into fun and/or elegant styles with only a brush and some pins. Was especially disappointed that the author makes it so clear that blowdrying hair is not optional. And really, the book mostly covers haircuts, not hairstyles. Oh well.