Clear instructions for a variety of hairstyles. I'm inspired!

In order to properly test drive 100 Perfect Hair Days by Jenny Strebe, I wanted to use the book as it was intended: to style hair. It's a bit easier for me to do someone else's hair, and much easier to photograph my efforts, too. This is why I asked my daughter's best friend, Michelle, to be my model. Chelle has amazing, lovely long red locks, and she's young and fashionable, so I thought she'd be a good test subject.

First, some thoughts on the book itself: it's very well written, beautifully photographed, and offers many style variations. The models used for the styles are of a nice mix of ages, hair colors and hair types as well, including some African American, Asian and Latina ladies. I really liked that ethnic hair types were well-represented in the book, as we all know that not everyone is born a California blonde. The instructions are grouped in five chapters by style type: casual, out and about, sporty, dress up and extra special. There's also a whole chapter at the end, Problems and Solutions, to help the reader trouble-shoot, fix and maintain a healthy head of hair.

At the very front of the book are two Style 101 pages, which is a cross-indexed picture grid of the styles in the book by number, matched with the type of hair (frizzy, fine, wavy, etc.) that they best suit. That's definitely a real time-saver when you want to try out something new; you can pick a style that will work with your type of hair. As you go to each particular style, you have one page showing a model wearing it, a description of the style and some notes by the author discussing the advantages. There are also symbols of the type of hair the style suits best. On the facing page there's a list of what you'll need to create the style, along with very clear instruction steps on how to create it, and illustrations of what your hair looks like as you go through each step. The latter is especially fabulous as a how-to reference, because you can check your hair against the illustrations as you go through the steps.

I had my model pick the styles she wanted me to try, and the first was a classic French Twist. Chelle's hair has long layers, which made it a bit of a challenge. I didn't get this one perfectly smooth, but she was happy with the results.

Next we tried a Dutch braid, which is under- rather than over-braided. This was easy enough for Chelle to do it herself, and she thought it would be a pretty style to wear when she does her volunteer work at one of our local children's hospitals.

Finally, we went with a pretty twisted chignon. Of the three we tried I liked this style the most; I thought it turned out the best, and it could be worn for anything from a business meeting to a nice date. Clip a pretty barrette or a silk flower in the center of the twist and you can dress it up even more.

I can't find fault with anything in Jenny Strebe's 100 Perfect Hair Days, although I did make some observations. There are no older/gray-haired ladies in this book, and I would have liked to see some because I'm one. That said, I realize that my segment of the hair styling population generally wear their hair short or go to the salon to have it styled, so it's probably sensible to stick with younger models. Also, most of the styles are for shoulder-length or longer hair, but you can't really do much with short hair, so that's also only logical.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to try some new styles, learn how to better care for their hair, and create more perfect hair days in their life. ( )

SUMMARY This book contains 100 hairstyles for ladies. It is broken down into five sections: Casual, Out and About, Sporty, Dress Up, and Extra Special. Each hairstyle comes with a picture of a model with the completed hairstyle and a step by step visual of how to complete the hairstyle for yourself or with help. Some of the hairstyles have simple variations that turn it into another named hairstyle. Some of the hairstyles also have a picture of a model with the hair "prettied" up with flowers or accessories.

REVIEW: I enjoyed every page of this book. The layout is excellent. Each hairstyle has a two page spread with the model wearing the hairstyle, the step by step step instructions and the variation (if there is one). The book is extremely user friendly with easy to understand instructions. It is important to know that these hairstyle are for medium length to long hair. There are no short hairstyles in this book. The final chapter of the book contains information on problem solving hair issues such as frizzies or oily hair as well as tips and tricks. This author has two other hairstyle books that I know of, but have not read so I do not know what might be different about this book from the others. I read one review of this book complaining that the hairstyles could not be considered "perfect" because they looked messy. I would instead call them natural looking. In other words these are hairstyles you can achieve without using chemical hair products. And personally, I think the natural look is much lovelier than having every hair smoothed down in place by hair spray. This is a book I will use over and over again and would buy for preteen or teenager as a gift.

AGE RECOMMENDATION: Ages preteen and up

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. My reviews are always 100% honest based on preset criteria. ( )

I received a free copy of this in exchange for my honest review, and honestly, I am disappointed. The author and I apparently have completely different definitions of "perfect". Every style looked messy to me, with flyaways and other hairs sticking out even in the photos. They look much more like average hair days than perfect.

The book is good quality and has great photos and illustrations, but I wish there were a few more. Each hairstyle only has a finished photo from 1 angle, so you don't get to see the whole thing. The section on care seems like it is written for newbies, but if so, it should go into greater detail and give examples. ( )

A great book to have for the woman looking to have a variety of hairstyles at her disposal. Comes with photos, hand illustrated step by step photos along with well written instructions of achieving the hairstyle. It does lack a section for shorter haired woman so would recommend for women with medium to long hair lengths. Also contains a section of hair problem resolutions and other information. ( )