To say I was terrible at hairstyling would be an understatement—for the first few years of my transition, I tried every braid, braid, or twist I could think of. I never imagined myself finger-curling my natural hair, because any hairstyle that saves me from having to actually do a mane is a winner in my eyes.
As a beauty enthusiast who can work wonders with a makeup brush, I wish I could say my skills are the same as when I hold a comb. As of March, it's been four years since I last used conditioner, and it's only in the last few months that I've really started to take control of my natural hair journey. In the process of simplifying my regimen, I finally perfected my wash routine and figured out how to best make changes. For some naturalists it's easy, but for me, getting my curls to pop is difficult. When I say I'm hairstyling challenged, I'm really not kidding.
Despite my struggles, after seeing so many hair experts rave about this style, I decided to try curling my hair with my unskilled hands. I know this will be time consuming on my super thick hair, but if it lasts as long as everyone claims, I think it's worth it.
set up
Creamy Curl Cleanser, $14, Jet; Leave-in Conditioner, $11, Amazon; Twist Butter, $15, Target; Curling Iron, $20, Target; Styling Brush, $11, Amazon
In terms of stylers and tools required, there really aren’t too many. I rounded up the best things in my hair care arsenal: a good cleansing and conditioning combo, a few curling irons, a Denman brush, a few clips, and every naturalist's best friend, a bottle Spray water.
this experiment
Starting with freshly clean and conditioned hair is key to finger curling. I use Curls' Creamy Curl Cleanser, a sulfate-free shampoo, to cleanse my hair of the last week's product residue. In its natural state, my mane has competing textures. Some parts are very bouncy and curly, while others are more twisted and look less defined. Using finger coils to give my hair an even curl pattern is an attempt to correct this madness.
I use Curls' Blueberry Bliss Leave-in Conditioner to moisturize my chronically dry hair and work the product into small sections. I use a wide-tooth comb to gently brush my hair while I work. I definitely don't want the mess of a knot when it's time to coil my line.
When the conditioning was complete, I divided my hair into four sections, starting in the middle and going all the way across my head. It came in handy to have a couple of spare tongs so I could separate the sections into buns (oh hey, that’s how they were done in the 90s!).
So the ultimate battle begins! It’s not the actual preparation process that’s painful; This is how long it takes to make a million small coils. I'm definitely exaggerating a bit considering I only had about 50-70 coils in the end. But it took me five hours to complete. I think my inexperience and lack of cooperation were at the root of this huge tragedy.
I start each curl by applying about a dime-size amount of Camille Rose Naturals Almond Jai Twisting Butter and about a half-pump of Curl Maker to smaller sections of my hair. This product combination not only moisturizes my hair while maintaining its style, but also gives each strand an incredibly healthy shine.
Use the Denman D3 7-row Classic Styling Brush to comb through sections to help completely distribute product from the beginning to the end of each shaft. After testing this brush for the first time, I understood why almost every naturalist swears by it. I instantly fell in love with this baby and wondered how I had been deprived of this God-given tool of my hair for four years.
Next, I work my curling magic with two fingers, my index and middle fingers.
As close to the roots as I can, I continue to wrap the hair around two fingers, moving away from the face.
When I wrapped and pulled off, the tiny bits took on a pseudo-scary shape.
Once the entire tuft is wrapped, it springs back into a tight coil. Yes, there will be considerable shrinkage!
The most frustrating thing is that no matter how hard I try, I can't get the coil to move toward the roots. That part of my hair was too soft to manipulate and hold the coils in, so I had to live with it.
After finishing the top, left quadrant of my hair, I was almost ready to give up. I rolled it about 16 times and my arms were already begging for mercy. But I knew I had come too far to stop.
Putting on my big girl panties and sucking on them was my only option. While I was spending time in my room-turned-hair salon, I used a spray bottle to re-moisturize my already dry hair. It really felt like the struggle would never end, so when it finally did, I was ecstatic.
I have no idea what hell is like, but I imagine the process of wrapping my fingers around it feels pretty close. Using Snapchat to quickly document my pain is a must at this point. My head filled with little twists and I felt a frantic shaking of my head in celebration. Cue the criminal gang's "Knuck If You Buck" anthem, because I actually felt like a horrible person for a brief moment.
I'm used to having big curls, so I definitely needed more curls for this look to really work for me. I definitely wanted to torment myself even more as I began to separate - yes, more separation - each individual spiraling into two coils. It was tedious work, but the noticeable difference between the left and right sides of my head justified the effort.
result
After taking all the coils I made apart again (sometimes even twice!), I ended up with countless spirals. I was really impressed because no matter how I parted my hair, the strands didn't get frizzy. Often when I try to twist, I get horrible frizz after parting my hair. The Camille Rose Naturals styler blew me away by locking in moisture and styling my hair without making it crunchy or frizzy. A few hours later, my coils are still soft and shiny. I'm currently on day three and it's without a doubt equally amazing.
To attach the finger coil or not to attach the finger coil?
I think the testimonials are true and with proper care, this style can easily last a week or more. I didn't even refresh my hair with water or more styler because it still felt super soft and nourished. Taking the time to distribute and brush the product into each strand is sure to make a big difference.
However, I'm not quite sure if I'd redo this process from scratch anytime soon, as my first attempt was very time consuming. I think continuing to do this will make me a master of finger curling and can style it in an hour or two. But I'm starting to love my wild, textured curls.
I would say that if your hair is like mine and you want an even curl pattern, finger coils are a great one to try. The end result was very neat and defined, which got me a few compliments during the day's work. If it saves you from over-styling your hair for a week or two, then "it's all the more worth it." Be sure to set aside a morning to complete this look. It's definitely not about rolling out of bed, applying a little product to your mane, and going for a style; it's not about rolling out a long shot.
