Finger coils were always the style that I was the most self-conscious to wear. Which is ironic, considering it’s the style that most closely resembles my natural hair texture. My curls literally sprout from my scalp in the shape of tiny, slinky-like coils– just as finger coils are formed. Yet, for the longest time, I refrained from wearing this style because of a stigma I had in my head. I was convinced that my hair was too fine. I was convinced that they looked like silkworms were invading my scalp. I was sick of people making comments about me “locking up,” or growing dreadlocks. (I must clarify that I love locs, but no, I was not styling my hair a certain way to grow them.) I thought I looked like a boy. And then there was the tedious styling process when unraveling the coils. I had to be sure that every single coil was “uncoiled”, and given the opportunity to bloom to its fullest potential. The mix of frizz and hair that was still coiled reminded me of the boys who would walk around twisting random pieces of hair around their fingers, and that just wasn’t the look I was going for.
But something came to me last week that had me ready to throw out my inhibitions and try something new. In embracing this minimalist lifestyle (or attempting to) I decided that for this vacation, I wanted to place every bit of focus and energy into the places I would venture, and the people I was with, rather than my hair.
I thought of finger coils, and how low maintenance they would be for a vacation hair style. How the thought of doing nothing more than spritzing my hair with water and wrapping it in a turban for the day was the happy medium between protective styling and focusing as little time on my hair as possible. I pictured styling a “coil out” towards the end of my vacation, and embracing whatever frizz, coils, or curls that formed. I imagined this, and went with it.
Let me tell you… it felt amazing! And the end result was pretty impressive.
The beauty of embracing finger coils, for me, is that I am fully embracing my hair in its truest state- or something very close to it. Although this is a style that does require manipulation, it does not completely change the curl pattern of my hair, which I love. Embracing this style also means that I am keeping this journey as open and honest as possible, because I am not limiting my styling options because of a stigma or stereotype that I once had. That’s something I am growing to embrace and appreciate.
What are your thoughts? Is there a style that you are still learning to embrace?
