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One of the best ways to help promote hair growth, and one of the first styles after wearing a headband that a baby can sport effectively, are finger coils. What makes finger coils so great for a first style? Well, 1) you don't have to have a lot of hair to do it; 2) it works on boys and girls; 3) no need to use rubber bands, so you won't be worrying about damaging the hair that you're trying to grow.
Finger Coils for Babies
The point of doing finger coils for Boo as a baby was to promote hair growth, as well as to teach her how to sit for hair styling. We just used hair milk on Boo's hair to do finger coils until she was older than a year AND when her hair began to require a bit more control and hold. We did them when she had enough hair that would actually twist around our fingers to form a coil. That was even when she had the big bald spot in the back of her head. No need to part the hair or anything, just go around the hair and put them in where there's enough hair to do so. Although babies are too small for sleep caps, I found that this style would last a day or two, depending on how many naps Boo was taking at the time. If you want to stretch the style out over time, just redo the coils that appear to be coming loose on a daily basis.
Finger Coils for Toddlers and Older
When the hair gets longer, or when the texture is at a point where it needs more control and moisture, use a styling gel or pomade of some kind to set the finger coils. I always have Boo wear her sleep cap for naps and bedtime to preserve the style.
FINGER COIL INSTRUCTIONS
1. I always like to start a style with freshly washed and conditioned hair.
2. You can either part the hair into sections (as I did in the photo above) or you can go around the hair and put your coils in a more random pattern. Be sure to have the hair wet and to use a product that has enough moisture and hold for the texture of your child. As a note, the smaller the coils I made (i.e., coils of small chunks of hair rather than thicker, larger chunks of hair), the longer they lasted.
3. Once you have the section of hair in your hand that you want, apply your gel/pomade and start twisting the strand around your finger, creating a coil. Keep doing this, making sure you twist the hair all the way up to the scalp, but gently enough not to pull at the hair too much. The key to getting a good coil is to make sure it stays tight while you twist it; the looser the coil while twisting, the looser the coil, and the more quickly it will come out.
4. When I'm done twisting a coil I like to push it up toward Boo's head before letting go. When I first started doing them I pulled them on the ends too much before letting go and that just pulled the coil out too much to set well. Then you just repeat the process all over the head until all the coils are formed!
The finger coils in the photo above where done when Boo was 8 months old. The style was a day old (after sleeping on them for naps and bedtime, without a sleep cap). These coils are very loose, as I used very large chunks of hair. This particular style was more of an exercise in parting hair for me than it was about making tight coils. It was one of the first times that I tried to get straight parts in her hair at such a young age. Teaching her to sit through getting her hair done (especially while I was learning how to do it) was an exercise in patience on both our parts!
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