Finger Coils & Braidouts & Straw Sets, Oh My! (Pic Heavy)

Hi all! 

Since I cut the rest of my relaxer off and finally became 100% natural, I've been experimenting with different methods and looks. This post is a quick breakdown of the ones I've tested so far.

Finger Coils

This was my first attempt at finger coils on my whole head. The method I used was to literally separate my hair and coil individual pieces of it. The only products used are the Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Treatment and water. I think next time I'll try using gel too. Here's how it turned out:

(Excuse the Cantu Leave-in at the top right! Gotta blend that in better next time!)

VERDICT: I really like the curl definition! My main gripe about this style is that when it dries, there is mucho shrinkage. Shrinkage isn't really my enemy, but if I'm going for a stretched look, this isn't the way until my hair gets a little longer. 

Braidout

This was my first braidout ever in which I didn't have to use something to secure the ends of my braids!!! Remember when I used to have the problem of imminent unraveling!? Now I just braid my hair up and finger coil the ends and they stay put! Wooh! Just like this:

And this was the result:

Compared to how it would turn out at the very beginning of my transitioning journey:

Maaaaaajor volume difference!!
VERDICT: I like the braidout, but it's not quite my favorite look. I really haven't mastered it yet and need more practice before I'll feel comfortable wearing it out like this. Plus, there are still a few straight ends scattered about and I feel like they're very visible because, just like when I was all relaxed, the ends don't curl.

Straw Set

Of course. The go-to. It doesn't look much different from what it looked like before I cut the ends off: 

BUT, it looks VERY different from the straw sets at the beginning of my journey as well:

Yet ANOTHER dramatic change.  Uh..i think you know the verdict for this one! I love it so much more now! It looks so......."lifeless," is the word that comes to mind, in that last pic! Since I've been straw setting throughout my whole transition and this major volume change was gradual, it's still a shock to see it side-by-side every time! Lol.

Click Here For My Straw Set Tutorial

Speaking of straw-sets, I am definitely going to be doing a giveaway of a "Straw Set Kit" for one lucky blog reader. If you're transitioning, this is perfect for you. I plan to give away all of the products I used (and am still using) to create a straw set during my own long-term transition.  I need to make a video to let my YouTube subscribers in on the details and once that happens, I'll post them here as well. But, I wanted to give my loyal American readers a heads-up before then! (I am soooooo sorry to exclude international readers, but I don't have the resources to ship overseas at the moment. It's a possibility for future giveaways though!) So, be on the look out for that! 

Aaaand..speaking of YouTube, this post has inspired me to do a video montage of side-by-side comparisons of hairstyles just like this. I think that's what's next on my YT video to-do list!

Well, that's all for now!

Thank you for reading and have GREAT weekend! 

P.S. You can follow me on Instagram for more hair photos! My username is "diimpulz."
If you choose to follow, let me know that you found me through my blog! =)