Healthy Hair How-To Guide HOW TO GET RID OF LINT & PRODUCT BUILD-UP I N L O C S by ©2019 Loccessories, LLC, All Rights Reserved. No part of this content may be copied without express written permission of the owner. Welcome ello Love, my name is K. Hill, the creator of Loccessories. I want to thank you for your purchase. You’ve made a great decision. It is my Hhumble goal with everything that I offer, to make your loc journey a whole lot easier. I created Loccessories in 2011 to serve as an online resource of natural hair accessories made for curls, coils, kinks & locs. It is meant to serve you by offering handcrafted hair accessories, hair care tools and lifestyle products that give you the space to show up in the world as your true, authentic self. Unapologetic in your beauty. If there’s anything that you need, have a question about your item(s) or just a general question about #thatnaturallife, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to drop me a line at: [email protected] Oh, and make sure that you’re on the VIP Hot List because we have a tendency to give surprise freebies and flash sales for our subbies. Can‘t say exactly when they‘ll pop up (that would spoil the surprise) but only those on the Hot List will know when they do. You can sign up by visiting www.loccessories.com and entering your name and email in the VIP Hot List box at the bottom of the page. Best wishes on your loc journey! K . Hill The Dreaded Dust Bunnies LET’S JUST PUT IT OUT THERE — LINT IN LOCS IS UNAVOIDABLE. IT DOESN’T MEAN YOU DID SOMETHING WRONG, BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN DO DIFFERENTLY... It doesn’t matter how well you try to maintain your locs — lint happens! This is especially the case in dry climates and during the winter months when static electricity can attract those pesky little particles to your hair strands like moths to a flame and seemingly bind them in to place. There are many ways that lint finds its way into your locs, and there are just as many ways of removing lint from locs. In this Healthy Hair Guide we’ll cover a few of the best solutions for LocStars who have cried out in desperation (and frustration), “Help! How can I get the lint out of my locs?!?” There are many things to love about having locs, except that little fluffy stuff which seems to find its home there! They are annoying and often frustrating. Even though they don’t harm the health of your hair, they are aesthetically unappealing. Just looking at them trapped in your beautiful locs and not knowing how to take them out is irritating to say the least, especially when they are a different color from your hair. This can ruin your loc experience if you don't know how to get the lint out. But with the Lint Lifter tool, for example, getting the lint out of your hair will no longer be a struggle. But before we delve into how to “lift” lint out of your locs, you need to know the difference between build-up and lint. Lint is made up of tiny bits of natural fabric fibers like cotton and wool. Over time, these fabrics shed from your clothing, furniture, carpets, etc. and stick to anything.The lint gets attached to your locs when you come into contact with any of these natural fibers or products made with them, due to static electricity. WWW.LOCCESSORIES.COM ©2018 LOCCESSORIES, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED This is prevalent during winter months because dry air makes static electricity more common and eventually more lint sticks to your dreadlocks. Build-up, on the other hand, is the accumulation of residue from hair products, like shampoos, creamy conditioners, waxes, pomades, holding gels, butters, moisturizers and so on.The buildup in locs usually appears as grayish clumps, and at first glance might look somewhat similar to lint. But unlike lint, buildup can be cleared with a clarifying wash and deep cleanse. More on that later... The best way to tell lint from buildup is to take the water test. If it seems to disappear when wet, it's buildup. If it is still visible when wet, more than likely it’s lint. Although getting lint in locs is inevitable at some point in you loc journey, there are certain habits that make it more probable: using a fabric towel to dry your locs, laying on the couch (or carpet) with your hair unprotected, and sleeping on a cotton pillowcase without a satin scarf or bonnet are surefire ways to rent out spaces in your locs to these pesky bits of fibers. Creamy conditioners, heavy butters, gels, and waxes also cause lint to stick to your dreads. They provide a comfortable setting for lint to settle. Staying away from these products, or at least, minimizing their use will reduce the amount of lint that gets stuck in your locs. However, no matter how much you try to avoid getting these fluffy critters in your locs, you are still bound to have them. Often when folks find lint in their locs, they usually wish them away, ignore them or try to force them out with tweezers. But wishes aren’t unicorns and ignoring the lint accumulating in your hair for a long time might eventually make you want to cut your locs. Many loc veterans have chopped their locs off in frustration because of lint. WWW.LOCCESSORIES.COM ©2018 LOCCESSORIES, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Also, we have found that using commercial tweezers to get lint out of your locs will result in more harm than good. Commercial beauty tweezers are not made for locs; they are metal and have flat tips that when used to remove lint, pull at your hair strands and damage the integrity of your locs if you’re not careful. This deteriorates the structure over time leading to thinning locs that snap and eventually break off. Now, nobody wants that. The Lint Lifter Tweezer Tool, on the other hand, is perfectly suited for locs. The tips are pointed so that you can reach into individual locs and dig out that stubborn lint with precision and no extra hairs pulled out, ripped or torn. It's also made of sturdy, high-quality plastic that's built to last and safer on the hair than metal options. The lint lifter So let’s dig into the tips... tweezer tool tip #1: remove it 1. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) Rinse – The classic apple cider vinegar rinse is one of the most popular solutions if you’re looking to quickly get what may appear to be lint out of your dreadlocks. You can whip up a batch of this DIY rinse easily by combining distilled water with apple cider vinegar. See full recipe below. The natural hair cleanser is great for removing product buildup and should be applied right after shampooing for best results. Find a big bucket that allows you to dip and immerse your dreads into it. You’ll repeat the process of dipping and squeezing and soon start to see the residue dissolve into the bucket. When the water in the bucket is sufficiently sullied (or you’re totally grossed out) empty the bucket and do it again.This time the water should be less cloudy. Rinse your hair thoroughly with water afterwards. Apple Cider Vinegar can be purchased online, at your local grocery store or health food store. WWW.LOCCESSORIES.COM ©2018 LOCCESSORIES, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED hot to do an acv rinse (step by step) Clarifying your hair is the first step needed to get lint out of your locs. Although it doesn't technically remove the lint, it removes what might appear to be lint — i.e. product buildup. You do not want to take your time removing lint from your locs only to realize that half of it is actually build-up which dissolves with a simple ACV rinse. To clarify with an ACV rinse you’ll need the following: ‣ Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) ‣ Warm water (as hot as you can stand it) ‣ Big bucket ‣ MicrofiberTowel Directions: Step 1) Mix Your Solution Pour 1/2 cup of ACV and 2 cups of water (if you have longer locs, multiply both the apple cider vinegar and water by the same number to increase the total liquid volume). Combine both into a bucket big enough to dip in your locs into, or a kitchen sink.The mixture may fizzy, after the reaction settles, dip your locs into the mixture for about 15 minutes and squeeze. Make sure to get the ACV mixture into all sections of your locs. After a while, you will be able to see the buildup dissolve in the water as it goes from clear to murky. A second rinse might be necessary in some cases, depending on how much build- up you have in your hair. But be quick to follow up with a light oil because the ACV rinse is stripping and may leave your hair dry. Step 2) Dry Your Locs Not with a fabric towel though, as this is a lint magnet! Use a microfiber towel to dry your locs so that you don’t invite the dusty enemy right back in. ACV Rinse cont... step 3: coax and remove the lint After doing the ACV rinse, chances are some lint might be dangling off of your locs.