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How do I keep loc lint at bay?
Keep your locs covered as much as possible with a non-shedding fabric such as silk or satin. Avoid using blankets and other fabrics that shed as bed linen. If you wear a sweater, or other knits, wear the kind that you put your arm into or if you must pull it over your head, put your scarf on first, then put the sweater on. Darker colors are also better if the fabric is a knit or woolen.
If your locs are uncovered, watch where you lay your head or let them brush up against-even your own shoulders. Although a bit of style right now, a silk or satin scarf of a dark fabric worn over your shoulders can help.
Always sleep in a cap or scarf. Use dark colors so that if they do shed, it will not be obvious in your hair.
For grooming your locs, make sure your hands are clean and examine the root before you twist. Pick out any debris before you begin to tighten your roots or the length of the loc.
Invest in canned air. Photographers use it to clean dust from their camera's and it can help with your locs also. Because the nozzle is a fine straw, it's easy to push it part way into a loc and blow the air through it. Do not do one section for too long, the air is very cold and can freeze a hair section.
Rinsing the locs daily with a salt water and vinegar solution will help tighten the locs faster and give less space for lint to form.
Invest in a tape roller for removing lint from clothing. A few swipes up and down a loc daily will remove surface lint before it has a chance to burrow down into the loc itself.
Cover your hair on windy days, in dusty areas or while cleaning your home. Also, keep your home as dust free as possible. A good allergy filter will cut your need to dust in half.
Other than the times you wash or rinse and a few hours afterwards, keep your locs as dry as possible to avoid mold and mildew. Also, lint will come loose from dry locs more easily than damp ones.
I have lice and bugs in my locs! Now what?
Lice and other bugs are always possible inhabitants of someone's hair and locs are no exception. The best thing to do it to cut the locs off and start fresh since its nearly impossible to know how long you have had the problem and how bad the infestation is.
Cleaning your bed linen with a lice killing soap or spray is also necessary because you will only re-infect your hair. If you are dead against cutting your locs, there are many brands of lice removal products on the shelf, or you can try a natural cure that many people have tried with good success.
The things you will need are vinegar, peroxide, rubbing alcohol and a plastic cap. Mix 1 cup each of vinegar and peroxide with 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol. Soak your hair and scalp completely with the mixture making sure the hair is saturated.
Put a plastic cap over your hair and let soak for 5 to 8 hours. After the time is up, wash your hair and scalp, rinsing thoroughly to remove the peroxide, otherwise you will come out with lighter colored or red hued locs. This works most of the time however, if you cannot get rid of the infestation, cut them off.
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