The terror of the lint balls!! AAAAARRGGH! Everyone Read!

[ursusem]

Yesterday I posted about the fact that I was having serious trouble with tangles, matted hair and and snarles/ knots in my hair. It was impossible to comb my hair.

And of course I can't really "see" my hair- I need someone else to stick his or her nose right in there (in my hair) to be able to figure out what the problem might be that I am having.

Well, my mother brought out a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and together we found a comb that seemed pretty good that was laying about our house. I sat at the dining room table and my mother combed out my tresses for an hour. And yes, there were a lot of really bad tangles. But guess what was at the center of each snarly knot? A ball of lint!! I had a lot of very tiny white lint hairs (not my hairs- almost like pet hair) woven around and catching my own hair strands- making it impossible to separate my hair strands from one another (and therefore making it impossible to comb). My hair feels so wonderful now. I no longer feel any tangles/ snarles in my hair.

So, why all the lint balls? Well, it probably has something to do with my sleeping habits. I wear my hair down when I go to bed- I pull it up over the top of my pillow and it hangs down over my bed (I don't have a head board) and my hair lays across my carpet when I sleep during the night. Well, I never clean my room! My room is also, somehow, the room in the house that generates the most dust. I am thinking of getting filters over the vents in my room, actually. I have pets and two downy blankets, stuffed animals etc- there is a lot of lint in my room. And my hair lays across my carpet while I sleep at night!! So from now on I need to really keep my room clean and be really sensitive as to what I am laying my hair on.

So if you find yourself having trouble with tangles and matted hair- check your lint population!

[LadyLongLocks]

I get these kind of knots also in the past 6 months. They are very hard to de tangle. I call them spider knots and some seem to have lint. I spray my hair with conditioner and water sometimes to get them out. They always end up in the last12" of my hair.I pull them apart with my hands or use a comb. These really cause a lot of damage and I can see them thinning the ends if I am not careful. I have used needles to untie them too. Seems like combing tightens them if you are not careful. I have knee length hair and love to sleep with it down but have been making a braid or pony knot for sleeping to avoid more tangles.

[PHOENIX MOON]

May I please suggest that you put a clean cotton/silk/linen sheet on the floor where you have your hair. It might minimise the lint entering your hair. Those style knots sound painful. I have that version of tangles when my hair and me fall out!

[frizzinator]

I think the lint also comes off of wool clothing and also fleece, since I find more lint in my hair in the winter.

[EdG]

Agreed, lint is a real problem. I too find lint holding together hair tangles.

While some steps may be taken to reduce lint, I think it's impossible to avoid because lint easily becomes airborne. :(
Ed

[Arctic_Mama]

I hear ya! Heck, I have much shorter hair and this is an issue - not real tangles, but the ends snarling together and lint or shed hairs being at the middle of it. It's maddening, and keeping it up has been the only real solution.

I agree with Phoenix Moon that placing a sheet at the head of the bed and hung over the headboard or pinned to the wall would work well to hold your hair and keep it out of the dust bunnies.

[Bene]

i didn't know lint could knot and tangle hair http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y244/bene25/smilies/scared1.gif

[Gumball]

I find it often, but it's become almost an automatic response of mine when I hit a tangle. If I can tell it's not going to be friendly to me when I'm combing my hair out I immediately bring the comb around to where I can see it (usually the hair is still resting on it) and look at the area affected. Then I take out the comb and use my fingers to undo the area of my hair that's tangled and get the lint out. Then I just go back to the routine I was doing prior.

It used to be much worse before I basically became automated and dealt with those tangles in a much, much rougher manner. There are some tangles that I might ask someone to help me with, but they're much rarer than the ones I handle on my own.

Like Ed said that stuff can get airborne really easily so as much as you can do to minimize what you get from hair contacting miscellaneous fabrics sometimes it's just inevitable that lint will find its way to your head. It's an inconvenience of course, but in some cases it's more needing patience than anything else.

ETA: I forgot in my rambling to include that sometimes when people use products on their hair such as oils or leave in a little extra conditioner that could create instances where dust and lint particles floating in the air have something to grab onto. I loved the ease of combing when I was using coconut oil, but it also increased the likelihood I'd have a little lint tangle somewhere on my head. Oiling and leaving extra conditioner in my hair has been decreased. Sometimes combing is slightly less quick to get through, but the lint tangles aren't quite as prevalent as they were. Bah to dust and lint in the air. :)

[spidermom]

Evil lint! I love what oil does for my hair, except that it attracts even more lint than if I use no oil. On the other hand, coney products make my hair much easier to comb and it does not attract lint. It doesn't leave my hair as soft and well conditioned as oil does, however. Ack! It drives me crazy trying to decide which way I should go. Right now I'm trying a heavy warm oiling with olive oil, then washing and conditioning. Right now my products are no cone, but I am going to get a coney conditioner when I run out of what I have -- see how that works. I want soft and well conditioned hair that DOES NOT attract lint. I already keep my room pretty clean, so that isn't my problem.

(PS - You might try braiding the hair instead of leaving it loose at night. You can do a top of head braid that lays in the same position as your loose hair.)

[Anje]

I get lint issues even without putting my hair on lint at night. Like Spidermom says, oils definitely attract the lint, but I choose to use them anyway, and use a cheap BBB to remove the lint between washes, if it's building up.

Check your towels as culprits for lint. Of course, my real source of them is my cats, but there's not much I can do about that, since they don't like being vacuumed.

[Darkhorse1]

If you have problems with tangles, try a product called "Integrity" by Joico. I've found a HUGE difference in tangles--I only have a problem in the winter, and this product REALLY works. It does have dimethocone in it, but it's really low on the list. I love this product and have been very happy with it.

I too sleep with my hair loose/ontop of my pillow, but I have a headboard. I also wash my hair at night, so I don't find too much lint, but I have had that problem in the past.

This time of year, I braid my hair a lot if I'm wearing clothing that has high lint attraction (read: Polarfleece--great to keep you warm, bad on hair--static and lint ;) )

[AJoifulNoise]

I find it often, but it's become almost an automatic response of mine when I hit a tangle. If I can tell it's not going to be friendly to me when I'm combing my hair out I immediately bring the comb around to where I can see it (usually the hair is still resting on it) and look at the area affected. Then I take out the comb and use my fingers to undo the area of my hair that's tangled and get the lint out. Then I just go back to the routine I was doing prior.

This is what I do. I bring it around and undo it a hair at a time if I have to.

[DragonLady]

Well, I never clean my room!

My room is also, somehow, the room in the house that generates the most dust.

Uhm...I'm guessing you're about 16? As Mom to four, I assure you that if you clean your room more often, you'll have less dust. ;)