Damn those head lice!!

[bunzfan]

Unless i wash my hair everyday and check my hair in the shower i get headlice passed on to me from my eldest child who's at high school every two weeks.

When ever i find them i do the conditioner thing but it can take over half an hour to comb through my hair and i'm normally do this for nearly a week.

Once my eldest has them he passes them round the whole household! including the baby i know there's not a lot i can do, do any of you have any ideas for me? i currently use a fair bit of oil in my hair before wearing it up hoping that may help and my hair's never down either. I'm confused.com

[Merlin]

We swear by Nitty Gritty (http://www.nittygritty.co.uk/site/) in our house ...

[bunzfan]

We swear by Nitty Gritty (http://www.nittygritty.co.uk/site/) in our house ...

I have a comb very like that made by boots. I'm wondering as its so bad at my son's school do i have to comb my hair especially every day it just makes it so time consuming and just when i think they have finally gone they come back again.

[beccababesx]

I can't help with the kids, but I know that lice don't like dirty hair, they can't crawl around in it, so they only go for clean hair. Surely the same would go for oily hair? So if I were you, I would just take this as the perfect opportunity to pack your hair full of oil, monistat, honey, WHATEVER, and put it in an updo so there's less opportunity for them to jump into your hair.

That way, you're doing your hair a whole lot of good, and avoiding getting another visit from the little monsters!

[Firefly]

I've heard that tea tree oil can be a deterrent to lice. I sometimes use a mixture of water/jojoba/tea tree oil before the dc go out with friends. We homeschool but they have school friends, and so do their other homeschool friends, and it's gone around our various circles from time to time. So once I hear it's going around school, out comes the spray! DD did get it once, but not since I've been doing the tea tree thing. Hope that helps!

[justgreen]

I can't help with the kids, but I know that lice don't like dirty hair, they can't crawl around in it, so they only go for clean hair. Surely the same would go for oily hair? So if I were you, I would just take this as the perfect opportunity to pack your hair full of oil, monistat, honey, WHATEVER, and put it in an updo so there's less opportunity for them to jump into your hair.

That way, you're doing your hair a whole lot of good, and avoiding getting another visit from the little monsters!


I second this, but also when you are at home with oils on , put a plastic cap on, suffocate those buggers.;)

[ScherzoDeLEON]

When I use to get tons of headlice in primary school, we used tea tree oil/conditioner and a nit comb. Worked every time.

[Anje]

Why is your eldest getting headlice all the time? Does he need to wear a communal helmet or something with sports? I'd work on solving this problem first.

[battles]

Why is your son getting head lice so frequently in high school? Just curious.

[WaitingSoLong]

I agree with anje, I think the solution is to find the source and stop it there, then do damage control. We had lice ONCE and I know that preventing reinfestation with diligence is the only reason we got rid of them for good.

[Firefox7275]

My mother was a primary teacher so nit shampoo was a regular feature of my childhood! :rolleyes: Perhaps your current method is only removing the live lice and not killing the eggs so you are passing them round and round the family or dropping them in towels and bedding? Maybe use a commercial product to treat everyone who can be - ask a pharmacist about the baby and which product is most effective? Have you written to the school so they can write to all the parents?

ETA: NHS guidance http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Head-lice/Pages/Treatment.aspx

[bunzfan]

Thanks everyone some great advice and i've often wondered why my son gets it so much. This problem started the minute he started school i tried everything including washing all the bedding on a very hot wash and disinfecting our combs i just cant figure it out.

In my local area a lot of parents think its because not all parents bother with looking for lice and treating them when their kids have a case so it just goes round and round, i have seriously considered writing to the school and explain how difficult it is is when he come home with another case of head lice as it takes me a long time to come through my own hair.

I know in the past we did have some success with tea tree so maybe i should do that i normally add a few drops to washed hair for a few minutes before rinsing it.

[akka naeda]

I thought that with DD in secondary it would stop, but right now we have them again.

My only answer is to insist on nitcombing her hair every weekend, and if we find any we use the silicone-based shampoo Full Marks which you can get in Boots. It's more effective than the Lyclear, which lice in this area seem to be resistant to. It takes me a long time to get my hair free, which is why I use the Full Marks.

Strictly there is no need to wash bedding etc as when I first had them myself (with approx classic length hair I think), we just oiled with coconut oil 2x a day and combed, they were gone in a week. With DD I find it's better to wash the bedding and towels, but you also need to consider that lice will sit on....
car headrests
backs of chairs and sofas
collars and hoods of coats

The Nitty Gritty comb has teeth which are too close together for my C hair and it rips it to pieces. DD's hair is thinner (it's M), and it doesn't seem to be damaged by the comb. Just something you might want to be aware of:)

Also, lice couldn't care less whether your hair is clean or dirty, if you have them and leave them in, they will **** all over the hair and it becomes progressively more tacky (and dirty). This is one way I can tell I have lice, because it is so difficult for me to find any even with a nit comb.

[spidermom]

A vinegar rinse pre-combing helps dissolve the glue holding the nits to the hair, so they're much easier to comb out. My doctor told me I could use vinegar half and half with water or even full-strength, and it wouldn't damage the hair. It didn't seem to, although vinegar makes my hair wildly fly-away.

I also bought some oil of oregano (or was it oil of thyme?) to keep in my hair until we determined that the lice was gone. I had custody of my nieces at the time, and the 10 year old kept getting re-infested for the longest time. Ack! All the laundry and vacuuming and cleaning and combing; I almost went insane. (or maybe I did)

[Anje]

FWIW, Ive heard that it's not the hot water from washing that kills lice so much as a nice hot dryer afterward. If you use a tumble dryer, you can cook the little beasties in it.

[Jean Stuart]

I just went through this with my DD and myself. I put rosemary essential oil in all my shampoo and conditioner and a spritz bottle of water to repel the lice. I also for the first week did evoo, co, and caster oil with tea tree soaks for at least 5 hours, then nit comb and condition only wash. 4 times. Week two I did that twice. Now I am doing it once a week. All this along with the bedding, stuffed animals and clothing. I tried the chemical shampoo on DD first and it did not work. Only DD and myself had them.

[sharicat]

My mum works in care and lice are really common in respite centres, so I've done quite a bit of reading online for her. This is a really useful blog:

http://www.livelicefree.com/blog/

Good luck getting rid of them!

[tigereye]

When I was young, I used to wear my hair down a lot as a little girl:rolleyes:. Head lice would appear every so often, but when they did my mum would use tea-tree oil all over my scalp, which did deter them. Sorry, but experiments have shown that dirty hair makes no difference to how much head lice are passed on to you:( because it's often only the hair close to the scalp that is greasy and they hold onto the length of the strands when they first get passed on. I do think it makes a difference once you have them, because they find it hard to move about and lay eggs and so on. Oiling your length would likely help a lot because it would prevent them grabbing onto the long strands in the first place. :cool:

Honestly though, I swear by tea-tree oil. Amazing stuff. Good for your hair, and keeps the lice at bay. I like the smell:), but many don't (such as the lice:D), and it can be a bit expensive...

[wavykisses]

Do you use poo bars? Cv has one with Neem oil which is good as a natural insect repellent and pesticide, the smelled of the poo bar is rather strong and lingers in the hair (I have ot and use it) you can use this if you don't mind the smell....., BTW I really like how smells but some people find the aroma rather strong.

Also talk to the principal, when I was in elementary school something like that happened, some kids had lice and it got around and we got infected very often, some parents apparently didn't bother to try to clean their childs head and the infestation never seemed to stopped, until my mom and some other parents when to the principal office and spoke about it.
The school did random searches to the kids and if one kid had lice they talk to him/her in private and gave him/her a letter to their parents, telling them to pay attention to their kids health and they had to come to the principal office and spoke to him about it or they will get suspended.
Everything they did was very private, we never knew which kids had lice, to protected them from bullies and the problem stopped after a while.

[MafiaPrincess]

I got lice once, in grade 10. Shampooing with nix didn't end it all. Took a month of tea tree oil added to shampoo, and combing out lice and eggs after every shower. Bedding got washed often, things that couldn't were put in garbage bags like stuffed animals for some months and then tossed in the dryer after it was over.

In grade school they used to take us one by one and checked our heads near monthly. If there was an outbreak we were given letters telling us to be proactive. I wore my hair up in a bun daily all through grade school, and part of high school. Pretty sure my lice came from wearing my hair down on a date and going to the movies.

It was a long month. I'd work hard on stopping why they keep coming home with head lice repeatedly. It's such a pain to deal with.

[jojo]

My youngest daughter was forever passing these little critters on to me and I found aprt from the conditioner thing, adding tea tree oil to my shampoo helped aparently they cant stand the smell, though Id love to know how somebody worked that one out! but nevertheless it works!

[Nera]

Some people get them easier then others. Lice prefer thick dark and clean hair. I've been a frequent lice victim. It's terrible.

I've had them for 3 months, not so long ago, and what eventually worked for me, is chemical treatments in combination with lots of oil treatments. Combing is kind of useless, since the nits are glued to the hair. At least, on my hair it never worked. Especially now, since I have waist lengt+ curly hair.

I've also heard that vinegar can help removing the nits.

[Panth]

Having had several bouts of headlice throughout school and once even in college (!) I can vouch for one very hair-friendly option: quassia bark. Looks like this: http://inb-online.co.uk/ebay2/eBay_pics/09QU-Quassia%20Chips.jpg (http://inb-online.co.uk/ebay2/eBay_pics/09QU-Quassia%20Chips.jpg) and you can buy it at wholefood shops.

Simmer a large handful of the bark in a medium pan of water for maybe 20 mins then leave the bark in the water until it is cool. Strain the bark out (you can re-use it 2 or 3 times). Then, wash everyone's hair - shampoo only, no conditioner, you don't want build-up. Do a final rinse with the bark water and DON'T wash it out. Let the hair dry, go about your business. Try to stretch washes or, if you can't do that, use the bark water again next time you wash your hair.

Quassia bark will kill any live nits on the head and prevent any live nits from being obtained from anyone else. You need to keep the hair covered in the bark water, either by stretching washes or re-application, for at least 2 weeks to enable the eggs to hatch and then be killed by the quassia. You can keep using it as a leave-in to prevent re-infection.

The reason I like it is that it's a pretty alternative treatment but it works 100%. Therefore, the nits are not going to be resistant to it - commercial anti-nit chemical treatments can fail because they're so commonly used that the nits gain resistance to them. It's really easy to use, no combing or fancy application. It doesn't stink, unlike chemical treatments - they always used to give me headaches from the smell. Also, it's not harmful for the child - even if they chew their hair, they'll stop pretty quick because it tastes foul, but it's not going to hurt them.

[Jean Stuart]

I forgot to mention I sometimes wrap my oiled hair in a wet towel,cover with a shpwer cap and sit under a hair dryer. Good for deep conditioning and the heat kills the lice.

[scorpio_rising]

Skip the tea tree and go for neem oil. Either neem straight up or a nice strong mix of coconut and neem oil will kill them pretty much instantly - within minutes they'll all be goners. Then comb out the nits. Do neem/coconut oil soaks once weekly for a few weeks and you'll make sure to catch any nymphs that might have somehow survived the first go round. Works like a charm. Just make sure your're treating your home and also that they haven't found sneaky places to hide out, like in eyebrows and lashes. :) Long term, if you put a little neem oil in your shampoo or condish or whatever your family washes with, you'll never have to deal with the little buggers again.

[GRU]

I'm going to agree with those who said to find out the source of the problem so that DS stops bringing them home.

I know I'm a bit of a mean parent, but if it were my kid and he wasn't willing to engage in anti-lice behaviors (not sharing hats, combs, physical contact with infested folks), I'd give him a super-short crew cut and use a nit-comb on him daily.

If you want hair that's long enough to attract lice, you need to be willing to take some simple preventative measures. I'm in my 40s and I've been in multiple settings with multiple demographics, but I've still managed to never put my head near the head of a person with lice, never share a hat with a person with lice, and never share a comb/brush with a person with lice.

I understand small children (12yo and under) passing it around (putting heads together to whisper, play games, etc.), and I understand families passing it around (close quarters), and I understand teachers getting it (leaning over children to show them something), but I just can't wrap my head around a high school aged kid who takes the standard precautions getting lice on a monthly basis. Once in a while is one thing, but CONSTANTLY? :confused:

Does he play a sport where the teammates "huddle up"? Does he make out with a girlfriend with lice? What the heck is he doing to keep catching the little buggers?

[jojo]

The thing with headlice is no matter how many letters the school sends out; there is always one parent who refuses to believe her little darling has them. And so the spread goes on.

[bunzfan]

Thanks everyone having so much great advice and words of support has really helped me feel i'm not going mad, my son said if its such a pain doing your hair why don'y you cut it all off! boys.



I'm going to agree with those who said to find out the source of the problem so that DS stops bringing them home.

I know I'm a bit of a mean parent, but if it were my kid and he wasn't willing to engage in anti-lice behaviors (not sharing hats, combs, physical contact with infested folks), I'd give him a super-short crew cut and use a nit-comb on him daily.

If you want hair that's long enough to attract lice, you need to be willing to take some simple preventative measures. I'm in my 40s and I've been in multiple settings with multiple demographics, but I've still managed to never put my head near the head of a person with lice, never share a hat with a person with lice, and never share a comb/brush with a person with lice.

I understand small children (12yo and under) passing it around (putting heads together to whisper, play games, etc.), and I understand families passing it around (close quarters), and I understand teachers getting it (leaning over children to show them something), but I just can't wrap my head around a high school aged kid who takes the standard precautions getting lice on a monthly basis. Once in a while is one thing, but CONSTANTLY? :confused:

Does he play a sport where the teammates "huddle up"? Does he make out with a girlfriend with lice? What the heck is he doing to keep catching the little buggers?

He's nearly 12 but he's really bad about his personal hygiene i think he's going through the teenager thing so getting him near a bath or shower takes some doing.

Believe me i have tried to explain how easy it is to catch them and that he needs to have a shower everyday to get rid of the damn things but he normally just shouts at me so in desperation i gave him a very short haircut and i'm coming through his hair as he doesn't do it properly.


Skip the tea tree and go for neem oil. Either neem straight up or a nice strong mix of coconut and neem oil will kill them pretty much instantly - within minutes they'll all be goners. Then comb out the nits. Do neem/coconut oil soaks once weekly for a few weeks and you'll make sure to catch any nymphs that might have somehow survived the first go round. Works like a charm. Just make sure your're treating your home and also that they haven't found sneaky places to hide out, like in eyebrows and lashes. :) Long term, if you put a little neem oil in your shampoo or condish or whatever your family washes with, you'll never have to deal with the little buggers again.

I have heard that once before so i think i should at least try it, can you get somewhere like ebay or amazon?


Some people get them easier then others. Lice prefer thick dark and clean hair. I've been a frequent lice victim. It's terrible.

I've had them for 3 months, not so long ago, and what eventually worked for me, is chemical treatments in combination with lots of oil treatments. Combing is kind of useless, since the nits are glued to the hair. At least, on my hair it never worked. Especially now, since I have waist lengt+ curly hair.

Thats very encouraging to hear i am trying the oil treatments at the moment. We both have dark thick hair and my hair is often covered in oil so god knows how they stay in my hair.

I've also heard that vinegar can help removing the nits.


My youngest daughter was forever passing these little critters on to me and I found aprt from the conditioner thing, adding tea tree oil to my shampoo helped aparently they cant stand the smell, though Id love to know how somebody worked that one out! but nevertheless it works!

This did help me in the past but i never thought of adding it to my shampoo i think i actually have some of that nit repellent tea tree conditioner in my bathroom....hmm

[GRU]

Thanks everyone having so much great advice and words of support has really helped me feel i'm not going mad, my son said if its such a pain doing your hair why don'y you cut it all off! boys.

Wow, he really doesn't get it that it's HIS hair that is causing the problem, huh? Your hair was JUST FINE until he started bringing home all those uninvited guests! :rolleyes:



He's nearly 12 but he's really bad about his personal hygiene i think he's going through the teenager thing so getting him near a bath or shower takes some doing.

Believe me i have tried to explain how easy it is to catch them and that he needs to have a shower everyday to get rid of the damn things but he normally just shouts at me so in desperation i gave him a very short haircut and i'm coming through his hair as he doesn't do it properly.


I didn't realize he was so young -- you had said "high school" which for my area is 15-18yo. At 12yo they're still more apt to be physically close, so I can understand a bit more about the continual infestations.

But if he's not even doing the bare minimum on his part, to heck with a very short haircut -- I'd put a #1/2 guide comb (http://www.wahl-store.com/imagesEdp/p99941b.jpg) on my Wahl (http://www.wahl-store.com/imagesEdp/p120023b.jpg) and just buzz him right down to barely fuzz and redo it every week! No hair = nowhere for lice to hide and lay eggs!

But like I said, I'm a mean mom! :D

[BrightEyes7]

With girls things are a bit more complicated... but with boys... just shave their heads!

I have a friend, and her DD11 has been getting lice for the past few months. She doesn't have much patience for that sort of thing so I've been helping her with the treatments every other week. And the kid keeps getting them! I told her not to share gym clothes, hats, sweaters, combs/brushes, don't hug your friends, don't have sleep overs, etc. I was a bit annoyed with my friend because she didn't alert the school. And her DD kept getting them, getting rid of them, getting them.... and so on. I was about to alert the school myself, but she finally got rid of them!

But in your son's case, cut his hair off. It'll grow back... after the lice have left his school!!

[Firefox7275]

Thanks everyone some great advice and i've often wondered why my son gets it so much. This problem started the minute he started school i tried everything including washing all the bedding on a very hot wash and disinfecting our combs i just cant figure it out.

In my local area a lot of parents think its because not all parents bother with looking for lice and treating them when their kids have a case so it just goes round and round, i have seriously considered writing to the school and explain how difficult it is is when he come home with another case of head lice as it takes me a long time to come through my own hair.




He's nearly 12 but he's really bad about his personal hygiene i think he's going through the teenager thing so getting him near a bath or shower takes some doing.

Believe me i have tried to explain how easy it is to catch them and that he needs to have a shower everyday to get rid of the damn things but he normally just shouts at me so in desperation i gave him a very short haircut and i'm coming through his hair as he doesn't do it properly.


Definitely write to the school, their hands are tied unless there is a complaint. To the best of my knowledge daily showering will not make any difference, you need to kill or remove every last egg, not simply remove the creepy crawlies. Fairly close contact is required to catch head lice, unless the source is a girlfriend or best mate your son shouldn't be catching lice repeatedly. Sorry but my money is on them still being in your household; not in any way casting aspersions on your housekeeping or parenting but you don't seem to be following NHS guidance. I cannot imagine how many hours it would take to comb an entire family every daily for a week or more AND hot wash your bedding or towels several times on top. :o

[Anje]

Yeah, if the kid's not going to be traumatized by it, I'd go get a Wahl clipper and buzz his hair without a guard on it. Bathing schedule has nothing to do with lice, but being hairless should be a pretty effective deterrent for the buggers.

Just make sure you slap a hat on him or some sunscreen in the summer!

[allycat]

We had an outbreak in my family last year. All of us have long hair so I was pretty freaked out. The itching was enough to drive one insane. But after some research, we got rid of them fast and pretty easily I have to say. Contrary to common wisdom, there was no need for nit-combing.

I saw a reference in the New York Times to a non-toxic method designed by a pediatrician that has been found to be quite effective and is being recommended by more and more doctors, and I did a kind of accidental modified version.

Here's a link to the Cetaphil treatment: http://www.nuvoforheadlice.com/method_explained.htm

We got rid of it in 2 simple treatments. No nit-combing. I quickly saw that there are really 2 key principles: 1) the suffocation of the adult lice. And then since it's basically impossible to get every last nit out (and impossible in our hair because they match fair hair), and missing one just starts the whole process over again, you must: 2) repeat the treatment exactly 7 days later. That will get the nits that have hatched when they are too immature to reproduce. The doctor says that in the treatment too: don't waste your time with hours and hours of nit-combing.

I did a third treatment in a row to be extra-sure just because it wasn't really that much of a hassle to do. The first time I did my son's head, I combed the excess cream out as instructed and found 50 live lice on him, so it was a pretty bad case. None of us has had a problem since, and I would highly recommend the treatment.

Some other pointers I discovered that made it easier:

1) I accidentally bought the wrong type of cetaphil at first not being familiar with the product, and it still worked. I think it's really more about suffocating the lice anyway, so you could use oil if you wanted to do so instead or probably some other similar cleansers. The cetaphil (over the oil) is fantastic because it washes out like a breeze.

2) I was so tired from slathering everyone's heads and trying to blow dry the stuff hard, that I didn't bother when it came to myself. I simple threw a towel down on my pillow and went to bed with my head wet. It still worked. I didn't bother blow-drying at all during the follow-up treatment.

Good luck. It sounds overwhelming but I didn't find it to be nearly has traumatizing as I had always imagine it would be. Certainly doesn't warrant cutting anyone's hair who doesn't want that.

[Mesmerise]

I make my own head lice treatment, and it works really well... It's also cheaper than stuff you buy!

I basically mix cheap conditioner, tea tree oil and lavender oil together (I use a fairly generous serving of each of the essential oils) and put it very thickly on the hair. I mean, really slather it in. Then cover in a shower cap and wait a few hours.

I always use a lice comb afterwards (helps to get rid of the nits...), and then wash out normally. This kills the little suckers very effectively and doesn't involve any chemical stuff that's usually expensive and less efffective.

[jasper]

I haven't dealt with lice in a long time but there is some interesting reading here http://www.headliceinfo.com/treat.htm

Olive oil will be my choice if I have to deal with lice again.

[scorpio_rising]

Sorry, I meant to respond to you earlier but I got sidetracked!
I haven't looked online for it but you can get it at some Whole Foods or other health-type stores. You should also be able to get it at any self-respecting Indian grocer for cheap!
Hope to hear you reporting back soon that you're lice free!

[akka naeda]

Schools don't take much notice about lice -
The primary school used to send out letters
"We have found lice again, please check your child's hair"
No names given, so you have no way of knowing if the parent reported it, or a teacher happened to see them.

If you specifically name your child as having lice, you are told to keep them off school until the lice are gone. And if both parent's work, this is impossible, so I guess most parents don't bother telling the school after the first time.

The secondary school takes the same attitude - keep the child off school, but doesn't bother about the letters.

[frizzinator]

..... What the heck is he doing to keep catching the little buggers?


I've heard that riding in a bus is a likely place to catch lice. They can climb onto the person sitting next to the infested person.

[Narya]

You have already lots of good ideas, but I wanted to share my experience just in case it was of some help. When I was your son's age I was also in his position: I had lice constantly, and even if we managed to get rid of them every time, next week there were lice again. At home we've always been of the idea that no treatment against lice should be completely trusted, so we also looked for them: I stood for hours in front of the window with my mother going through my hair, strand by strand, taking out the eggs that weren't gone (we might have looked a bit like monkeys, I have to admit). I also cut my hair short, to a pixie. And still, I kept getting it.
In my case, it was my best friend's fault: she had long curly hair and would not let her mother go near it. As soon as we knew this, we could act on it.

So maybe is one of your son's closest friends? Maybe you could talk with their parents and explain the case: if you say that your worried that their kids may have lice because you know there are lice at school, no need to explain much more, they will probably act on it (if their child has lice and they know it, out of shame; and if the kid doesn't have them or they do not know, out of fear).

What worked for me getting rid of them, apart from manual inspection (I swear by it, and it is still common at home because we got so used to it that now my mom routinely looks at us... we became paranoids!), were henna, tea-tree oil on shampoo and conditioner, and hot vinegar (pour it all over your hair, so it gets everywhere, put a shower cap on, a towel, and sit in the sun or use a blowdryer): all of them killed the bugs and made the eggs easier to take out. Special shampoos and such never were enough for us, and special combs weren't able to take out all the eggs as my mother kept on finding them.

A tip if you decide to go looking for them: if the egg is not strongly glued to the hair or it is whiteish, it's dead; if it's holding hard to the hair, it's dark, and when you squash it between your nails it "pops", it was alive. You can also put the live eggs into a spoon or similar full of alcohol, if you're grossed out by popping them.

[TwilightBloom]

My oldest son is almost 15, and my daughter whose hair is almost hip, and my youngest son almost 7, they have never gotten lice, knock on wood, but tea tree oil, that is all i ever used. I put it in there shampoo, and put it in the conditioner to, let the conditioner sit on there head for a little while. Also a spritz bottle with tea tree oil may help, but it is something you have to continue to do, everytime you wash.. Also you can put tea tree oil in your wash when you do you clothes. I love the stuff, it is awesome, and it makes the hair a bit shiner. I hope this helps and I hope you get your problem fixed. When my sister was in 1st grade, she has lice and it wouldn't go away, so her tailbone length hair was cut to chin length, that was before we found out about tea tree oil. Good luck.

[TwilightBloom]

I forgot to put my daughters age, she is 9..

[oktobergoud]

A friend of mine has headlice and although we didn't hug/I haven't been at her place, I'm still so afraid I might have it! With every little itch on my head I think it's one of them! Sigh, it's been 8 days now though since I saw her, think I should have noticed something, right?

I also used henna a few days ago, I needed to re-colour and also read that this might be good if you have headlice. Does anyone know about this? I don't think I have them but I need to be reassured :P

I also NEVER had headlice *knocks wood*, not when I was child, never! Thank goodness :D

[Narya]

Sigh, it's been 8 days now though since I saw her, think I should have noticed something, right?

I also used henna a few days ago, I needed to re-colour and also read that this might be good if you have headlice. Does anyone know about this? I don't think I have them but I need to be reassured :P


Personally, I never noticed anything until somebody saw one on my head. I shudder just to remember it. I washed every day, so my hair had no time to get dirtier than usual, so...

Anyway, I think if you've done the henna after you saw her last time, you're safe: maybe you got them, but in my experience the henna kills them somehow. We did not know until once I did a henna just because I was feeling down with my hair and all, and when my mother looked they had "magically" disappeared. We tried a couple more times, and every time the same happened. I don't think it keeps them away, but that it kills the ones that are there. So if you haven't seen her since you hennaed I'd say you don't have anything to worry about.

[oktobergoud]

Personally, I never noticed anything until somebody saw one on my head. I shudder just to remember it. I washed every day, so my hair had no time to get dirtier than usual, so...

Anyway, I think if you've done the henna after you saw her last time, you're safe: maybe you got them, but in my experience the henna kills them somehow. We did not know until once I did a henna just because I was feeling down with my hair and all, and when my mother looked they had "magically" disappeared. We tried a couple more times, and every time the same happened. I don't think it keeps them away, but that it kills the ones that are there. So if you haven't seen her since you hennaed I'd say you don't have anything to worry about.

Aaah thanks! I did henna my hair after seeing her so hopefully I'll be fine :D

Thing is, every little itch on my head is driving me nuts and makes me think 'WOULD THAT BE LICE? DO I HAVE THEM?' which makes me focus on all those itches and it becomes more and more and more, haha. But it doesn't itch that bad, at all, I don't even feel the need to scratch! I think it's just in my head.. sigh..

Thanks! :)

Edit: I got so crazy of myself that I just bought a nitcomb and combed my hair, of course, there was nothing, besides some dried up henna :P That has probably irritated my scalp or something.. I don't know.. but it's still irritated!

[Aveyronnaise]

I thought that with DD in secondary it would stop, but right now we have them again.

My only answer is to insist on nitcombing her hair every weekend, and if we find any we use the silicone-based shampoo Full Marks which you can get in Boots. It's more effective than the Lyclear, which lice in this area seem to be resistant to. It takes me a long time to get my hair free, which is why I use the Full Marks.

Strictly there is no need to wash bedding etc as when I first had them myself (with approx classic length hair I think), we just oiled with coconut oil 2x a day and combed, they were gone in a week. With DD I find it's better to wash the bedding and towels, but you also need to consider that lice will sit on....
car headrests
backs of chairs and sofas
collars and hoods of coats

The Nitty Gritty comb has teeth which are too close together for my C hair and it rips it to pieces. DD's hair is thinner (it's M), and it doesn't seem to be damaged by the comb. Just something you might want to be aware of:)

Also, lice couldn't care less whether your hair is clean or dirty, if you have them and leave them in, they will **** all over the hair and it becomes progressively more tacky (and dirty). This is one way I can tell I have lice, because it is so difficult for me to find any even with a nit comb.

Hi we just used some similar stuff here that they have here in france , a silicone based shampoo.
Do you know if it is okay to clarify this stuff out of your hair after treatment ? It's like an unintentional silicone bomb and my hair feels so weird, and almost synthetic. Also do you think a ACV rinse will help get it out ? or oiling ? I usually do a weekly castor oil (scalp) soak with coconut on the ends overnight , will that help get it out ?
Thanks in advance for anybody with any answers.

[GRU]

Hi we just used some similar stuff here that they have here in france , a silicone based shampoo.
Do you know if it is okay to clarify this stuff out of your hair after treatment ? It's like an unintentional silicone bomb and my hair feels so weird, and almost synthetic. Also do you think a ACV rinse will help get it out ? or oiling ? I usually do a weekly castor oil (scalp) soak with coconut on the ends overnight , will that help get it out ?
Thanks in advance for anybody with any answers.

Just wash with a "regular" shampoo (with a sulfate detergent) and that should get rid of your silicone buildup. You may want to actually lather-rinse-repeat to make sure you got it all. And you'll probably want to follow up with an SMT or similar treatment to remoisturize your hair.