Treatment for Lice

1) Wet the hair with warm water. The best result is to use half white vinegar and half warm water if there are a lot of eggs and the child’s head is infested. The white vinegar loosens the glue of the egg (nit). Pour the water and vinegar over the head.

2) Then apply some Pantene Conditioner and massage it throughout the hair. Make sure all the knots are out of the hair before starting this process. Then start combing with a metal lice comb with 2 inch teeth.

3) Start combing on one side, working your way to the middle and then to the other side. Comb from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the hair. Make sure you take a lot of hair into the comb in order for it to pull out the eggs. Do not take little pieces of hair into the comb. Examine the comb and see if there are any lice or eggs. Eggs will frequently get stuck between the tines and must be removed. Comb 1x, then 2x making sure you wipe the conditioner off the comb with a paper towel. Look at the paper towel. If you see brown oval specks or larger, then you are seeing lice or their eggs (nits). Comb the same spot numerous times. Go over the entire scalp this way, making sure that you cover every single millimeter.

4) Then after combing for about 10 minutes or when all the knots are out of the hair, sprinkle ½ teaspoon of baking soda to the hair pushing it into the conditioner. This makes the hair coarser and allows the hidden eggs and bugs to comb out easier. You might have to re-wet the hair slightly and add some more Pantene conditioner before sprinkling the baking soda.

5) Continue to comb out for 1 hour or more when you first discover lice or until the hair become clean and free of lice. After you see a professional, you should only be combing for about 20 to 30 minutes thereafter . Usually after seeing a professional, you need to comb for 4 days straight with the conditioner treatment and baking soda and then comb every other day for 10 days reaching a 14 day cycle with the same treatment. Lice does not go away in one day. COMBING, COMBING, COMBING for 14 days is an essential part for breaking the lice life cycle. If you shorten that time, you could find your child becoming reinfested. The combing removes the eggs, the nits that hatch and then removes any nymphs (baby bugs) before there is any chance of reproduction. When you complete the comb out process, rinse the hair with warm water or wash the hair out with shampoo. Sleeping with the conditioner does not kill lice.

6) Besides the combing, you can also have the child sleep with olive oil, tea tree oil or rosemary oil. Some say it suffocates the eggs and bugs. However, the oil should be applied to the head for 5 to 7 days after discovering the child has lice.

Please call Dale Longworth, Professional Lice Technician for treatment or questions at 914-693-7930 or 914-424-1367,