Scalp

Updated on February 25, 2010
D.C. asks from Glendale, CA
32 answers

sooooo...this is sooooo embarassing. my 5 year old got head lice at school. we battled it, shaved his head and won. then my 2 year old got it...how sad....so we shaved his head. We washed everything, used the spray on everything and my kids are lice free but now it looks like I have it. I have medium length brown hair and it itches like crazy. I have washed it with the shampoo and everything but the thing is the little tiny nits are still attached to my hair. I cannot get rid of them and I think they still are mutiplying. Im so embarassed. My hair looks so ugly, I feel terrible and I dont want to pass it back to my kids.
Is there anything else I can try aside from chopping of my hair to get rid of this? I have tried every single shampoo/conditioner for head lice and nothing has worked for ME.
ANy advice would be welcome...Thank you!

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So What Happened?

HI EVERYBODY!!!! Thank you sooooooo... much for all the great advice and suggestions. I have tried the Mayo and the tea tree shampoo/oil. I feel much better and the problem is getting solved. THANK YOU.....!!!
PS....Just wanted to say that I think website is great. I joined a few years ago and my boys are now 5 and 1 /1/2 years old and have so many questions. Everytime I have posted a question the reponse has been amazing and I am blown away by all the good people that are here. Thank you again and may you all have a blessed day and weekend!

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E.L.

answers from San Diego on

The nit comb I use is called the "licemeister" It is metal and works wonders. You can get it on line or at most drugstores. Good luck!

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J.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

Dear D., Hi i am a health assistant for an elementary school and i deal with this subject almost daily. After you have shampooed you have to pull the nits off one by one. If you have acrylic ( fake ) nails it is almost impossible you probably will need someone to help because you can't see all of them. Any more questions, just ask J. H.

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E.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I was so lucky that I was living alone when I got head lice from a student of mine..so I just had me to worry about. I seriously think these were super lice...chemically resistant. (The family the child came from was large and ha had problems before)
I found an electric comb at the drug store that zaps the hatched lice. The nits I worked over with OTC solutions that break up the "glue" that holds them onto the hair shaft..but also invest in a high quality metal nit comb to boot. (Beauty supply was where I found mine at.)

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D.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

I just finished with lice myself.
Combing combing combing
and I used olive oil the first week. Every other day, olive oil and combing. Picking. After a week of still feeling the crawllies I tried http://nuvoforheadlice.com/
it may have worked well. I'm not sure because I combed so heavily. But I followed his instructions and I was lice free.
It took three weeks to be head lice free.
Comb and pick. Comb and pick.
It's absolutely madning. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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T.W.

answers from Los Angeles on

I never buy the "lice remover" stuff from the shops, way too much $$ and they always come back. I use plain old sorbolene cream and a drop of eucylptus ointment on my three cherubs and it smothers them and after combing with a nit comb, then washing as per normal, it is rare for any to survive.
Don't be embarrased anyone in contact with other kids on a regular basis will suffer with it often.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

I am a hair stylist and I agree with Dori section your hair off in tiny sections and pull them off each section making sure you get all of them. Once lice free I have been told they don't like mint, So i recommend paul mitchell tea tree shampoo and conditioner..

1 mom found this helpful
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D.G.

answers from San Diego on

You need somone to get it out for you. it is impossible to do it yourself! Call Bambinos in Del Mar/San Diego @ ###-###-####

...they have the card of an ex-employee named LIz, who has a service where she goes to your home to help de-lice you, the kids and the house. I'm sure it is worth it!

1 mom found this helpful
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H.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

You have to use the nit combs. It's possible to do it yourself, but very difficult. It's best if someone does it for you.

This happened to me too, my daughter brought it home and I got them from her. I have tons of long hair, so I had to call my mom over to comb out my hair! She thought it was hilarious that I never got them as a kid, and yet there I was in my 30's having my mom comb lice out of my hair! It's a total pain, but nothing to be embarrassed about.

Just remember that contrary to what we were told as kids, lice actually prefer clean hair, they can't attach their eggs to dirty hair. So you could consider it a compliment! :)

1 mom found this helpful
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P.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

You need a nit comb. It is the only way to get rid of them. My sister had a giant near afro of curly hair but we nit combed those lice out. I also hear coconut oil shampoo helps deter them. It has to be real cocnut oil, tho. A brand named organix carried all over-target,walgreens, albertsons has a coconut shampoo and conditioner. Also the say throw out all combs and brushes. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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K.M.

answers from Detroit on

Hellman's Mayo and it has to be Hellman's. Slather it on your hair and cover it with plastic or a shower cap something like that and leave it on a really long time them rinse it out and keep doing that until they no longer show up and also use a Lice Comb and get all of the eggs out of your hair. Arbonne has a shampoo that has Tea Tree Oil in it that will prevent them the next time not to mention it makes your hair really nice. If you would like to try it please respond in a private message and I will send you a sample. Don't be embarrassed they don't get on dirty people they can't stick to oily hair. Good Luck.
Kay

1 mom found this helpful
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K.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

Not to be embarrassed...many of us have been there.
Nit comb and a lots of white conditioner (to see the little buggers.) For us it took three separate sessions of combing and wiping the comb on a towel to see that you get everyone of those! Then repeat in 3 days and another time in 3 days until you get nothing. Wear your hair in a ponytail or up. Good luck.

L.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Don't be embarassed. It will more than likely happen to all of us at some point. I've read that hiring someone to come to your house and do the combing process is worth it. It's expensive, but they get it all out. There are companies out there, just google it. Good luck!

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V.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

DO NOT go to a pro hairdresser with head lice. They will walk you right out the door until the lice are gone. Do you have a friend or S/O that would be willing to help you? The little buggers hide their eggs behind the ears and near the nape of the neck so combing yourself might be a bigger pain. I got lucky and when my girls got it I didn't. One kid kicked it in a day (barely and eggs and I never found a bug) while the other one took 3 weeks and a lot of missed daycare! Good luck!

Updated

DO NOT go to a pro hairdresser with head lice. They will walk you right out the door until the lice are gone. Do you have a friend or S/O that would be willing to help you? The little buggers hide their eggs behind the ears and near the nape of the neck so combing yourself might be a bigger pain. I got lucky and when my girls got it I didn't. One kid kicked it in a day (barely and eggs and I never found a bug) while the other one took 3 weeks and a lot of missed daycare! Good luck!

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B.N.

answers from Los Angeles on

I was plagued with lice when I was a kid. My mom was a saint for helping me get rid of them SO many time with my very long hair. She used to have to pick them off one by one (the lice shampoos also used to come with a tiny little comb but it does not alway get them all. You need to get someone to help you with this. If they are allowed to sit too long they can start to jump off your hair (they are like fleas). Don't be embarrased. Its not as if you got them from bad hygiene or anything. :)

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P.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

Just heard of a new solution yesterday. Alcohol but not the regular kind and I forgot the name but it makes it so they can't breathe and kills them. If check with channel 5 news in LA it might be on the website

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J.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Okay if you are desperate this idea will work! I got lice from my younger sister years ago and I ended up using dog flea and tick shampoo to get rid of it, I washed with it like 3 times. It worked getting all the nits out. After your hair will need some serious conditioning treatment.
Good luck!

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B.P.

answers from Billings on

It is really time consuming but the the nit comb works if you just keep combing the eggs out. I have also heard of using peanut butter.

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K.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Use Pixie Locks out of Mission Viejo.

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B.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

Head lice love clean hair! It's easier for them to move about and hang on. I understand that the best rememdy is mayonaise. It smothers them. A lot of families that are low income can't afford the expensive treatments and just go to the 99 cent store and buy it. I've seen this treatment work on quite a few kids.

You literally coat your scalp and hair. Leave about a half inch layer on top of your hair, buy a big jar and use it all. Cover it with a plastic bag or shower cap and leave it on for several hours-the longer the better, wrap a towel over the top of it. Then comb it out in small sections. You'll need to retreat your home again too.

I wonder if lice are mutating to where the pesticides we use on them are no longer effective? Wonder how many people are experiencing failure of the products like you have?

Good luck!

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D.W.

answers from Gainesville on

The only way to get rid of the nits is to have someone sit and pull every single nit off the hair. Once you use the shampoo they slide off the hair but it will take forever. But it has to be done. And since you really still have lice in the house I would suggest spraying and washing everything again once you get them out of your hair.

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R.R.

answers from Houston on

The only comb that worked for us was the metal one. The plastic one did not get them out effectively. Look for a kit that has a metal one. It took us 3 months before we were all lice free in my house I felt like crying more than once. But I have 2 girls and we all have long hair. Good LUCK!!

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D.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

wow that sucks..i dread the day...ugh! how about going to a professional? i would just keep shampooing over and over with the stuff ..and google what u should do..hope someone has a good answer.. :(

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H.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Do you have a good hairstylist that usually cuts your hair? Also, maybe you could speak to your dr. or dr.'s office.

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H.W.

answers from Los Angeles on

Not sure if anyone else posted this, but there are companies now that will come out and get rid of them for you and treat your hair. I have seen their ads on craigslist, you might wanna check into that since it'd be really hard to comb them out of your own head

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E.N.

answers from San Diego on

YES, we tried something that worked great. My daughter got it a couple years ago, and we hated putting those chemicals on her head. It did not work anyhow. I went to Boneys (any local health food place should have something similiar). The ingriedients is something like oil-but the bugs suffocate or something. As soon as i started spraying my daughters hair, they were actually coming out themselves. Ewwww.i know-but it worked and no harsh chemicals. I do not remember the name-but any one would be the same at a health store i am sure. Good luck!!!!!

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S.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

after you do whatever treatment and get someone to pick them out for you, start using a super hot blow dryer on your hair, as hot and as close to your scalp as you can handle, daily.

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D.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

Use tea tree oil shampoo (whole foods has it). Read about it on the web.

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V.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Mayo...Put it on, leave it for 1-2 hours and then comb with a fine comb. Apparently they can not breathe with Mayo.

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J.D.

answers from San Diego on

use conditioner and one on the lice combs. comb your hair out with the comb everyday w/ conditioner. Its the only way to get rid of the nits. they don't die with the shamp[oos from the stroe you just have to comb them out until there all gone. believe me its a pain but it works.

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A.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

It's not cheap, but there is actuall a Lice-Control Salon in Costa Mesa that will wash your hair for you and pick out every single nit. I think it may be somewhere around $200 for the full treatment (but you can call and ask). My sister did this and got rid of every one - she said it was worth every penny. It's located at 2001 Harbor Boulevard Suite 210 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 ###-###-####.

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V.M.

answers from San Diego on

From what I remember, you're supposed to do the shampoo treatment twice, like few days or a week later. DO they make a treatment the kills the eggs? Have you tried talking to your doctor? They can give you a perscription for a lice shampoo that's much stronger than anything you can buy OTC, and I don't even think you would have to be seen by the dr. Good luck! I feel your pain and embarrassment, girrrl. BTW, it seems like this is round 3 that you're dealing with. There MUST be something you're missing. Make sure everyone's finger nails are cut. When I was little and got lice, my mom gathered all my bedding, my stuffed animals, the clothes I had been wearing,the couch throw pillows, blankets, etc and sealed them tightly in a plastic trash bag and left it for like 2 or 3 weeks. That, along with cleaning, shampooing and treating anything that can't be sealed up for 2 or 3 weeks did the trick. Never had a prob again. NOT to imply that rounds 2 and 3 are your fault AT ALL. I know that when there's a lice break out at school, the parents are supposed to keep their kids home. Maybe some parents aren't keeping their kids home, which could be causing it it go around again. I had 2 consecutive rounds with my son when he was little. I would contact the school and make sure they're aware, and that they've sent out notices. I know that when my kids were in public school, it was routine at certain times of the year to send certain notices home, one being "the lice notice". Much luck to you. It must be so frustrating for you. Oh! And make sure you use that teeny tiny little comb thingy to get those eggs out. You shouldn't have to cut your hair.

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D.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

There are a couple of salons that do lice removal, even if you only have the nits, they will remove those. Those things will be impossible to get rid of yourself because you have to able to see them to remove them. A few you could try are:
"hair whisperers" they do natural lice removal http://www.hairwhisperers.com/lice-treatment.html
or
nitty witty, they come to your home to do the lice removal http:www.nittywitty.com
If you google "lice removal los angeles, ca" you'll get more hits, but these are the first few. Hope this helps!

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