Head lice removal is something you are likely to come across a lot if you have young children. First off, what are they? Head lice are tiny greyish brown insects that live in human hair. They cling to the hair with their six legs and claws, and survive by sucking blood from the scalp. As such, the scalp often becomes itchy and uncomfortable. The head lice life cycle is a fast one, with babies taking seven to ten days to hatch from the eggs (also known as nits), and then only another ten to fourteen before they can have babies of their own. Because of this, it is vital to catch them fast, and keep up a continuous treatment until you are sure you’ve got rid of the last louse and egg.

Head lice crawl from head to head, meaning that children are more likely to catch them since they spend a lot of time at school, in close contact with others. They can’t fly or jump though, so one easy method to prevent spreading is to avoid head to head contact with others.

There are a number of methods of head lice removal; some of them are medicated, whilst others are more natural treatments. The simplest of these is wet combing. Make sure the hair is washed and combed through, and then switch to a detection comb whilst the hair is still wet. Detection combs are fine toothed, to prevent the head lice from slipping through the gaps. They are stocked at most pharmacies. Run the comb through the hair, starting right by the roots. If there are any head lice, then the comb should pick them up. This method is usually used to simply detect head lice, but is often used as a source of removal as well, for those that don’t want to use lotions to kill them.

Another method is the use of a medicated lotion or spray. These can be picked up from most pharmacies, and doctors will usually recommend them. Before washing the hair, you apply the lotion and leave for around 10 minutes (the exact time depends on the product you are using). Then, you use shampoo to wash the lotion out. This method should be repeated after seven days, as it does not always kill the nits. It is wise to go through the hair with a fine toothed comb again, to check that you have got rid of them all.

Head lice mayonnaise treatment is another method that is becoming increasingly popular. Although it’s not a treatment that professionals would normally suggest, it has been proven to work in many cases. You must coat the hair with mayonnaise (full fat) from root to tip, and let it sit for two to three hours. Mayonnaise is said to suffocate the lice, meaning easier removal. The next step is to wash it all out – it might be a good idea to use a scented shampoo at this point! Working through the hair with fine toothed comb again, to remove all lice and nits, and then dry the hair at the hottest setting. Lice don’t like the heat, so if any have been missed this is a good way to get rid of them.

Lice not only damage the hair but also affects various other aspects. They are one of the leading causes of why people have unhealthy looking skin. Using home remedies is perfectly fine if the lice have not damaged the hair severely, but if the damage is substantial, then it’s better to get pharmaceutical medication to treat them. I recently started to use health-related products from Absolute Pharmacy, and undoubtedly they have massively helped me by increasing my overall health condition.

Head lice removal olive oil is another natural remedy that is becoming more and more popular. Surprisingly, this is a method that doctors and specialists have been recommending for many years now. There are two suggested ways to use olive oil to remove head lice. Firstly, cover your hair from root to tips in a thick layer of olive oil, and leave to soak in for eight hours. This is long and time consuming, so it may be best to apply it just before sleeping and then cover the hair with a shower cap. Another way is to make your own shampoo. For this, you will need to add three tablespoons of olive oil, one teaspoon of eucalyptus oil and one teaspoon of tea tree oil to a small amount of regular shampoo. This mixture will only need to be left in your hair for thirty minutes before it can be removed. Don’t forget to wash your hair thoroughly though, as you don’t want any oil to remain. For either method, you will need to ensure to comb your hair out to remove all lice and nits.

Nit removal is just as important as lice removal; if not more so. Nits don’t die as easily as the lice, and you can easily find yourself with more head lice when you thought you had got rid of them all. They are tiny sacks that cling to the hair, and are very difficult to get rid of. One way to get rid of them is the wet comb method, using a nit comb. The teeth on these combs are even finer and closer together, ensuring that nits are unlikely to escape it.

Head lice removal has always had a reputation of being stressful and time consuming. It is true that some of the methods take time to work, but you can sleep with the treatments in your hair or else get on with something else while they are soaking in. Other methods, such as wet combing, don’t take long at all. Spend five to ten minutes regularly combing through your hair after a shower, and you’ll find that you will soon get it all under control.