Headlice infestations
My five-year-old daughter is getting repeated infestations of headlice. I have followed the school’s advice and used a comb and their suggested lotion but it doesn’t work. What can you suggest to get rid of them and stop re-infection?
I don’t wait for the tell-tale sign of my daughter scratching her head to nit-bust, but treat her scalp twice a week to prevent infestation throughout the year. Female lice lay four or five eggs (what we call nits) at the back of the hairline every day and so to get rid of them, you need to be persistent.
It takes around eight days for nits to hatch into the adult lice which can then live for four or five weeks so your first step is to shampoo, condition and comb your daughter’s hair every night without a break for the next 10 days.
The shampoo I use (and the only time we had an infestation was when I was away and her dad forgot to nit-bust) contains tea tree and quassia. The tea tree is a powerful natural disinfectant which will help prevent re-infection and the quassia is an infusion of natural woodchip and insect repellant.
The range includes a leave-in conditioner which you apply before using the comb to remove lice and eggs. I start with a wider-toothed comb for the first comb-through and then switch to one with narrower teeth and then blow-dry the hair since lice also hate hairdryer heat. Adult lice can also survive for a day or so away from the body so make sure you change bedlinen and towels on a regular basis.
I get my supplies from Revital (0800-252875) although both the shampoo (£7.95 for 250ml) and conditioner (£7.95 for 100ml) are both now widely on sale in good healthstores.