YOU’VE BEEN TREATED & ARE NOW LICE-FREE!
Here’s what you need to know & do once you get home
How do I treat my home for head lice?
It's a common myth that head lice are living in your home; they aren't. Because head lice are a parasite and not a germ they need a human host to survive, so cleaning your home is really not necessary. That being said, we understand that a head lice infestation can lead you to feeling a bit uneasy. We suggest washing the bedding, bath towel and pajamas worn or used by any infested persons. Vacuum or sticky lint roll furniture if you'd like. We do not recommend use of furniture sprays for lice as those are typically pesticides and are not only ineffective, but unnecessary.
What about combs, Brushes, and Hair accessories?
After removing any hair, place brushes, combs, hair accessories, etc. in a Zip-loc type bag in the freezer for 10 hours, or HOT (not boiling) water for 20 minutes. You can also run items through the disinfection cycle in a dishwasher.
HEAD & HAIR
The itch associated with head lice is an allergic reaction to the saliva from the head lice. Even after the infestation is gone and there are no longer live lice in your hair, the allergic reaction can linger. Itching after treatment is common, and can last as long as 10-14 days or more.
Option 1): Wash hair several times with regular shampoo to get the oil out. If you think it’s not coming out, keep trying – it WILL come out.
Option 2): Shampoo with a mild dish soap like Dawn or Palmolive. These will remove the Oil more easily than standard shampoo. "Note: Dish soap will potentially strip hair dye. Use at your own risk.
Option 3): Head and Shoulders. We have been told by many customers that Head and Shoulders shampoo is very good at getting the oil out AND helps with post-treatment itching due to hydrating the scalp.
Option 4): Clarifying shampoos help to break down Oil in just a single wash.
Our Lice Lessons Clarifying Shampoo is a great option!
It is expected that you will have a few nits that are no longer viable (dead) left in your hair after treatment. The focus of our treatment (and our guarantee) is to KILL all the nits and lice on the head. To completely remove every nit from the head typically requires a several hour comb-out, which is not part of our treatment process. Therefore, unless you see LIVE bugs in the hair, you can assume that all the nits are no longer viable (dead).
Should you see dead nits, there are several ways you can facilitate removing them:
1) Continue to use a nit comb in the showerover the next several days throughout the entire head.
2) Every time you shampoo, rub your scalp vigorously; this will help break apart and dislodge the dead nits.
NOTE: Nits/eggs that “pop” when squeezed between fingernails does NOT indicate that the nits/eggs are “alive.” This is a widely perpetuated lice-myth or Wive's Tale.
The ONLY reason a re-check would be necessary is in the event you are seeing live bugs. It is NOT necessary to come back to the clinic for a re-check “just to make sure” the treatment worked. We have successfully treated thousands of customers over the past several years...the first time.
However, if you ultimately need a post-treatment check to provide the peace of mind that comes with knowing the lice is gone, re-checks are $15 for short hair, $20 for long hair.
If the re-check occurs within the 30-day guarantee window AND it is determined that the treatment was ineffective for any reason, the re-check fee will be waived and we will re-treat you for free.
- Girls: wear hair as high & tight as possible. Tight hair equates to less surface area for a louse to latch onto your head.
- Be aware of any situation where you may have head-to-head contact with others, or if you use things that may have touched other peoples’ heads/hair. Do your best to avoid those situations.
- DO NOT, under any circumstances, put anything in your hair or on your head that has touched someone else’s head.
- Do periodic combing with a nit comb.
- Spray preventative spray or preventative detangler on your head anytime you go into a situation where there may be a high risk of lice exposure.
HOME CLEANING
- Head lice CANNOT survive without a human host for more than 24-48 hours.
- Lice CANNOT fly, jump, burrow, swim, and cannot even crawl very well, once dislodged from hair.
- Head lice require blood to eat, and lice eggs cannot incubate away from the heat and humidity near the scalp. So not only can lice not survive long away from the human head, but they have no motivation to leave the human head.
- Launder, in hot water, bedding used by any infested person(s) in the last 24-48 hours hours.
- Bedding can also be placed in a dryer on HIGH heat for 30 minutes or more.
Because lice require a human host for survival, it is highly unlikely there are live lice on your furniture or within your vehicle. If you still feel the need to clean these areas you can:
- Sticky lint roll or vacuum soft surface furniture. (Lice require fibrous surfaces to hold onto, so lice are unable to crawl onto leather or smooth surfaces).
- Throw pillows and blankets can be placed in a hot dryer for 30 minutes, or isolated for 48 hours.
- Child car seats can be sticky lint rolled or vacuumed.
Carpets can be vacuumed, though risk of infestation from flooring is minimal.
The only risk with hair brushes, combs, etc. is the potential that a live bug is on hair stuck in the brush, comb, etc. Eggs cannot incubate away from the scalp and are not a concern. Remove all hair. Brushes, combs, etc. can be placed in very hot (not boiling) water for 20 minutes, or in a Zip-loc type bag in a freezer for 10 hours.
It's a common myth that lice live on stuffed animals and toys. There really is no need to treat these items. If it provides peace of mind, toys can be isolated for 48 hours. Stuffed animals can be placed in a hot dryer for 30 minutes, or isolated for 48 hours.
Sticky lint roll the inside of helmets if they've been worn in the past 24 hours. There is little risk of lice being on a backpack, but backpacks can be sticky lint rolled if it provides peace of mind.