Ugh, Lice
Always an uncomfortable topic but we all see the letters coming home from school and even have to deal with it in our own homes as this is a common school age challenge. It's just that it is bugs...bugs in our kids hair....bugs in our sheets, pillows, sofas, stuffed animals, eww - I'm itchy.
The most common place kids seem to get lice is at school. Ok, like that matters when you are reading this because they might already have it!!! Get to the important details.
Most important thing to know:
- Doing one lice treatment - whether it is natural or full of bug annihilating chemicals (no judgement, use what you feel comfortable with) it is NOT ENOUGH. There is follow up work to be done whether we have time for it or not.
Here are the steps I follow (read between the lines, there are usually some tears from exhaustion but you will get through it):
1. Identifying - if your child tells you their head is itchy -its probably lice. Look if you want but those suckers are hard to see, they are so fast. Spend some time really going through piece by piece if you really want to prove to yourself there are live bugs in there but if you see the eggs attached to the hair shaft that should be enough.
2. Treatment - must be done on DRY hair, don`t try to shampoo the lice out, it won`t work. Use the treatments as directed, whether it is the natural Lice Squad or the Drug Store version. Follow the directions, let it sit and then rinse it out.
3. Go through your child`s hair with the best Lice Comb on the market - Lice Squad metal tooth comb - nothing else compares (I am speaking as Parent and not as a Retailer here)
4. Here`s the hard part but you need to do this to keep the lice out of your child`s hair and your house! Put a generous amount of olive oil in your child`s hair every night for a week and put a shower cap on before bed. In the morning, quick wash out and comb with Lice Squad Lice Comb - yes, their hair will be greasy but put it up in a braid, bun or pony and suck it up for a week. Yes, this is a pain in the butt but you only have to do it for a week (it might be the longest week of your life).
5. One week after first treatment - do one more treatment.