I was parting my daughter’s hair when I saw IT. The panic-inducing, cringeworthy, disgusting little white teardrop strategically placed on a single strand of her hair. I froze in fear; said a silent prayer that it was only dandruff as I gently ran my fingers over it.
I immediately flashed back to when my daughter was 2, and she got lice for the first time. I spent 2 days going through her hair. My back hurt, my fingers hurt, and I felt like I was going cross-eyed. I knew it would only be a matter of time before it happened again.
Listen, I have an 11 year old boy. Even though I am a girl, half the time I have no idea what to do WITH one. I was a boy Mom for 6 years, and these are things I have never had to deal with, with my son.
Let’s get back to the issue at hand. So, she has lice. After panicking, suddenly feeling like things are crawling all over me, and convincing myself I must have it to, I remembered that last time we went through this a friend of mine told me about a Place called Lice Clinics of America It was relatively local to me, and they take care of everything for you.
So, that’s what I was going to do this time. I called them up, they told me to head on in and they took care of all the dirty work.
They have this awesome AIRALLÉ Lice Device. It kills the lice through dehydration.
The treatment took us roughly an hour, but that time frame may be different for those with more severe cases, and different lengths and textures of hair.
So the first step was the Airalle device, They placed it on her head for increments of time moving in small circular motions in designated sections, once the timer went off, they moved to another section.
It didn’t hurt at all, as a matter of fact, this portion she found to be ticklish.
After that was done, they combed through her hair removing all of the nits and lice. Her hair was then coated in a Dimethicone oil, which stayed on her head until we got home and I washed it out.
The service is guaranteed for 30 days as long as everyone in the house is checked. Thankfully she was the only one who had it.
So, what now?
So whether you do the treatment at home, or if you save yourself the mental distress these are my recommendations.
Don’t panic, but do take precautions. Lice don’t live very long off of your head, and they can’t jump! Their life span off your head is roughly 24 hours! Which is great news!
You want to wash the things that come in close contact with your child’s head. Here are the things I had to treat. These may be different for you.
- Bedding: Make sure you wash any bedding your child could have come in contact with.
- Stuffed Animals: If your kids anything like mine, they have a beanie boo or two that they constantly carry around. So we made sure they were treated as well. I ended up hand washing them in hot
water, and throwing them in the dryer one a delicate cycle. - Car Seats: my daughter is still in a booster seat, so you can vacuum it really well, or stick in the freezer overnight.
- Couches/Furniture: You shouldn’t need to chemically treat your sofas, vacuuming should be more than sufficient.
- Get a Lice Preventative: Ok, so this one is a sore subject. We actually were using
a lice preventative. Apparently, it doesn’t work so well. So, I made one myself one.
First I add 4oz Fractionated Coconut Oil to the bottle, and fill the rest ½ Water and ½ Witch Hazel. Then I added the following essential oils:
6 Drops Melaleuca Oil
8 Drops Peppermint
6 Drops Lemongrass
A Pinch of Salt
You can add Lavender for the scent, if you’d like.
Spray the mixture and comb through hair before styling.
I also found out that another local Emergency Lice Treatment centers offer a monthly plan!! Seriously! $10 a month per child is all you pay – and you get 3 covered treatments a year. Check and see if there are any in your area. We will definitely be signing up.
I am not a professional, This is how I personally handled our daughters lice. If you have a severe infestation, you may want to consider speaking with someone who is trained in handling lice treatments.
