All lice combs were not created equal. An effective tool for removing head lice and nits, especially necessary for long or curly hair. Handle keeps fingers away from lice. Wide tooth side removes snarls & tangles. Smaller tooth side removes lice & their eggs. Nix Crème Rinse kills head lice but does not remove the nits (lice eggs); so combing is needed to effectively remove the eggs. While straight hair is usually easier to comb with the smaller tooth side, tight curls, snarls and tangles should first be removed by using the wider tooth side. Hair should be cleaned and tangle-free before attempting to use the smaller tooth side of the lice-removing comb.
Killing lice and removing nits can be a daunting task to say the least. It takes manual inspection of hair to determine an infestation or just an itchy scalp. When you come to your conclusion, you then need to figure out how bad the lice infestation is and the best way to get rid of them. In your quest of killing lice you should know there are many lice treatment products available to you. A good natural lice shampoo, Nit comb for nit removal, over the counter lice treatments, prescription lice treatments and home lice remedies. So how do you know which methods of killing lice are the safest for your child and your family?
Lice treatments can be costly and may not even work when considering killing lice doesn’t mean lice eggs were destroyed. Prescription lice treatments can contain harsh pesticides and really…who wants to put that on anyone’s head? There are a large number of natural products for killing lice as well. A good non-toxic lice killing shampoo might just do the trick. A lice comb is also a required tool for the removal of lice eggs. Be sure to get a metal nit comb as plastic can break easily. There are some effective lice home remedies as many will attest to their own experiences with killing lice and nit removal. Killing lice by smothering them with mayonnaise is popular along with olive oil treatments have proven effective in killing lice.
We should look at the life-cycle of head lice so we know what we are dealing with. Infestation of head lice, or Pediculosis Capitis, is common among school age children. Sharing combs, hair ties, hats, brushes or just sleeping over at a friend’s house on the same bedding as an infested child can lead to a head lice infestation.
These are the five stages of the head lice life cycle: 21-27 days
- Nits or lice eggs hatch
- First nymph stage: They molt or shed their skin
- 2nd nymph stage: They continue growing and maturing
- 3rd nymph stage: More growing and molting
- The growth stage is complete and they can now lay nits or lice eggs.
One thing to note is that head lice do not normally carry or spread any harmful diseases. But they are still considered highly annoying and a nuisance. Also head lice have no ability to fly and cannot jump as once believed.Water is not effective in killing lice as they just go into a hibernation or state of suspension when bathing or swimming. Adult head lice cannot live over 72 hours off of the host, but can re-infest a host within the 72 hour period by hiding in clothes and on bedding until finding another host. The nits, or lice eggs, can live 14 days off a host.
Once an adult, head lice can live 30-40 days and in that time frame the female head louse can lay 50-150 nits or lice eggs on the host. So to recap, after killing lice and removing the nits, it’s always a good idea to thoroughly clean and wash anything lice can hide on. If you own a steam cleaner, you might want to use it on mattresses, carpets and drapes. Heat is very effective in killing lice. You can also put everything in the clothes dryer for a 15-30 minute cycle which is also very effective at killing lice on clothes and other infected items.