Headlice woes, treatment not working

[mummytowillow]

My friends two daughter's have head lice. She's treated them four times now and they still have them.

I've looked in their hair with her and there are lots of eggs. I've asked her if she's combing every third day and she's not committing and just says the lotion should kill eggs as well, so I don't think she is.

My DD plays with them a lot and has so far escaped getting them but I know it's very likely.

She's also caught them herself and is at the end of her tether and asked me to help. I've got a nitty gritty comb which I've never used as we've never had them yet.

One of the girls has the thickest hair I've ever seen so won't be easy I'm sure.

So can you give us the steps we needed to follow to get rid of the blighters!

Which is the best treatment as well please.

[mummytowillow]

I've just spent and hour and half treating and combing their hair.

I've learnt that a nitty gritty comb is brill, I've learnt that nit eggs look white but they are brown.

I've also learnt that my friends girls are amazing and sat there and let me do it!

To be fair they had them pretty bad and the eggs that came out were quite shocking.

I'm going to comb again on Friday as I couldn't get them all

[Noggie]

Hedrin- from the chemist... it's the only thing that worked. Also need to wash pillows etc just incase any are lurking!

[bigbuttons]

Nitty gritty is ok, however,I'm use listerine original, have used it for years. I have 6 kids.it has never failed.

[Millie2013]

What do you do with the listerine, please?

[Longdistance]

Hedrin once is your friend. This worked with dds, once I'd use other treatments, that didn't work.

Yy to the nitty gritty comb. Marvellous invention.

I sectioned dds hair using grips. They had the 10minutes plus allowed time. Once the time passed I sectioned the hair, and started combing through. The eggs are a nightmare as they're stuck to the hair strand like superglue feckers!

[Madjackmcvitae]

My hairdresser has given up on all treatments on her kids and she now swears by olive oil. BIt of a sod to wash out but worth it a bit of greasy hair. She says the little buggers can't stick with the olive oil.

[Sethspeaks]

If there are loads - Nitty gritty comb, loads of conditioner, section hair out, comb in all directions. Repeat 2 days later, then every 3 days for a fortnight. Run nit comb through hair routinely every week. I do it in the bath or shower.

[bigbuttons]

With the listerine I pour it over dry hair. I do this over a sink with a bowl in the sink to catch the listerine as it drips. This stops wastage. I pour that back over the hair until it is absolutely saturated. Then I put cling film round the head to lock in the wetness and put a towel over for comfort. It's good to keep hair as soaking wet as possible. After an hour I rinse out. They will all die. I have also never had a problem with re infestation from unhatched eggs.
Perhaps not the most pleasant experience but it has meant no more horribly expensive lotions that didn't work reliably, no more endless combing either.
Because listerine original contains no sweetners you can choose not to wash out and the hair looks fine once dry.
I have passed this method onto friends and they too are won over it's really strong stuff!
I did an experiment using various non specialist stuff by getting a live louse, putting it on a tissue and seeing whether things like mayo and rubbing alcohol killed them. Not much luck. Then I tried the listerine and they were dead very quickly. Call me Mrs controlled experiment extraordinaire

[mrsnoon]

Apple cider vinegar is good for getting the eggs out that are still attached, it dissolves the glue they are stuck to the hair with. We use it in a spray bottle after using a chemical treatment to kill the live lice when the step kids come up infested every bloody holiday

[3littlefrogs]

The treatment only kills the live lice.
You have to comb thoroughly and regularly to remove the eggs.

If they are picking them up at school, you have to comb at least weekly using conditioner/oil/or similar and a proper nit comb.

There is no easy fix for head lice.

Your friend has not read the instructions.

[LadyFlumpalot]

I used to get them a lot as a teenager from my little sister. The treatment that worked best for me was to mix lavender essential oil with a shit-ton of conditioner and plaster it over my dry hair. Then go over my entire head very thoroughly with a bit comb, wash conditioner out and repeat a couple of times.

[SweetsForMySweet]

Has she informed the school? if not the dc could be getting reinfected from their class mates. To prevent your dc catching them off your do family, dab of tea tree oil behind the ears, it helps keep nits away too, nits don't like the smell. Hedrin is good but your friend will still need to comb through and retreat in a week again. Dealz sell the treatment shampoo really cheap. Nits do become resistant to the treatment if used too often so she may need to try a different brand. Your friend should treat all hair brushes/combs/hair bobbles. Remove and wash bed linen at 60 degrees.
A home remedy is to saurate the hair with coconut oil conditioner or mayonnaise. Cover with a shower cap and wash off after a couple of hours and comb through.