To shave my head to get rid of lice?

Get this amzn.eu/d/aB3vFCp
it works like a charm and should be enough for at least a couple of treatments. Comb through whilst on or ask DH or a friend to comb for you then repeat a week or so later and they will be gone. The shampoo is the least effective treatment.

If you can't see any lice then you don't have lice. They are definitely visible to the eye and you would see them crawling around.
They tend to be found behind the ears and at the back of the neck, they need the body heat to survive.
You may be getting nit (eggs) out or you may be getting skin flakes from your very irritated scalp (not surprising given all the treatments you've used that your scalp would be irritated and itchy, plus the mere thought of them makes me itch)

Please don't be embarrassed, little children are walking plague factories, and quite frankly, it could be worse, you could have scabies!

Go to the pharmacy and see if they will check for you, I always offer to check, I don't mind head lice, as above, if I thought it was scabies I'd hide out the back! (Only slightly joking 🙈)

The normal hedrin that you leave on overnight is the one to go for, the shampoos are not effective as they don't have long enough contact time. Plus the repellents etc have no evidence so a waste of money. As is treating "just in case" as if they don't have them it won't stop them from getting them.

Two treatments 2 weeks with the hedrin you leave on overnight is recommended, to kill the lice and then to get whichever hadn't hatched before can start to breed again.

Now my head is scratching too lol

Ps you don't need to wash everything in the same way as you would if you had threadworms, lice can't live very long away from the host, no sharing hats or hairbrushes though is a good Idea. Plus they also can't jump.

Hi
this happened to my daughter, the lice were actually gone but the constant itching thinking about it actually made her hair drop out and she gave herself a really dry scalp which in turn made her itchy.
Got medicated Tgel shampoo to treat the scalp plus one a week with the lice stuff for a month to be really sure
and a couple of weeks later she was fine.
also had a mobile hairdresser come out one I explained the situation and cut her hair shorter to make all that easier

Nitnot or Hendrin once - left in overnight are reapted up when it says and if long thick hair may need more than one family bottle.

Do everyone at same time in house whether you see nits or not and wash pillows at same time.

If you have kids in school likely you are having constant reinfection - you can try stay away sprays but they are limited.

Pretty much everyone I know who complained about constant infection with nits wasn't treating everyone in household at same time and weren't doing the second or if bad thrid doses of treatment or were very unlucky at near constant re-infection though a riddle untreated child usullay though school.

If you want to cut your hair just do it - you may have to do it yourself or you may find someone local who will despite nits - but I know a few women in worked in primary schools who ended up with short styles as it was easier.

Itchying could be something else though - DS scalp was awful with large flakes and spent a small fortune on medicated sampoos to get under control whihc usually stopped working when he got stressed like in exam periods.

Dh has remmington clippers that have different guards, he bought them during covid,

The anxiety of having headlice is horrendous but I do think you need to try and relax and not get so worked up, have you checked your Dds hair ?

I shave my head in a number 5 all over. Not because of nits, more due to the fact I hate handing over money to the hair dresser. I quite like having it short.

Some klippers have longer settings than others.

I had nits a few years ago from my DD and even after I treated and combed several times and couldn’t see them anymore, my scalp and neck continued to itch severely. I was convinced I still had them but it turned out to be a combination of a reaction to the HRT I’d recently started on, scalp dryness due to a build up of all the treatments and conditioner I slathered on my head, and probably a bit of psychosomatic ‘phantom’ itching. Reducing my HRT and doing a couple of apple cider vinegar rinses on my hair sorted it. Might be worth considering whether the cause is something else? Scalp itchiness is also a perimenopause symptom.

When we were in lockdown, I cut my hair really short by using my husband's hair clippers on the longest setting. It didn't look too bad IMO. I used to gel it to make it spiky on top. It wouldn't be as extreme as shaving, but would make wet combing easier.

Sort of like this.

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/15-short-spiky-haircuts-for-2025-that-will-give-your-look-an-edgy-twist--185914290863076476/

Put hedrin mousse on and leave it for 48 hours. Lots and lots of it. Looks horrendous but so what? Then do it again 1 week later and leave on for 48 hours. That works pretty well. And consider taking an anti histamine - all the scratching is just aggravating everything.

Also there is so many women nowadays with really short hair i don't think ive once thought "nits".

Well if you can't wet comb the only other solution is to just cut your hair off look for a mobile hairdresser explain the situation and they might come and cut your hair,

As a teacher nits are an occupational hazard. Couldnt get rid of the things.

My hairdresser advised me to use gin - I kid you not.

It was what she used she said, just combed it through and then rinsed it out. She did add some water to it though, so it wasn’t too strong.

It did seem to work but I never had the guts to use it again. Reading it up it does work but can irritate the scalp, and you have to be careful to only use a bit. It can be too alcoholic for children and folks with weak immune systems so read up on it first.

That's a nightmare op, they can be so persistent.

I am wondering if you contact a mobile hairdresser could they come to your house and cut your hair there maybe if you're honest about the reason why?

I would ask your dh to have a good look in your hair to see if he can see any lice to be sure this is what it is as opposed to an irritated scalp.

I think if you are happy going for the buzz and feel confident enough with it then why not. I would never look at someone and immediately think nits, I'd probably wonder a bit about their health in fairness but if they said they fancied a change then I'd accept that for what they've told me.

I agree with a pp you seem fixated on them but not actively looking for them, I know it is a total pain but if you are able to wet comb it will be easier to detect, I also think all parents with school age children should be checking as part of a routine .

This is probably gross but so are nits but you need someone to sit and section your hair and pull out the eggs with your fingers. I don’t think combing is enough.

I did this when DD was little and they never came back.

I got head lice from a hostel in Poland from bedding my head itched all the time i dye my hair anyway so after a month a died my hair with a permanent colour at home leave it on for half an hour and all lice dead and no more itchy so dont cut it off just dye it if your hair is long and thick i would use 2 hair dyes together

This!

I remember your other thread and I think this is becoming more of a psychological issue for you than an actual lice problem.

Do you have any female relatives at all that are decent with a comb? I'm thinking mothers of girls with long hair that would be used to parting and combing the hair properly.

If you have a rash you really need to give up on the strong treatments and give yourself a chance to heal. Cheap, thick conditioner and a comb is all you need (if anything at all, I am really not convinced you have them! )

Ok so I had a quick google and there are indeed companies who will check to see if you have them and treat you if that is the case. I would do that first ...get a definitive answer as to whether you have them or not

A "number 9" with your home shaver will basically be an instant pixie-cut.

Actually better than a lot of pixie cuts that I have had.

I've gone for a full head of bleach before when I've had nits and basically had a short blonde pixie cut.

OP - try Vamousse. It kills both the eggs and live lice. No need for the constant repeating you have to do with Hedrin. Use once job done. It’s brilliant & effective stuff.

Op...I'm saying this with great kindness.

Are you sure you have nits? I only ask because I had a family member with a history of mental health conditions who was absolutely convinced they had nits when they didn't and even convinced the person they were living with that they had them too. I am not suggesting you are experiencing the same thing...but if you can't see any nits..then perhaps the itching is psychosomatic?

I wonder if there are any professional hairdressing services which can check for you and if you do have them, treat them professionally? Then you would at least know either way.

I’ve done it, more than once.
I 100% recommend it.
My hair, like yours, is very thick. So combing and treating was just a nightmare and wasn’t working, so I buzzed it all off.
It actually felt great and I didn’t feel as self conscious as I thought I would.

It's now shoulder length again (shaved last year) and I would do it again if I had to.

I used to have headline a lot as a teenager (my parents didn't have the patience to comb my hair or buy me the shampoo).

I started dying my hair and that killed all the lice and eggs. Maybe give that a try? Dye your hair either the same as your hair now or go for a fun colour and do it a few times and it might work for you.