Can I do anything/treat to prevent head lice?

[SaltyLemons]

Just had the dreaded email to say there's been an outbreak. I have a child with very long knotty hair and I want to do everything in my power to prevent the inevitable nightmare of the nits! Any tried and tested methods welcome, or am I asking too much 😬

You can buy a spray from boots that keeps them away.

Really? What's it called because I will do anything to get it!

Try and get hold of some Nenuco if you can (it's a lemony spanish cologne) a little of that rubbed over her hair should repel them!
My 2year old girl recently (very long curly hair) caught them and I treated as per the nhs guidelines with just conditioner and a fine tooth comb and it did the trick. No need for any of the lotions on sale

Tea tree conditioner left in prevents.

I have just had the WORSE 3 months of my life due to head lice 😭

Sprays and lotions are a gimmick and money wasting my daughter has long and thick dark hair and the only way I got rid of them was to put a bottle of 99p conditioner on to her dry hair, separate the hair from bottom and use the fine comb every single night. Her hair has been put into a tight bun for school (I got shouted at by school for keeping her off due to headlice) and pillowcases boiled washed every morning.

Good luck x

Its headrin protect and go,you can probably get it online or any pharmacy.we use it when the nits are in school and haven't got them yet!

I have been using vosene repellent spray for years with my dc and they have never got them despite being in close proximity to dc with them. It’s in a green bottle and you can get it from Asda. I spray it everyday before I do their hair. It’s an awful smell but it’s worth it.

French plaits when they go to school.

Use tea tree oil shampoo or conditioner

Both of my girls got it at school a few months ago.
2 rounds of headrin got rid of them, and I’ve been using Vosene repellant shampoo everytime I wash their hair since. It has quite a strong tea tree smell. They haven’t had it again since, even though there’s been emails about it still being a problem in my eldest DD’s year group

I mean there’s the obvious - cut the long knotty hair short. Lice or not, long tangled hair isn’t a great look and is uncomfortable for a child.

Other than that accept the inevitable. Children will sometimes get lice. Most of the tips for prevention are myths or scams. I found them quite easy to treat as I kept all my kids’ hair short, but they went round DD’s (has grown her curly hair very long now she’s old enough to help look after it) ballet class a while ago. Think it might have been from them in the changing rooms, sharing hairbrushes and borrowing things etc. I had to just comb and comb with the lotion. You also need to (lot of people forget this step) repeat after a week.

I also do full treatment at first mention of nits in school,headrin or whatever they have in,just in case,then the next day send in with the protect and go spray till all nits from school are gone.also on first mention in school we do 60 degree wash of all bedding and teddies just in case.

And of course keep their hair tied up in school, if they've long hair.

Aldi do a "nit repelling" kids shampoo I'm sure. Don't know if it works.

Hedrin or Lyclear to get rid. Nothing works to prevent them. Just check often, and treat as soon as you see one.

Plants and liberal spraying of lemon cologne the type that Turkish barbers use. Smells lovely and deters the lice completely.

When my DD aged 5 had them 5 times in the space of a term and gave them to me and her 3yo sister I told her to stop hugging her friends. She didn't get them again that year.

Long tangled hair is a great look for us actually and very comfortable!cutting short would help or wearing it tight up,a hairband etc.

We use the Vosene repelling shampoo and plaits if there’s an outbreak. You need to deal with all the knots though - if s/he does get it, you’re going to have to comb it all through zillions of times.

You think long tangled hair is a ‘great look?’ It looks unkempt. Long hair can be nice, but not left tangled and knotty.

Different strokes for different folks unfortunately, I have 4 children and two are prone and two never get them despite myself and dh also even getting them once! We have used Headrin and lyclear with mixed results and the only advice I can give is definitely invest in a nit Comb and while they do recommend a little tea tree behind the ears, it really aggravated my son who has excema's skin and he got little scabs from it while the other said his skin felt very dry.

Absolutely no lotion or potion kills them anymore, the fuckers have evolved immunity. There are no preventative sprays either: just lucky parents with kids whose hair isn’t that enticing to lice.

Conditioner combing with a Nitty-Gritty can keep on top of it but unless you’re forensic you’ll miss an egg or two and the bastards will hatch, meet each other and the really dastardly part, only then decide what sex they’re each going to be so they can guarantee reproduction. And they only have to do it ONCE to then lay eggs daily for a month.

Anyway the only fail-safe cure we found was to pay £100s to a proper lice hairdresser who hoovered them out. Bought us a good six months itch-free. But now they’re back and we don’t live near one of those any more 😭

The only way I managed to get rid of head lice when I was younger was to not wash my hair. Sounds grim but nits love clean hair but not unwashed hair. Leave unwashed for a couple of days and then comb them out and they should stay away.
Not helpful as a preventative though but none of the shampoos and things worked to get rid of them, although this was 20 odd years ago so I'm sure they've come on by now 🤣

Yes we have dreadlocks.

Right, so not really what op is describing. You have a specific style, not hair that’s simply left long and knotty while you sit worrying about lice.