Help, nits and very long curly hair.

[ElleLeopine]

Hi, looking for help and advice.
My DD13 has very long curly hair. We have just found lice in her hair. She is very grossed out, as she has sensory issues and ASD, so we are keen to get this sorted ASAP.
I have read lots on here about treatments and combing, but just looking for advice on the best way to tackle her very long hair. Is Hedrin Once the best, and what about the shampoo? And will one bottle be sufficient for all her hair?
And I guess I also need to factor in treating myself and her brother!
I really thought that this had passed us by! Not what I expected or need days before Christmas!

Get a bottle of cheap conditioner, wet her hair throughly and comb through, with a wide tooth comb first til you get the tangles out, then with a lice comb (the nitty gritty is better than the ones that come with products imo). Section hair and comb through til you think youve gotten all the lice, then use the product. Comb through again afterwards. Plait it and repeat the conditioner step every evening if she can bear it and retreat on day 7. As a fella long curly haired person - that works with preschoolers - i feel her pain! My DD only had them once in primary but 3 times so far in secondary!

@MILLYmo0se thank you, that is so helpful!

Please can I ask which product you found most effective? And once you have combed then applied, do you leave it in or rinse out before plaiting?

You can just get rid of them with combing with conditioner. I usually do every other day for a week and then once a week for a couple of weeks to make sure there aren't any left

@Geneticsbunny I want to do belt and braces, as we have an overnight stay with family on Saturday, so we need to be clear by then.

My DD has very long thick hair, I find I could comb for Britain and the buggers would still survive. I use Heddrin Once, you still need to comb through and I treat again a week later but it does clear things quickly. My DD also has sensory issues and wouldn’t tolerate repeated combing - I do a quick comb through on a Sunday just to check her head is clear but that’s the limit she’ll allow.

we did the following with DD
week 1/2-conditioner slathered on every day- thoroughly nit combed through
week 3/4 as above every other day
week 4/5 as above every 3 day
week 6/7 as above every 4 days
After that once a week
Laborious but was effective

Had a similar issue with dd, waist length curly hair. I tried hedrin and another one which I can't remember the name of. Also tried combing with conditioner every other day and still couldn't get rid of them. In the end I treated her with Nit Rid, left it on overnight before washing out and combing (hair in a high bun and a towel over her pillow), repeated a week later and she's finally clear of them

We used Hedrin mousse, left it on for about 8 hours I think and it worked instantly. Repeated it again a week later and nit combed with conditioner a few times too.

This is brilliant advice. I have ultra fine tangle prone but super long hair - and had nit when it was mid thigh length. Best thing is getting the tangles out with conditioner and then moving onto a product for extra help, repeating a week later.

So it seems that the products which are left on overnight work better 🤔?

Tea tree oil conditioner worked for us when DD had them. Every day for a week, followed by twice weekly all the time she was at nursery just to be sure.

Top tip... all that combing... sit her in front of TV... it is excruciating so any distraction good.

I did hte every other day conditioner and it worked but had to do lots of negotiating with DD(similar issues to yours) ... would often have to say just 20 more and count down together, or til the end of this programme...knowing it wasn't quite as thorough as `i wanted but only thing she could do....

Another vote for conditioner and nitty gritty comb. I used to have to do my own very long, curly hair when nits entered the household.

I'd get all the kids clear within 3 days. Send them back to school and a few days later they picked them up again!

I was told, use a whole bottle of tea tree conditioner, slather it on, leave it overnight, comb out in the morning with a proper nit comb. They hate tea tree, leaving it on smothers them and you are likely to get rid of them in one go. Hot wash bedding with some drops of tea tree oil in the rinse cycle

For all those suggesting tea tree conditioner, is there a best one I can use?

I think the people suggesting combing might not have curly hair or it's the easy to brush type!
One of my kids I couldn't do the brushing. She'd have no hair left.
I'm relying on the treatment sorting it and might repeat after a week..

I'm also doing the defence spray.
I was able to pick out some of the little buggers my hand, but easier on blonde hair

Trued everything recently: conditioner, hedrin/ tea tree & nothing worked. Got this product & it cleared them immediately.
Absolutely brilliant & made by a mum!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NitWits-Head-Lice-Solution-120ml/dp/B01J1ZAMTI/ref=ascdff_B01J1ZAMTI/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309940318982&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8081770826149661527&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007850&hvtargid=pla-563798899323&psc=1&mcid=7c58264d1d3337929f7fa7385f885f58&th=1&psc=1

Hedrin. But you do need quite a lot. And to treat everyone. Have you told the school?

With my daughters very long and thick hair I I'm just used a spray bottle of lemon cologne to spritz/dampen her hair and comb through. The smell deters them so it's a good deterrent as well.

Hedrin, the leave-in overnight. Pay special attention to where the hair meets the skin and make sure you go overlap onto the skin there.
Extra behind the ears and nape of neck.

Next day, sit her at a window in daylight.

Get a pair of reading glasses unless you've perfect sight.
Buy a basic plastic nit comb.

Get some big hair clips, and section by section comb each section of hair and clip back the done ones as you go.

Have some white kitchen paper and with each combing, wipe the comb on the tissue. Look for any moving little black things. Sometimes one gets stuck in the comb.
They should all be dead.

You'll find some little patches of eggs close to the scalp. These should come away as well. Note where they are.

Then you can repeat the process in 3 days time.

If there are any live nits left, the new eggs will be laid very very close to the scalp.
Older eggs will have 'grown out' a bit further down.

There's a good chance you'll get them all if you do the first treatment very carefully.

After the follow-up they should definitely be all gone.

I've got rid of them like this a few times.

We've only had them twice in 13 years luckily. Both times I've used the Hedrin on all of us and it has cleared them.
I do also use the tea tree conditioner for a couple of weeks after and as much nit combing as they will tolerate.

@Seaweed42 I assume that before combing you rinse out and slather in conditioner?

Get a Nitty Griitty head lice comb they are really effective at removing head lice.
You can buy from Boots, Asda, Amazon. Prices vary.
My youngest has a very full head of very curly long hair and it was a nightmare when she caught head lice. So relieved she's now an adult.

www.nittygritty.co.uk/site/home.asp

And don’t forget to treat brushes and combs (this is why everyone should have their own)