Most effective treatment for head lice?

[LolaLadybird]

Three weeks into the new term and DD has a new infestation - so annoying as we manage to stay nit-free during the hols and then once she's back at school, we start all over again. Until now I have been a fan of the chemical-free route and have been using one of those nit-free combs with conditioner, however we've been doing it every other night for a week now, being really thorough and are still combing out new ones. Is this normal or does it mean we're not being thorough enough?

Also, I'm wondering if I need to admit defeat and buy some chemical-stuff - if so, what would you recommend for being most effective/least unpleasant?

TIA.

Before you go down the chemical route I'd recommend trying Delacet, a 'flower extract' made from larkspur, available from health food shops, made by Healthpol - www.delacet.co.uk . It stinks and it's green, so one for the weekend. Get some of those cheap shower caps - you put it on dry and leave for 3 hrs. You can put some diluted in a spray bottle for inbetween too.
It makes sense that there's a plant that is toxic to nits - iyswim!

You need a nitty gritty comb and lots of conditioner.

Nyda from pharmacy. Very effective one go kills all lice & eggs.

Thanks for your comments. Am already using the nitty gritty comb so think we may try the Nyda stuff (or similar) as at least no chemicals.

Sorry I thought you were open to chemical options. Nyda is something chemically but blinking good. Seriously thinking we should have a national zap the nits day.

Hi Munster -wrong turn of phrase on my part, chemicals are fine but didn't want to go down the insecticide route. So Nyda good because it has a 'physical' action (ie. drowning the nits) rather than poisoning them. Can you tell I've been doing a lot reading on this??

A tip I got from on here was get a spray bottle and add water with a few drops of lavender and tea tree oil and spritz in the morning before school. We' ve not had return visitors since doing this.

It sounds to me like your DD is picking them up again in between combings. When my DD had them two combings got rid of them and now I comb every week to be sure. The nitty gritty gets the eggs so combing should clear them if done thoroughly. Annoying little critters aren't they?

I use Derbac M and a nitty gritty comb, then wet comb with conditioner to remove any eggs that got left behind just in case for a few days.

My brother worked with young rough sleepers in London for years and he told me that the staff at the hostels thought the best product was Derbac M. For the youngsters AND for the staff, as they used to get them regularly like teachers do.

Rinse through with vinegar and comb. Only thing that worked with me after trying everything else.

We have had the little blighters... we used TeaTree conditioner and the nitty gritty comb, and although it did take a few days to get rid of them, they haven't been back since.We comb at least once a week.
Quite like the idea of the spray though.. might investigate that !

Be carefully using tee tree oil on a regular basis, it will dry the scalp out and cause dandruff. Good for short term use, but take care if you use it on a regular basis.
Personally I just zapped the little bugs with Derbac M, worked a treat. Then on a regular basis I comb throught my daughters hair (which is quite long) with a plastic nit comb using lots of conditioner. Havent found any return of the bugs, but her hair is in lovely with all the conditioner!

Nitty gritty comb, I haven't used a lotion etc in years. I just comb through thier hair once a week to check and if I find anything I comb through every day until I get nothing for a few days. Ds had them yesterday and I cleared him completely (his hair is very short, about 1cm long) and light blonde so very easy to spot anything. I check through by hand too, searching the hotspots for eggs (nape, behind ears and bobble areas with the girls).

We managed to get through the whole of last year with no nits at all, then this year they were in 2 days and dd1 came home with them, cleared her then 2 weeks later she had them again, cleared her again and then ds yesterday grrr.

You can tell how long they have had them by the amount of adult lice vs eggs, each adult lays about 6 eggs a day. So if you find 1 adult, no babies and only a few eggs you have caught it within the first day, if loads of both it's been a few weeks.

Tea-tree oil really doesn't get rid of nits or lice, it just smells like it might! I strongly recommend the Delacet - see my link above. It's natural, plant based but toxic to insect life.
Combing is a real pain for everyone and depending on type of hair, easy to miss one (pg) louse - and it only takes one to re-colonise!

Thanks everyone for you help - only just discovered there had been more posts on here since I last posted (it had disappeared from my I'm On list).

Beta - how much do find you need? DD has a chin length bob but her hair is very thick. Reading the wesbite, it seems like we might only get one or two goes out of a bottle and if she keeps getting re-infected it could cost us a fortune!