Nits - what works best??

[grace11]

There are nits going round my DD’s class. We’ve never had them before - my other DD is 12 so no idea how that’s happened. I got some Lyclear shampoo in and a nitty gritty comb.

On Friday I thought I saw two - and then discovered they were bits of leaf 😆 but decided to do try the treatment anyway. Well, since then, I feel like I’ve opened a can of worms/nits. For those seasoned nit killers (and esp with children with long thick hair), please can you clarify a few things:

Do these nit treatments actually work - if so, which one is best? Seems the current thinking in the US is that nits are immune.

Combing - I can’t even get that nitty gritty comb through my DD’s hair. How on earth do you do it with long think hair? The videos I’ve seen so far have kids with fine medium length hair which I can see is no problem.

Process - So if I see them, I’m thinking to do this: treat us all with a nit treatment. Comb through with a normal comb. Rinse then use the combing technique (if I can ever do it) after. Then use the combing technique every few days and reapply treatment as instructed then comb again every few days for another week. Does this sound okay?

Combing technique - to do this, I understand you apply thick conditioner root to tip to sectioned hair. You rinse/wipe the comb after every go on the hair. I have read it’s best to apply conditioner on dry hair. Is this right?? If this is the case, I’d have to dry the hair off after the treatment shampoo which is a pain.

Any other thoughts/tips insight??

Thanks everyone!!

Ok, I can only recommend about nit-combing.

When your child's hair is wet, apply conditioner. Comb through with a normal comb first; then apply more conditioner and comb through with a regular nit comb; finally, comb through with nitty gritty (if you can). Nitty gritty is great at getting nits out but can be really hard to get through hair. If you find nits/lice, you need to keep combing every three days until there is no sign of any (and then probably once more for luck).

Hedrin Once has worked for us. I think it smothers them so they can't become immune to it.

Oh and when your children get home from school, brush their hair over the bath. Adult lice will sometimes drop out (thus not laying any more eggs in your child's hair).

Condition and nit comb every day until clear for 2 weeks, don’t use products, they are crap.

O and wash all bedding until your clear too.

Loads of conditioner plus nitty gritty. Lyclear shampoo was my go to. For ‘maintenance’ you can always use hair straighteners once a week - the heat kills ‘em!!

You need to destroy the life cycle of the lice. Don't bother with any insecticides. Buy the cheapest conditioner you can (it makes the hair slippery, you don't want a nice conditioner that soaks in). Then nit comb at least every other night for two weeks. Every night in the bath is best if you've got time..

You're aiming to remove the big grown up live lice, break the legs of the teenage lice and make the hair too slippery for them to get enough grip to lay an egg, and remove the latest eggs before they hatch. The life cycle is two weeks.

Thanks everyone! I did a thorough check through last night with the nit comb. Managed to get it through by washing first, combing it with a normal comb and then using loads of clips to section it and applying conditioner. Nothing came out thank god - for now.

Any views on the conditioner going onto dry or wet hair? Heard the nits can cling onto wet hair or something

Wet. You want the hair to be as slippery as you can get it! They hang on tight!

This is the only thing that has worked for me