Talk to me about nits.

[MadHairDay]

Having a big problem with said creatures. My 8 yr old dd seems to be constantly getting them. I go through her hair every day with the comb and conditioner, have used special treatments, etc etc, seemingly to no avail as a week later they seem to be back. Does anyone else's dc get them with this regularity? A second problem is that she has pretty severe psoriasis so is itchy anyway and has a very scabby head, sometimes bleeding in patches. Doctor has prescribed hydrocortisone but it's really difficult to apply this to the scalp. Not sure if they are associated but the head lice occurrences have upped significantly since the psoriasis began. Any tips for either/both?

NITMIX

I always recommend this, but I don't think anyone takes notice of me

You use one of them to get the buggers out, then rinse with the other one in water, then use it in a spray bottle daily. I swear by it. Also their extra fine comb I found to be better and easier to use than my other one.
It does seem a lot to spend out, but it really works and is natural not chemical, so IMO/E well worth it.

The nitty gritty comb.

I hate the fact that my kids keep getting them because some parents just ignore them!

The thing is, with using the NITMIX spray solution that you make up, your kids don't get them in the first place. The lice hate the smell, so don't go near your Dc's heads. Simple really...

Thanks Solo, have just read through their site and ordered everything, so here's hoping it works - I am desperate! Will let you know how it works. Thanks for the rec.

You are very welcome. Please do let me know and tell others if you rate it too. I hope you find it as good as I have.

I may give that a go solo I seem to be denitting dd on a daily basis.

It is great fcap. I never recommend anything unless I know first hand that it's good/works etc. Try it, keep up the regime and be head louse free!

To stay nit free, I use tea tree oil. Every mornig,except weekends when there is no school. And it works. Half of his class is full of nits, but we avoided them-
I bought a small spray bottle for 1£ and put tea tree oil, tehn water and every mornig just a very quick spritscccccchhhhhhhhhh and it's done. DS1 has not short hair, and we have had nit once 2 years ago, and I ruined his head skin with all the chemicals in nits products.
Tea tree oil is well known to be an excellent preventing products, not sure if it works for getting rid of them. It is cheap and natural. Doesn't smell very good when you kiss his head....

use a nittygritty comb to get rid of creatures when they arrive. £10 but worth the money as it avoids use of chemicals which you would certainly want to do with Psoriasis. You just need conditioner and patience. But it clears the eggs, the lice and the shells of eggs.

I second using tea tree oil to stop them coming back

Thanks everyone.
Gordon I have been using tea tree products for years now but they're not keeping the buggers away. Her hair is quite long so it takes a lot as well.
Pavlov I have bought the comb from the site solo recommended as well as the other products which I liked the look of because they are more chemical free, as you say the psoriasis means I can't use harsh stuff, so really hoping this stuff works - yes solo will let you know how it goes.

Gordon, the NITIX smells lovely!

Just to commiserate really. My ds has had them twice in the last two weeks, it is costing me a fortune in 'stuff'. He has had them about 6 times in the last 2 months.

I have just done him with Lyclear and the Nittygritty comb, but wonder if he is becoming immune to it. If he gets them again I may try the Nitix Solo recommended, pleast let me know how you get on with it.

Will do Helen. hope this last lot has cleared him, it's such a pain isn't it.

just ordered a nittygritty comb using code BOUNTY get £5 off

DS has just had his first dose of the little buggers which DH dealt with (I refused ) using Full Marks (chemical, I know ) and the nittygritty comb. They disappeared v quickly.

We wash his hair with Faith In Nature's Neem and Propolis shampoo; the smell is meant to deter them too. Obviously not fool-proof since he got them but he's only had them once and has been in nursery/school since 7 mths old so...

Helen - if your DS has had them "twice in two weeks" and "6 times in 2 months" chances are he hasn't he has had them ONCE and they have not been 100% cleared.

In fact it takes 10 days - 2 weeks whatever method you use them to carry out the treatment AFAIK. The chemical treatments require a second treatment after 7 days. And the combing methods all require a minimum of 14 days combing to kill the life cycle.

NITTY GRITTY all the way here.

As far as I can see the NITMIX is no more than a wet combing method with headlice DETERRANTS in the mix (although happy to stand corrected). The Nitty Gritty comb looks like a better comb to me as well.

PerfectPrefect, it is similar to wet combing, except that it is with a mixture of certain oils, not water or conditioner. It makes combing through even the thickest, curliest hair really easy and hassel free(and if your lo's have curls, you'll know how hard that is for them), smells great to us, nasty to lice, leaves the hair beautifully soft and shiney ~ I could go on...I will no longer use chemicals on my children ~ I really don't need to any more. The NITMIX does not kill the lice, but it does clear them with a very fine combe and the smell when you spray daily deters them, they hate the smell. What better way of dealing with them?

Also...I have used a metal lice/nit comb(not a nitty gritty)and it tears the hair, you can see lots of broken off hair in the wash basin or bath when you use it. This is not good for hair either surely? and the nitty gritty looks absolutely evil to me even compared to a normal metal nit comb.

Granted the nitty gritty is a bit harsh - but I don't find it pulls out any additional hairs compared to a plastic fine toothed hairdressers comb - although I do wonder what it is doing to the hair shafts. That said the comb itself makes DDs hair super curly and bouncy - kind of like when you curl ribbon with a pair of scissors.

Personally Iwould never be without my Nitty Gritty which IME is fab for long thick curly hair as the teeth are much longer than a standard comb (about 4cm). But I don't know exactly what the Nitmix comb is.

All I was doing was making the point that NitMix is essentially another variant on teh wet combing (in the same way as Nitty Gritty - which can also be purchased with essential oil treatments) - and that because there is nothing in teh mix to kill lice it still (presumably) has to be done at least every 3-4 days for 2 weeks - the same as any other wet combing method (which is the best way to treat IMO).

The nitty gritty comb is the only thing that really works for us too.
DD2 is at senior school now,and DD3 in yr 6, and I must admit they rarely get them now, at one time it was a constant battle,so it gets easier as they get older and dont spend so much time with heads together.

PerfectPrefect, it sounds like the comb is stretching the hair as you do against the scissor blade to curl ribbon. That will be weakening the hair shaft surely? I'm not knocking it exactly, I wouldn't use it, but each to their own. I just know that what I personally use in my house works for us.

Just received all the Nitmix stuff Solo - impressed at quick delivery, so will be trying it out later. We've just been prescribed more stuff for the psoriasis so hoping she can get clear of both soon, she's miserable with it all.

Well just used the nitmix stuff - wow! Thank you so much Solo - it is brilliant. I only had to use such a little bit to spread all through the hair (and dd has a fair amount of it) and it made it a dream to comb through - and the amount of the critters I got out was pretty scary tbh, I'd thought there wasn't many there at the moment as I'd been religiously wet combing, but this stuff seemed to bring them all out of the woodwork, must have got hundreds of eggs and quite a few live (ewww) ones. Kept going for ages and they were still coming. Am going to put the daily spray on every morning and see how it goes - but wanted to say thanks for the recommendation. It seemed expensive, but actually it will last a lot longer than some of the other treatments out there because it spreads so well.

You are so welcome and thank you because I'm certain that nobody has ever listened to any off my posts of recommendation of it before. Please spread the word and I hope you have many years of louse free hair!