Mixed race hair & headlice - help!

[splishsplosh]

Dd's hair is more like her dad's who is afro-caribbean, and she has headlice. She hates anything being done to her hair at the best of times, so it's a nightmare! I've sprayed her with hedrin, but will an ordinary comb get out all the dead bits? I can't imagine it's possible to use a nit comb.

it is totally possible to use a nit comb, splish - you just need to get loads of conditioner on and use a wide toothed comb first (the curved detangling ones are great), then follow with a nit comb.

and if you plait it regularly, it will be much easier to comb through.

Thanks - I'll give it a go. She starts crying that it hurts when I go to touch it, and as for washing her hair.... I was glad the neighbours were away last time, or they'd have thought I was torturing her! She wants chocolate bribes, it's about the only thing that helps!

She does usually have it plaited, but her grandma always does it so I haven't learned to do it - I undid it to sort the nits but combing it is a battle, and with a young baby who isn't keen on being put down much, or sleeping much in the day, it's all a bit of a challenge

how old is she, splish? Won't her grandma teach you to do it? I'm sure that will make it much easier and she will also get used to you doing her hair. my 4 year old loves having her hair done because we usually sit down and watch telly together when we do it! She is pretty good about having it washed and combed through, too (and she has had nits, too) - but this is only because she is now used to it.

She's 3 soon.
I don't know that her gran will teach me - things are a bit strained there at the moment, plus she alwways likes having dd on her own, rather than visiting as a family.

I might ask a friend to teach me instead, but I think I lack the hairdoing gene. I know I need to resolve this, I wish I'd sorted this before having a new baby. It was just easier to leave to her grandma, even she says it takes ages

I have had no experience of afro- carribean hair, but the [[http://www.nittygritty.co.uk/ng/index.jsp?gclid=CMX9rOe4gpgCFYwH3godOy8ADA nitty gritty comb] is the best on the market. You can get it on prescription from the GP.

I agree with lots of conditioner. I would add some drops of Tea oil to the conditioner, put it on thickly over her scalp and leave it overnight if the nits are bad. I would then wash and fine tooth comb the hair in the morning. Otherwise I would fine tooth comb the hair with plenty of conditioner (without leaving the conditioner on overnight) every night until the nits are gone.

Make it a game. At that age my son used to shout "Die! Ants Die!"

Wish I'd known i could get that on prescription, as money is tight at the moment, I bought one as the baby also has them and I can't use hedrin on her, and I used it on my hair too. Can you get hedrin on prescription too?

you just need to practice, splish - start with something simple. If her gran won't show you then watch a friend or a hairdresser. Have a look on the internet too, I'm sure you can find stuff on youtube.

once you've got the basic cornrowing and plaiting technique, you can build up some styles that suit your dd's hair. They don't have to be that elaborate. You won't get it overnight, but it will help if you can do it by the time she starts school - a good style will last a few days or longer and it will be a pain to have to keep getting her gran to do it.

I have no idea if you can get hedrin on prescription or not. Prehaps aqueous cream would work for getting lice out of baby's hair. Does your baby have lots of thick hair? My son had very wispy hair at that age.

It might be worth asking the health visitor.

I've combed baby's hair with conditioner - she does have quite a bit of hair, though she's losing it gradually to cradlecap as the bits peel off, so maybe I won't need to worry soon!

Harpo - yes, it'll be my new year's resolution to become a competent hair doer.

Has anyone tried using mayonnaise on the hair and diluted vinegar to condition it?
I tried it once last week on my dds hair and all the lice comes dead when you comb it with nit comb and the nits apparently gets loosed from the hair if you condition with hair and comes out when you comb.Planning to do it reguralyh and will keep it posted. I have tried all the expensive treatment on the market. As both of these are cheap and chemical free thought I will give it a go.

the nittygritty on mixed hair is a nightmare it ripped mt twins hair when i used it i can use it on my dd's hair cos it is relaxed but not on the twins with there curly hair. Luckily i am a hairdresser so i trimmed all the ripped hair off.A normal nit comb is better for there hair as its less damaging the nitty gritty is great with straight hair this is my opinion.

ds 7 has curly hair. i use the nitty gritty comb on his fine. lots of conditioner first though.

Sorry to hijack but along similar lines I'm guessing if you have dreads you have to cut them off? Is there any way round this?

Both DDs have had lice. DD1 got them first. It was my first experience of them, so I asked the chemist who recommended Full Marks. It worked fine on killing the lice & nits, but the nits were still stuck in her hair (even though I'd also used a nit comb). I found out about the nitty gritty comb on mumsnet, but thought I'd never get it through her hair. It took a lot of conditioner & time but, by only working tiny sections of hair at a time, I got them all out.

DD2 got them a few months later, but by then I'd found out about Delacet. I've got dreadlocks & was terrified of catching lice from the kids, so I'd bought some just in case. Fortunately, I never got lice, but I used it on DD2 & it worked really well. It even removed the nits from her hair. The drawbacks of the product are that it smells quite strongly of vinegar & stains clothing. But, I'd definitely use it again. I'm sure it would work on dreadlocks because it did seem to make the lice detach from the hair shaft. Hope I never have to find out.

Probably know this - the cleaner the hair the more likely to get lice - keep them at bay by applying drop of some oil to hair - they cant stick in the first place!

hi, you should also try the brand Original Sprout, it claims to repel nits the natural way. i use the miracle detangler in the morning. both my kids have never been infested. fingers crossed it stays that way.

I think the nitty gritty is not ideal in this case. I was once recommended to run oil through hair (baby oil) prior to washing and conditioning. This also helps to prevent nits.

splishsplosh I too was crap at plaiting my 2 dds' hair,could never cainrow,sojust put it in 3 plaits (one on the top,and 2 like pigtails.I found the headlice horrendous once they started school. DD2 has quite loose hair which grows really well,and there was a time at primary where she would get them,I would inform school,I would de-louse religiously,only for her to get them again from the same kid whose parent couldn't be arsed didn't sort the problem.

My poor dd had them for two years solid,and she was 7 at the time,so was aware of the embarrassment factor,and was so distressed (I still cry thinking about it), Her hair was waistlength at the time,and it got so bad,I cut it to a jawline bob

It did actually work,she got them 2 more times,and because it was short,I got rid of them quickly,but it was horrendous.

I've been having the same struggle with my 2yo. I find it helps if I put olive oil on her hair a few hours/the night before washing. My SIL swears this drowns the nits - I don't see how it could, but it certainly makes it easier to comb.

After washing, I put on a mix of rich conditioner and detangler, and I DON'T RINSE IT OUT. It was a revelation to me that you needn't rinse conditioner out of african caribbean hair (thanks to the MNetter who put me onto this) but it really works. Then I sit her in front of the TV with a lolly (chocolate doesn't last long enough!) and comb through first with a wide-toothed comb and then with a nit comb.

She hates it. She struggles and cries. But she has only just turned 2. I'm hoping the technique is basically sound and it will get easier as she gets older.

Sammy3, I was interested to read about Delacet. I looked at the link but couldn't work out how to order it. Where do you get it?

Yes,hester's right about the conditioner method...as a mixed race girl,conditioner is your friend...my dd's favourite saying!

Here is the site if anyone is interested.

tightlycurly.com/welcome/