Hedrin Once Spray Gel - feedback thread NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

This thread is for the MNers who have recently experienced head lice in the family and have tried Hedrin Once Spray Gel to blast those little critters!

Here's what Hedrin have to say about their product, "head lice remedies have traditionally required a second application to kill lice that have hatched since the original treatment - where they were protected in the egg. Hedrin Once Spray Gel has been shown, in a clinical trial, to eradicate the infestation of live lice and the un-hatched eggs with a single application. This removes the need for repeat treatments and laborious combing, making the process of managing head lice easier than ever before.

"Hedrin Once Spray Gel is a silicone-based, skin-friendly non-pesticide formula that is pleasant for children and easy for parents to use. The active ingredient, dimeticone, kills lice by blocking the opening to their air tubes and disrupting their ability to manage water. Its physical method of killing head lice prevents them developing a resistance – a common problem with traditional pesticide treatments. Available in Boots and pharmacies nationwide, Hedrin Once is available in a liquid or spray gel format priced from £7.14 for 60ml".

So if you're a tester we'd like you to add feedback to this thread and complete the survey which we emailed to you.

Please note your comments may be used by Hedrin in marketing material, on their website and possibly elsewhere.

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age
2. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?
3. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?
4. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?
5. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought
6. How effective has this product been?
7. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

All selected testers who add their feedback on this thread and complete the survey form will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck (with everything )

MNHQ

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

Adult Mum, chikd aged 4

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

She's had them twice before this-the joys of little girls with long hair....

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

Really easy, was all on within five minutes

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

Much better than what I've used before. Smell much less offensive. This product was oilier/greasier but more effective so I didn't mind that.

1. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought

She wasn't keen but then she isn't keen on any headline products. She preferred it to the last brand we used and is very pleased that 'my itches have gone'

1. How effective has this product been?

very effective, the lice have gone.

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

Absolutely-yes!

Dd age 8
She has had head lice on and off over the last year, can't seem to get rid
The gel spray was so easy to use, much better than the ones you have to drop on trying not to get it everywhere, only took 5-10 mins
Much easier than other products, it sprayed in small areas so easy to get behind the ears etc
It was hard to get out, I don't think I used enough shampoo the first time, in the morning after the treatment, I used a whole bottle of cheap hotel shampoo and it came out that time, and dd had lovely shiny hair
Dd didn't say anything about it, although she loved sitting there whilst I massaged the shampoo into her head, she loves a head massage!
I think it has worked, no more itching, and when I combed with a nit comb, there was nothing there except a few stubborn eggs that were harder to comb out. I need to comb again in a day or two to check, but I am really pleased so far. If it really is a once only treatment, I will definitely use it again, as I hate having to go through the whole palaver a week later!

Myself and dd 21 months
First time having head lice
Was easy to use, but the bottle was too small and fiddly to use and the spray nozzle too small. Didn't take too long to apply, did it when dd was in the bath, so just a few minutes.
Compared to other products, no horrible smell which is great for small children and toddlers.
Dd didn't like the spray being used, but hates having her hair done anyway. Too little to comment.
Will find out in the next few days how effective it's been.
If it works would use again, but would like to see a bigger bottle and bigger nozzle please
Otherwise great great product and thank you for letting us use it

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

female 50. Male 22 . male 8

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice? no , sadly ..... younger one keeps getting re-infected
2. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel? Easy to use ,took about 20 mins for all of us
3. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past? comparable to Hedrin once which weve used before , but not a as easy to remove.
4. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought. child hates having headlice stuff, but didnt complain any morethan usual . older adults found it fine to use.. I thought the gel better
5. How effective has this product been? Weve only just done it , will report back later inthe week
6. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

So far, yes. ..

Treated DS aged 7, dd aged 5 and DS aged 4.

Prior to this year none of them have had it, this year they had a bad case in February and have just got it again. I've used the nitty gritty comb and the hedrin 8 hour treatment.

Applying it was fine, really quick for the boys as their hair is shorter. I did apply liberally to nuke the sods. The children didn't mind having it applied and sat still ok. It took about 5 mins for the boys and 10 mins for the girls. I put a towel on their shoulders to catch the drips.

It compared really well, really quick way to get on top of them. I've kept combing to catch any stragglers. I found the leave in treatment quite greasy so prefer this.

I found dry shampooing it out a bit tricky, boys were ok but it 2 goes with dd so it was a bit greasy for a day. But it worked so it's a small price to pay. I would use it again, it's great for blitzing them.

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

Daughter, 5 Son, 8 Son, 9

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

Too many times to count.

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

They all have thick, long hair (even the boys) so it took a fairly long time. The spray worked well to get coverage though.

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

I usually wet comb which hasn't got rid of all of the eggs every time. I'm hoping the Hedrin Spray has nuked the lot but too early to tell as yet.

1. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought

A bit of moaning but not much. No smell so that was good. They were not happy about how long it took to get the gel out (even using buckets of shampoo first as directed).

1. How effective has this product been?

Will let you know.

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

Yes, if the lice don't come back over the Easter holidays.

We treated my husband and daughter who is 3 yrs old. They don't seem to like me, might be to do with hair dye???

My daughter picked them up within 3 months of starting school. When I told my husband she had them he announced that he must have them too as he had bites!! We used hedrin 4% lotion, which we were very very impressed with. We applied it, left it on all night and washed out the next day, brilliant! However, despite informing all her friends parents, she had caught them again 3 wks later, hence us trialing this new hedrin spray product.

The spray was really easy and quick to apply, we left it on for about 1hr just to make sure and on following the instructions to the letter, it washed out fairly simply.

We have only used hedrin 4% lotion before and we thought that was amazing, but this being just one application, and such a quick fix, beats the hedrin lotion hands down. Saying that I would more than happily use hedrin lotion if it was the only one available at the time. I love the fact that neither of them smell, it makes the whole process much more bareable, and you don't feel like you are entoxicating the whole family.

My daughter didn't mind it at all. We just put a Disney film on and she was engrossed in that.

It seems to have been very effective, my husband has had no more bites and I haven't found more in my daughters hair since.

I would definitely use it again! I love the fact that within an hr of finding a little blighter, the whole family can be treated, washed up and nit free, without ever having to think about it again! (Until the next time lol) it takes all the stress and angst out of catching them, I will definitely be keeping a bottle in the house at all times!

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

My 7 year old daughter.

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

This is the first time she has had headlice.

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

Application was very easy. It look 5 minutes to apply the gel and it was easy to see that all of the hair was covered. We the shampooed the hair from dry thoroughly and then rinsed and dried. Not all of the product was removed so I repeated the process. The whole process lasted 35 minutes.

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

I had tried unsuccessfully using a nitty gritty comb and combing daily. The Hedrin worked first time to clear all of the eggs and lice. It worked like a dream.

1. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought

My daughter was so relieved that the gel would put an end to the endless combing so she was very happy with the product.

1. How effective has this product been?

The product was extremely effective and cleared all eggs and lice with one treatment. A miracle cure!

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

Yes! I spotted the product in my local chemist and will be buying if we have another infestation.

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

Me Female 30's Daughter Female 7 Son Male 8

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

No we've all had headlice more than ten times

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

Using the spray got a bit tiring, woukd Have much preferred a shampoo type bottle as to cover the head in enough of the ointment took so many sprays that my finger hurt and took too long. You have to massage it in and work it through anyway so the spray is cumbersome and annoying. Probably took about ten minutes to apply it to each person.

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

Quicker than the condition and comb method but ineffective so pointless.

1. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought

They moaned about the smell and the sticky feeling that remained even After washing.

1. How effective has this product been?

Ineffective.

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

Only out of desperation.

You need to put in the leaflet about whether the product will effect dyed and coloured hair.

Head still feeling itchy so going to re-do my treatment. Have very long curly hair, so thinking maybe I didn't apply enough? hope it works second time round.

Myself and dd aged 8 both used the product. Easy to apply and the gel consistency meant it was easy to see where had been treated whilst not dripping everywhere. All live and eggs seem to be eliminated when used in conjunction with nitty gritty comb.
No strong smell which was good!
Had problems completely washing the gel out. It took two thorough washes to get rid of the gel satisfactorily.

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

DD aged 9.

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

Not the first time, but the first time in a very long time.

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

Spraying it on, about 5 minutes, was very easy, till you got low in the bottle and had to do funny angles to get the spray to work properly.

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

I used the hedrin bottled stuff last week, which ran a lot more than the spray did.
And was oddly left a pink scum in the bath when washed out, this one didn't.
At least this time DD didn't end up with it in her eyes

1. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought

No comment from DD! So assume it was ok.

1. How effective has this product been?

So far so good, not seen any little critters yet.

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

Yes probably, it was fairly quick and easy in application.
Though like others have said, it's a sod to wash out.
Four washes in total to get it out, which kinda defeats the quick and easy bit.

Used it earlier this week. Dd aged 6 said it smelt funny. I've used most other products on the market. it was easy to use and I only used one bottle so it goes quite far, dd has medium length hair. Dd's hair still looks a bit greasy after washing it all out though. But went through it with the nit comb and only dead nits came out. Happy to see no eggs left. Will check again in a few days and possibly use 2nd bottle later in the week.

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

Both my daughters, aged 9 and 6.

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

No - my youngest is a nit magnet and has had them several times since starting school and shared them with us!

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

It was quick and easy to apply - I think spraying it on makes it easier to apply evenly. However, I did somehow manage to get some on the surrounding floor despite following the instructions to spray from around 10cm away from the hair.

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

I (and the children) found it much better to only have to leave it on for a short time, and also not require a follow up treatment, as usually the girls make a big fuss about the process.

1. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought

While they still complained a little they were much happier to know that their suffering would be over quickly!

1. How effective has this product been?

Some dead lice washed out and I haven't found any live once since, though have had to comb the hair to get rid of eggs. I did have to wash their hair twice before it looked shiny again though, despite applying lots of shampoo before water the first time.

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

We would use it again, it's a much more painless process than other methods I've tried.

I had an awful allergic reaction to Dimithicone which is in this product over the xmas 2 years ago, my head was the size of a football, I can't use anything containing it now or i get a horrible reaction

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

Myself - 30

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

Second time in adult life.

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

It took a while due to having a lot of hair! Maybe 25 minutes.

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

It was more pleasant, didn't smell profuse and was easier to use.

1. How effective has this product been?

It's been fantastically effective and I'm very pleased.

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

Yes without a doubt.

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

My daughter (5), somehow I've managed to avoid them this time.

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

No, she's had them once before.

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

I found it very easy to use. My daughter hates it when I do her hair, but the process was quick and easy (it took less then 10 minutes to ensure her hair was covered) and there were no complaints.

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

I loved the fact that it worked so quickly. I'm a full time working single parent and often come home late/leave home early, so the time saving was brilliant. Also loved the fact it didn't have a particularly strong smell. The only downside was that despite washing twice and applying shampoo to dry hair, it was difficult to wash the product out thoroughly.

1. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought

My daughter was happy with how easy the process was.

1. How effective has this product been?

I think it's worked really well. No sign of anything when I wet comb her hair. Success!

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

I would, it was quick, easy and painless. And it worked.

Son age 9

First ever episode of headlice was October last year. Have struggled to get rid of them on and off ever since. Feel like I've been fighting a losing battle and my son is completely fed up with the nitty gritty comb.

Very easy to apply the gel, only took a minute or so to spray in and massage through. Left it 20 minutes before washing off. Used three lots of shampoo to remove the gel.

No easier to use although when using other treatments I have combed through with the nitty gritty afterwards. This time I just washed it off and hoped for the best.

Son preferred the treatment because I didn't have to use the comb immediately afterwards.

I've waited almost two weeks after applying the gel to give my feedback as I wanted to be sure that it had worked. I would say that it has been extremely effective. Two days after using the gel I used the nitty gritty comb to get rid of any thing that was left in his hair.

A week after that and I have just put on some conditioner and thoroughly combed my sons hair and have found it to be completely clear for the first time since October.

Based on my experience of trying the gel I would use it again.

Update: have just done this weeek's comb through and the kids are lice free for the first time in weeks. Delighted and impressed!! Thank you Hedrin. Once will definitely become my go to product in future.

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age -

Two daughters age 9 & 11

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

No, they've had it countless times since starting school :(

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

Easy to use and apply. Took about 6 mins each.

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

I liked it, being a gel didn't drip all down the neck or into eyes.

1. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought

Well they didn't moan as much as usual!

1. How effective has this product been?

Still keeping fingers crossed!

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

Yes, definitely in preference to anything else.

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice?
Me: Female, age 35, lots of hair.
DH: Male, age 37, not much hair.
DD1: Female, age 14, lots of hair.
DD2: Female, age 10, lots of hair.

2. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?
Nope, they are part of having children of school age, although hearing how frequently some kids get them, we've been quite lucky really.

3. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?
It was quick and easy to apply. DH took just a few minutes, the rest of us took about 5 minutes each for a good covering (we do have lots of hair, thick and long). I didn't think 2 bottles would be enough but DH has much shorter hair so it was just the right amount.

4. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?
The smell was minimal, which for me was great. It was quick and easy to apply and if it's true about not needing a reapplication I'll be very happy indeed.

5. Did your child like the gel?
They both said it was fine, no moaning at all.

6. How effective has this product been?
I think it has done the job. It's the school holidays here so chances of being reinfected are slim. I'll re-post in a week.

7. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?
Yes, it's quick and easy. I've always been a fan of wet combing, tea tree oil etc. but sometimes you just have to kill them all in one go and Hedrin seems to do the job really well.

Thanks for picking us to test and for delivering so promptly. I wouldn't have liked waiting for the product to arrive knowing there were nits in the house so I nearly didn't bother signing up, but the next day delivery was brilliant!

It did make the shower base and bathroom floor a bit slippy, so something to be aware of. But that could have been my fault for missing the girls' heads when spraying.

1. Who in your family is being treated for head lice? Please include gender and age

Daughter aged 4

1. Is this the first time they've had head lice? If no, how many times have they had head lice?

yes

1. How did you find the application process for the Hedrin Once Spray Gel? How long did it take to apply and use the spray gel?

was frustrating to get child to sit still while you spray

1. How did Hedrin Once Spray Gel compare to other treatments you've used in the past?

greasy residue and wasn't the best smelling.

1. (if you used it on your child) Did your child like the gel? Please say what they thought

She got bored during application

1. How effective has this product been?

Seems to have worked however.

1. Would you use this product again if you or your child had headlice?

I think I would probably use a different product but thanks for giving my family the opportunity to try Hedrin.

Place marking.

mnhq I think I deleted the email with the survey link in it, can you send it again please?