Itax headlice treatment feedback

[carriemumsnet]

Hi all

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to test out Itax a new non-chemical programme of head lice lotion spray (2 treatments per bottle RRP £11.99) and soothing 'anti-itching' shampoo (150ml RRP £9.99).

If you weren't one of the volunteers for the product trial, but have already bought and used Itax, please feel free to add your thoughts too.

So, what did you think of it? What was it like to use and did it work? How did it compare to other nit treatments you had used (if any) ?

Everyone who offers feedback will be entered into a prize draw to win Avène Sensitive skincare products for adults and Klorane hair products for children worth over £50.

It's Ok. You can stop scratching now

MNHQ

seems silly to have it in a spray bottle, took ages to apply
smell was strong but not too bad and went as it dried
seemed to kill a few lice but why do we need to kill them when we can comb them out live

didn't come with a comb so used my nitty gritty

shampoo seemed quite good
left hair quite soft

I wouldn't buy it
I'll stick with conditioner and combing

Found it easy to use here, I was slightly wary with Ds as he does suffer with ezcema but he had no reaction to it.

DD's hair is very long and thick, so I did find a couple of live lice left, but I didn't over soak her hair as I needed to have enough left for the second application.

Shampoo was great on DD's hair, left it very silky and shiny, with harly any tangles.

Ds's hair is very short,so was very easy on his hair.

Did the second application, and still nit free. Long may it last

I would use it again as it did what it said, other treatments we've used haven't.

I need to use it on myself. Can you use it whilst breastfeeding? The instructions don't really say anything about contraindications and everything else is in French! Other lice treatments advise not to use whilst breastfeeding and just wandered if this was the same? or is it safe because it's non-chemical? cheers

OK, I have finished with the trial treatment of Itax, so, fwiw, here is my feedback:
DD (8) has been incubating the motherlode of all nit infestations since the summer holidays. I have tried a combination of Hedrin and nit combing, and masses of normal conditioner and nit combing.

Everytime I think we've cracked the problem, they always reappear. I used Itax about 10 days ago. We didn't like the lotion's smell - a bit like paint stripper - made me (asthmatic) feel a bit wheezy. DD said it stung her head. I tried it on mine. There was an initial sting which wore off.

The spray is very quickly absorbed into the hair, so it makes it difficult to know how much you should use. (I used loads). The first time I left the spray on for an hour, then combed it out. 7 days later I left it on overnight. DD's hair was lovely and soft the next morning, but there was a live louse in her hair!

The shampoo is really nice and gentle and has a pleasant smell- don't like the fact it says on the box something along the lines of: 'for scalps that have been irritated by nit lotion.' Ouch.

Anyway, the bottom line is, you still have to comb the nits/lice out of the hair - dead or not. As of last night, DD was nit-free, after applying the Itax and then combing her hair out for about an hour. However, she is back to school today....

In my opinion, there is probably no substitute for elbow grease, a good nit comb and a weekly inspection.

Thanks for trial.
i found the spray easier to apply than any lotion that rolls down neck, into eyes and anywhere other than hair. Strong smell although no where near as awful as pure neem oil! I presume this is a similar silicone preparation to hedrin.
Shampoo very pleasant.

still not got mine despite email saying i had been selected have actually been out and bought nit stuff now too so wont be able to use it till next outbreak!!!!!

Similar results to Merrylegs. DD complained it stung (but she is a moaner at the best of times). Odour was quite harsh, but doesn't linger. Liked the shampoo. DD's hair ceratinly seems softer and in better conditon that it has been for a while ( but we haven't been swimming for a few weeks so it may be the lack of chlorine). Seems to have cleared any nits and the shampoo seems to have improved the exzcema behind her ears (or again may be association with the lack of chlorine exposure).

However she is back at school tomorrow so we shall see what the future holds .

Verdict - better than most brands I have tried, but still prefer the old drown em in cheap conditioner and rip them out with a nitty-gritty comb!

really stinks but works well.Shampoo is nice and ds hair looks all glossy today.There was no comb with mine I used the nitty gritty

Typically, seems like our last treatment pre the samples arriving did the trick. However have used the anti-itch shampoo on both DD and myself, as altho no nits, head still itched.

First attempt i didn't read the instructions and didn't find it did much good. Second attempt i followed instructions (there's an idea!). Definitely stopped the itchiness.

You don't need very much shampoo to get good lather going. Not that keen on the smell, wouldn't say it stinks, just not that nice for shampoo.

The smell was very strong and pungent but it certainly killed the lice, not sure i would use it again, as dd1 complained that it stung, dd2 whinged at the smell and the tea tree shampoo and tea tree conditioner method is as effective really and much cheaper. Oh and i didn't recieve a comb with mine.
Can someone tell me what a nitty gritty is please

I found the spray easy to use and the smell not too bad considering (has to smell a bit weird to work doesn't it? . I think you still need a decent comb though, I used my nitty gritty and definatively got out some dead ones. The shampoo again was ok, massive bottle though, it might be cool just to have a sachet or two included in with the lotion like you get in hair dye packets. Over all, great for zapping them dead but best combined with a decent comb like nitty gritty.

Agree with a lot that has been written here. The spray was easy to use and v easy to comb through. Like the fact it only has to be left on for one hour and we liked the post-treatment shampoo - but - there wasn't enough for two applications for my daughter's lucious long locks, so we can't re-do next week. We didn't receive the comb but I can't imagine anything being superior to our nitty gritty. It certainly killed the bugs off after one hour - but as we've used it all up, we will have to use another product for the second application.

no comb recieved here either.

No comb so I used the Nitty Gritty. Smell wasn't too bad and it did work. The shampoo left dd's hair soft ans shiny. No nits found after the second application. I don't think I would buy it as I'm happy to use the conditoner and nitty gritty comb method.

similar experience here.
no comb in my pack so used the generic one i got from teh chemist.

It left Dd's hair looking very shiney and lovely. but there wasn't enough to do us all so only did her hair...did myself and DS with the usual.

Tbh i can't tell if it works any better or worse than any other method. and crikey its expensive

I didn't recieve my Itax at first, but after getting in touch it soon arrived. I too had no comb.
I found the lotion was easy to apply, a bit smelly but didn't take long for the smell to die down. My daughter was a bit ichy and I found a egg, so used the lotion left it on for an hour then combed through in the bath didn't find any headlice though.
The lotion did make it easier to comb though the hair. The shampoo was ok, didn't seem to do a lot until the second application hair was shiny and soft in the moring, but wonder if it is really needed rather then your usual one? I used a bug buster comb with the wide teeth first then the nitty one. I usually just do the bug busting comb though with cheap value conditioner.
I think for the price of the product I will still stick with my usual method!

right I got my Itax the other week, so just needed to wait for DD to catch lice again.. which in true school form she came home with them today! ( I believe this is the only time i have looked forward to the little critters!.

DD has very very thick wavy hair and applying lotion ( usually full marks) take ages and I tend to splodge it everywhere... So I loved the spray and found it covered her hair more evenly and more effectively.

Although I do question the amount you get in the can, maybe this could be made larger.

DD who normally moans like a trooper when having lotion applied was quite happy watching telly as I sprayed away.. It did smell quite strongly of Isopropyl but that soon went away.

I liked the fact that you left it on for an hour.. as it gave DD a break and I had chance for a coffee.. But if I wanted to zap the buggers quickly I wouldn't be using it.

I also didn't get a comb.. so instead of using the nitty gritty which I normally would do.. I tried it out with a normal cheapy nit comb. Got a fair few dead lice out and eggs also came out.

I still need to do the second treatment in 7 days.. but all looks pretty clear to me.

Now the shampoo I loved.. it really did sooth DD itchy head.. smelt fresh and It only took 2 applications to get the spray out. after drying, her hair was reasonably conditioned and tangle free..

so after the first treatment I would give the spray 8/10.. only issues for me was the quantity in the can and that it's not a quick treatment if that's what your looking for.

I would give the shampoo 10/10 I loved it.

I asked DD(5) what she thought.. she prefered it to full marks treatment and to the condition comb method ( which i do intend to keep ontop of).

Noone has been able to answer my question about whether ITAX is safe to use whilst breastfeeding (not literally of course!) Any ideas?

I received two bottles of both (should I be confessing that )

DD has very thick curly hair and spray didn't seem big enough for two applications.

Smell was bearable have smelt fouler nit treatments.

Only complaint my dd had was the shampoo seemed to make her scalp a bit flaky but may have been from the spray??

Pleased to say that she seems to be nit free at present so generally a thumbs up in our house!

well, i am mildly impressed.

the spray, though smelly, was easy to apply and work through the hair. the shampoo used afterwards, well it needed two or three applications to get the spray out, but left the girls hair very soft and shiney.

I'm not sure i would pay for this treatment, as it is pricey, especuially as the spray is only two applications which covers one child for a full treatment.

was also surprised to find that not even a basic comb was included in the pack. i used my nitty gritty comb for this.

Thanks for letting us trial this.

i still have not recieved my product MHHQ but i had an email saying please leave feedback so i think i was definately meant to get some to trial!

Thanks for including me in this. i actually had to use it on myself as well as dd, yes I know there is no shame. I found the shampoo ok but the lotion did the business. Really good although quite labourious with the spray. I used the nitty gritty comb to pull through. I found the smell pretty inoffensive.

We received ours, but havent managed to get invested yet to try it