Still finding head lice after treatment and wet combing, any advice?

[BooBoo1988]

Hi All,
Been battling head lice for the first time with my DD since the start of the summer hols - tried the different products you can buy even tried the wet combing method but still finding them - what am I doing wrong?? - any suggestions welcome…

The standard wet combing schedule to clear head lice is to comb on Days 1, 5, 9, and 13, followed by a final check on Day 17.

The Wet Combing Schedule
Day 1: Wash hair, apply lots of conditioner, detangle, and comb through the whole head twice with a fine-toothed detection comb to remove active lice.
Day 5: Repeat the wet combing session to catch any newly hatched lice.
Day 9: Repeat the wet combing session to catch subsequent hatchlings before they mature.
Day 13: Repeat the wet combing session for final removal of late-hatching bugs.
Day 17: Do a final check of everyone's hair to confirm it is completely free of lice.

What comb are you using? I used the Nitty Gritty comb with cheap conditioner every three days.

Hair up all the time.

When DD was in Year 3 we battled all year.

Are you using the right comb? Working in sections so you never put combed hair near uncombed hair? Wiping the conditioner/nit mix off the comb onto kitchen roll between every swipe? Doing that every 3 days to catch any that hadn't hatched yet? Feel for you it's shit. But this always worked for me.

Agree that it’s your combing (probably) are you finding lots or is it just a few? I’m wondering if she is being reinfected by someone after you get rid they do multiply incredibly quickly.

I’ve had success in using Hedrin overnight stuff with the nitty gritty comb, it paralysethem and makes hair super slidey so the eggs come off easily on the comb. Saturate hair, stick a shower cap on for half an hour. Comb through carefully with nitty gritty. Leave to dry overnight and wash off in morning, repeat after seven days to catch any that have hatched from eggs you have missed.

I have multiple dc with thick hair and combing through takes hours so it can only really be done at the weekend.

You have to comb with nitty gritty comb and conditioner every 3 days or so, and keep going until they’re gone. If teeny ones keep appearing, you aren’t combing sufficiently or often enough. If it’s big ones too, she is getting them from someone else. Who has she been playing with over the summer? Dd used to have one particularly grubby friend who had a constant infestation for like years and long hair down to her waist that she never wore back. I refused to invite her over ever, but the nits would be literally leaping off her at school and it was impossible to get rid of them. We once had 9 months of constant combing and re-infestations. 🙈

Nitty gritty comb. Wet and wash hair, apply conditioner. Then comb with conditioner still in. Wash hair. Repeat every two days for two weeks OR every 3 days for 3 weeks. It’s the only way to truly break the cycle as you WILL miss one or two each time. Don’t even bother with the treatments- they don’t work.

Tea tree oil in conditioner applied to wet hair. Then comb. Wipe comb on toilet paper for evidence. Works a treat.

Thank you all, will try the nitty gritty comb as just using a metal one that came with one of the solutions. I think it’s re infestation from a playmate ☹️ Will keep trying with the new comb every 2-3 days and keep you posted! Hair is always up for school, should have stuck to it through the holidays too! Thanks everyone for your input from one tired Mumma and her 9 year old!

I hated the nitty gritty comb so much I binned it. I just use a regular plastic nit comb. My youngest has had nits several times. I always use hedrin, the one that also kills the eggs. I’ve never needed more than one treatment and never seen a live one after treatment.

Nitty gritty cons are the BOMB. They have tiny spirals on them that pull all the eggs off and the lice too. I raised 4 kids and once the lice appeared I wet combed all 4 kids every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday night in the shower. They were gone within 14 days without chemicals and then I just did a weekly thorough comb through. Funny enough just one of my daughters seemed to be a prolific haven for the little buggers and the others barely ever had any. She never seemed to be itchy at all either but I knew if I had just one within an hour of it being on my head. So funny how we are all different.

Don’t forget to wash bedding & towels at 60C at least.
Also treat yourself- it’s possible you’re reinfecting her. Whenever my DC picked up lice, I treated the entire family.

My daughters had them regularly through junior school. They stopped getting them in secondary school. In junior school it was never ending. Nitty gritty is the best comb. Sat them in front of the TV with conditioner on their hair and combed through then put them in the bath. You have my sympathy,I don't mind that. Good luck.

Are you treating the whole family?

Tea tree was the only thing that got rid of them for good at our house, after weeks/months of suffering. Along with regular nit combing.

I then bought some tea tree shampoo and conditioner and in 2 years they've not returned.

Hedrin is the only thing that got rid of my DDs.

Not to freak you out but the eggs can be so tiny you may not catch them for days/ weeks- my son was horrifically prone and we’d spend weeks getting rid of more and more them months later bam- they’re back (I’m so sorry!) The local live clinic said they just seemed to like him (while I silently wept!) He got them twice after that then suddenly- gone!! If you look up the dam parenting podcast they have an episode on lice. It helped just in making you feel there was hope and there was no blame attached.

edited to add we used the comb and Hedrin or lyclear and tea tree behind the ears (diluted as it really can burn ) but I think it’s the combing that does the real job

Oh they're a nightmare. After treatment you need to comb every couple of days for a couple of weeks after in my experience

If your child can cooperate and you have some straighteners, using those “cooks” any leftover eggs so that they can’t hatch. We had one family of twins in DDs class who just would not treat the issue seriously and the whole class was constantly being reinfected but, by straightening DDs hair every weekend, we managed to break the cycle.

get the hedrin spray and leave in overnight and then shower off in the morning

As you rinse , you will see the little dead buggers dropping out!

tried the combing, the shampoo, the conditioner blah nblah blah

hedrin once, overnight. Job done

You have to condition and comb with the nitty gritty at least every 2 days for a couple of weeks usually

I can remember a term/year of having to do this repeatedly at that age. I'd use one of the pharmacy products to start with, then do wet combing every few days until they were gone. She definitely went through a phase of re-catching them which was frustrating. I found there was a sweet spot when the hair was rinsed out after conditioner but still fairly damp when it was best to get them out.