Lice Prevention 

Prevention:

  • Early detection is key- check an area of the head daily.

  • Wear long hair in buns or braids.

  • Avoid physical contact with a person who has lice.

  • Do not share combs, brushes, hats, scarves, and other personal items.

  • Combine tea tree oil with water and spray on hair before and after school.

  • Use a Fairytales preventative shampoo and conditioner.

  • Examine and treat members of your household who have had close contact with a person infected with lice.

Treatments:

  • Purchase the de-louse brush from the pharmacy and use a flat iron (before using the treament from the pharmacy as it is not advised to use heat after the treatment). The heat from the iron will kill the lice and nits. 

  • Purchase treatment kit from the pharmacy (refer to pharmacist for suggestions).

  • All clothing and bedding must be washed and dried on high heat to kill the lice and eggs. To guard against re-infection from eggs that hatch later, toys, such as stuffed animals, should be sealed in plastic bags for two weeks.

  • Do not use a hairdryer on your child’s hair after treatments, some of the treatments contain flammable ingredients. It may take a few days after treatment for the itching to stop. Haircare items, such as combs and brushes, can either be soaked in hot (140 °F) water/medical shampoo, or thrown away.

How to checking for head lice:

  • Work in good light, preferably daylight.

  • Section the hair, and check the full length of each section, working back towards the scalp.

  • Search the entire head, especially the back of the head and behind the ears.

  • It usually takes around 1 minute to find the first louse on an infested person.

  • Eggs more than 1cm from the scalp are likely to be hatched or dead, and do not necessarily indicate an active infestation.

Extra Information:

Head lice are a social pest which do not transmit disease. They live in clean or dirty human hair and are spread from the person to person through head to head proximity or contact. Lice are less often spread through the communal use of hair brushes, combs, accessories or hats. They do not fly or jump they only crawl.

Head lice are small insects (approximately 2-4mm long and 1mm wide), light to dark brown in color, with flat bodies and six legs which end in a claw. Head lice eggs are tiny, hard, yellow to white in color, and are laid close to the scalp. Eggs are attached firmly to the hair shaft, unlike dandruff which can be brushed off.

NOTE:  A license hair professional may not perform services on a client if he/she has reason to believe the client has a contagious condition such as head lice or nits.