If you can't be with the comb you love, use the comb you're with.

I've recommended specialty lice combs on this blog because combs designed for the task of lice and nit picking - combs with long, rigid, tight metal teeth - save you a lot of time.  But what if you don't have access to an actual metal lice comb?  Grab the comb you do have. If it has teeth that are narrow and close together (i.e. not a hair pick), it can still have some effectiveness. The more rigid the teeth the better. Wet, condition, and detangle the hair. Then start combing.  If  you have large egg-laying bugs on your head, you should still be able to comb out a lot of them out.  This is still progress. Get the better comb when you can but for now, just get busy.

You probably need information more than you need a professional.

Though I am not doing home lice removal services at this time, I am still getting many requests for visits.  As I've said before, a lice removal professional is handy but not a necessity when dealing with head lice.  If you can pay to have someone to clean your home, cook your meals, and dry clean all your clothes, then you probably have enough breathing room in your budget to hire a lice professional.  But, if you, like most of us out there, would rather spend your hard-earned money on almost anything else, then I think you should deal with your head lice on your own.  Or grab a friend to walk this journey with you.  If you ever called me in the days when I was taking calls, you know that I spent most of my time encouraging people to deal with head lice on their own.  I mean, if you choose to hire a head lice professional, you'll still need to do your own checking and combing on a regular basis anyway.  Read articles on this blog, check out the links, and get informed.  Trust that with the right information, you can do this.

Another thing I get frequently asked about is what products I endorse.  While I don't have any connection to particular products, I have good things to say about effective metal lice combs such as the Licemeister and the Nit Free Terminator.  But that doesn't mean that you have to have one of these combs.  I also have good things to say about the generic metal, purple-handled, cheap, dual-sided comb that sells at my local Wal-Mart. It's the comb I use. If you find a metal comb that has teeth that are long, very rigid, and close together, then I'm sure it will have some effectiveness and get the job done over time. 

Lice removal should be accessible, inexpensive, and easy to do.  Don't think that you have to trouble yourself by ordering items from far away, travelling a long distance to get to a lice professional, or spending buckets of money on so-called "treatments".  If you are not a lice expert now, you will be once you read the research and have tried a few days of wet combing. If there are services or products you want to try and you have more than enough money to spend on them, go for it.  But if you are sacrificing your schedule, budget, or sanity to acquire these things, know that they aren't necessary.  Your time might be better spent by grabbing the comb closest to you and getting started on that wet combing.  Your money might be better spent by renting that new movie you've been wanting to see to watch while doing it.