If you have information about new products, e-mail me.

I receive information on a regular basis that is sent to me by individuals in the lice industry - information on new products that someone wants to promote. However, I do not sell any products besides my services and I will not promote anything that I haven't tried myself. If you post a comment that links to your product, I will remove that comment from this blog.

Please, please, please get a proper lice comb!

The solution to dealing with head lice is very simple, but that doesn't mean it is easy. It is easy to say, "Just simply remove all eggs and bugs from the hair" but it is another thing altogether to actually get it done. It requires time and persistence over days or even weeks depending on the magnitude of the problem.

I know that you want to deal with head lice quickly - that's why people purchase the chemical treatments. These treatments claim to deal with head lice in less than a half hour! But, they simply don't work. I'm so sorry - I wish they did, but they don't.

But proper combs are effective. I have seen people spend dollar after dollar on treatments, but they don't want to spend the money on getting a proper lice comb and I don't understand this. Maybe these people think that one comb is just like another or that the comb that comes with the chemical treatment is sufficient. I'm not sure, but I do know that getting a proper comb will drastically cut the time spent on lice removal. And, it is of great value because you can use it again and again for years to come. I have gone to homes where the client is sure they have picked out every egg and bug, and then I take a look and also see no signs of active lice infestation. But then I comb through the hair with a proper metal lice comb and teeny live bugs are found.

So please, do yourself a favour. Get a proper metal comb such as the Licemeister (available in Edmonton at Split Enz Hair, 780-406-8181), the Nit Free Terminator, or the excellent purple dual sided lice comb that is selling so cheaply at Walmart. (The other combs at Walmart - the metal one with the blue handle, the all metal one, or the plastic combs - will NOT do.) Stop buying the chemical treatments and do something that really works. Once you get the right comb, follow the steps for picking lice out of someone else's hair, or the steps for picking lice out of your own hair.

If you have purchased one of these combs, I thank you. If you use it properly and regularly, your neighbours thank you, your kid's teachers thank you, and your co-workers thank you. Well done.

Lice: 1, Nix:0

As I have mentioned in previous posts, ALL of my business comes from people who have already used some sort of lice "shampoo" or treatment with little success. Doctors, pharmacists, and Alberta Health Services almost always recommend a permethrin based-treatment such as Nix or R&C. Once again, I recommend against the use of such treatments, and not just because permethrin is a pesticidal neurotoxin. I recommend against them because, in my experience, they don't work well.

I just came from yet another home that where a treatment was used on the child about 4 days before my visit. The parents thought that they had solved their child's lice problem, but they wanted me to check through the hair just in case.

What about nits (eggs) not right near the scalp?

Nice picture, huh? I like and encourage the reading of a variety of head lice fact sheets from a variety of research centres/universities. While the facts are usually (but not always) the same, they occasionally use different language that helps you understand an issue more clearly.

For example, here's an excerpt from the fact sheet from the Entomology Department of the College of Agricultural Sciences of Penn State University. It is regarding the viability of eggs that are not right near the scalp:

When to call in a professional...

Most of the calls I receive come from people who want to know how to deal with this problem on their own. I am very happy to share all kinds of information about head lice and will do what I can to help you. You don't need a professional and every lice removal "expert" got that way just through experience, which my callers soon get. However, there are times that you might want an in-home visit.

You might want to call in a head lice professional when...

How to deal with your own head lice.

So, you are the one who has head lice. What if you don't have a buddy to help look through your head? If you are on your own, here's what you can do:

Take the time needed to finish the job.

How does my dog remind me of the proper way to deal with head lice? Well...

Beware the physician that makes a commission.

As a lice professional, I am happy to take your money. But I am also the first to tell you that while you may need my advice, you probably don't need my services.

While You Were Sleeping

I love a good bedtime routine. I just finished putting my kids to bed. After a quick teeth brushing and a spot check for head lice, we went upstairs and read a chapter of Judy Blume's "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." Then we said prayers and blessings, gave kisses and goodnights.

And then just before I turned out the light, my youngest daughter just happened to scratch her head.

I said, "Are you itchy, honey?"

She said, "Mom, you don't need to check - it's just that my skin is dry"

I said, "C'mon, sweetie. You know what I've gotta do."

Even if you don't know what to do, do something!

A CPR instructor once told me that a high percentage of serious emergency situations where a first aider is on the scene, the injured or ill person still dies. I found this to be surprising. Then he continued by saying that the deaths didn't occur because the first aider did not adminsiter CPR correctly, but rather because the first aider didn't do anything at all. Many first aiders are so afraid of making mistakes; afraid of getting the ratio of breaths to compressions incorrect, or of doing things in the wrong order, that they remain inactive. The CPR instructor said, "But if the person's heart has stopped, they are technically DEAD. Your imperfect or rusty technique isn't going to make the person more dead. You have nothing to lose by taking some action.

It is the same with head lice.

So it's late and you can't get to the store to get a good lice comb? Use the comb you have and comb the hair that is detangled, wet, and conditioned. You will still be able to get out quite a number of adult bugs this way.

Or grab your blowdryer - warm, fast blowing air kills bugs and eggs.

Or, get in some good light and simply go through the hair, strand by strand. Just like the monkeys do. Look at the root of the hair and the scalp and pick out what you see. Is it eggs or dandruff? Well, dandruff will usually move when flicked, but eggs won't. When in doubt, pick it out. Even with no other tools, your nimble fingers can pick out bugs and eggs faster then they can lay them. If you spend time considerable on this problem and focus your energies on the scalp (and not on housecleaning) you can out run those bugs.

Head lice has been around longer than our tools. We have dealt with them for a long time. You have the ability to get rid of them, or at the very least, get the head lice under control. Get started and do something.