Sandra Scratches Her Head:
I’m having a lice problem, I just wanted to know what’s the most effective way to kill lice and nits and not dry or damage my hair in the process?? Thanx!!
The Left Brain‘s Louse-y Reply:
Sorry to hear about your lice infestation problem, Sandra. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty common problem. There are many other parasites that I’d prefer to have! But before I talk about a cure, here’s a bit of background for those of you who may not be familiar with this problem:
Head lice are tiny crawling insects about the size of a sesame seed or smaller. They have six clawed legs that they use to crawl over your hair; they cannot hop, jump, or fly. Lice lay eggs, also known as Nits, which they glue to individual hair shafts. Lice live only on humans, not pets, and (here`s the best part) they FEED ON HUMAN BLOOD!
The good news is that there several Over-The-Counter drug products that are effective against lice and nits. The bad news is, these products contain isopropyl alcohol which can dry your hair. There are “natural” lice cures but there is little or no data to prove these are effective. The safest and most sure way to get rid of lice and not damage your hair is to use a lice comb, but this is a very extremely tedious process.
Recently, there was a study done by researchers at the University of Utah in which they created a steam cleaning device (a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a hair dryer) to kill lice. This could prove pretty interesting.
Which treatment method is best for you? Rather than recount all the pros and cons of each method here, we’ll point you to Head Lice.org for a very through question and answer page that you should find helpful. And if you do decide to use the lice-killing shampoo please make sure you follow that with a good conditioner to counteract the drying effects of the alcohol. Good luck!