Nits

[Cathie!]

Having just been through the weekly ritual of nit combing in the bath with loads of conditioner, I was wondering what the professional's take of getting rid of the dreaded nits (other than bringing back the nit nurse and sending infested kids home until they were clear) is?

Would you recommend the potions and lotions you can buy from the chemist or do you recommend the conditioner and nit comb method.

I have tried nitty gritty but that stuff is so hard to wash out when you are dealing with 4, 5, 6 year olds!

I have also heard that if you slather your child's hair in gel the nits aren't so happy to transfer heads.

Advice welcome as nits are endemic in my kids' school!!!

 

[Lavender-blue]

Tea tree oil mixed in with your shampoo should keep nits at bay.
Someone the other day said that vinegar gets rid, but personally I havent tried vinegar, but I suppose its worth a go.
My opinion though is t tree.
hth xx

 

[loubylou]

Yep gel or hairspray works at keeping them at bay because they cant walk around the scalp as easy as they can in clean hair, the tree tea oil trick works too

 

[Arianne 5]

Always spray my girls hair with tea tree oil before they go to school so far so good. There are always kids with head lice always the same ones in my kids school . My girls have both got long hair always tied up and warned not to take it out DARE THEY bless them:lol:

 

[Snugglepuss]

I think nits are rife all over the country Cathie

My friends 8 year old boy has had nits 5 times in the past month - he had long thick ginger hair - she was advised if possible to always use the comb and conditioner method as the potion and lotions are (allegedly) a a type of insecticide.

Luckily for me my littleuns have not caught them yet but, as I am quite vigilant in checking them I would firstly use the conditioner and comb method BUT if they were infested then I would go for a lotion and potion

 

[Arianne 5]

:lol: :lol: Made my head itch now:lol: :lol:

 

[hotnailz]

Yea, I'm scratching too now...ugh Though I've got only boys, my friend gave me a tip that seemed to work for her. Once you've got rid of the little blighters (the nits, not the kids) and if your girls have got long hair, part it in the middle and put it into 2 tight plaits. (or 1 tight French plait if older).
She said the nits are less likely to infest tightly pulled hair. I'll pass on your messages of "that's b/s" to my mate, but she swears by it!!

 

[The Geek]

The best solution all around for preventing pediculosis is the Yul Brenner.

 

[BABSann]

The best solution all around for preventing pediculosis is the Yul Brenner.

Mmmm think my kids would have had something to say about that lovely solution,lol:lol:

Nope for mine it was T tree in the shampoo as well and I had a spray bottle with water and T tree oil added,each morning I would spray the kids hair before they went to school or anywhere where there were lots of kids in close contact.

Daughters hair was always kept tied back and conditioner combed through whenever their hair was washed.

 

[nailqueencat]

The newest thing to the market is Hedrin. It works by coating all the nits and suffocating them so they all die. It is a type of silicone I think but the oily look dries in the hair and doesn't look too bad, doesn't smell and is easily washed out. No combing necessary. What I do is one application of Hedrin and then comb out a week later with conditioner and tea tree in between. Good luck - it's so awful. I know as I have long curly hair and my daughter keeps bringing them home for tea!

 

[blossom]

I've spent a fortune at the chemist but nothing works. To get rid you have to do the combing through thing with conditioner on every other day. To keep them away hairspray and plaits are fab.

(I'm not a prof. hair dresser just mum of 2 girls 7 & 9 both with long hair and have lived through about 12 infestations since they started nursery school. Just my personal opinion!)

 

[JDs]

Heads up!! Mayonaise applied to the hair all over then wrapped up in a plastic cap for a hour or so. This suffocates the little buggers. Wash hair then apply vinegar to loosen any eggs left and to get rid of any residue left behind from the mayonaise.

funny story to tell: I had a neighbor, she was a nut case (drugs and alcohol abuse)
she calls me up one day and starts freaking out telling me how her son matthew has head lice and now she does too..

I tell her about the mayonaise treatment and mention that I read in a magazine that vaseline (hehe) is suppose to work also, but I never tried it and would suggest just sticking to the mayonaise.

Well, the next day she calls me freaking out again, she went ahead and applied the vaseline because she didn't have very much mayonaise in the house and now she can't get the vaseline out of her hair. (she had very long hair)
So I go over to her house and had a really hard time stifling my giggles..her hair looked like dreadlocks. We tried everything from tide laundry detergent to automotive grease cleaners on her hair. To make a long story short, it took over a week for the petroleum to come out of her hair. But she didn't have lice anymore..and neither did her son.

 

[Cathie!]

The best solution all around for preventing pediculosis is the Yul Brenner.

Done this one with the boys, barbers aren't so particular about cutting hair with nits...shave the hair off, off you go....although when Stan was young with his nice long curly hair I remember having real pleasure in combing 40odd lice out of his hair....ok I was naive and I enjoyed it...I got a sense of achievement and counted most of them....drowning!

Now I comb the lot of them...the boys don't get them anymore as I keep their hair Yul....Laura had so many empty eggs on her hair shafts but no nits...where have they gone....too small to see or on me!!!!!

 

[JDs]

Laura had so many empty eggs on her hair shafts but no nits...where have they gone....too small to see or on me!!!!!

Hmmm, look on your funiture, bedding, car, the dog, etc

 

[fifitrix]

Tea tree oil mixed in with your shampoo should keep nits at bay.
Someone the other day said that vinegar gets rid, but personally I havent tried vinegar, but I suppose its worth a go.
My opinion though is t tree.
hth xx

Great idea, like Cathie I am fed up with the constant infestation at the school and yes bring back the nit nurse, we had them last year and it was like a military operation to get rid!
Sam's idea wouldn't go down too well with my 9 year daughter lol, will stick with the tea tree oil

 

[ValencianNails]

I got some HairWars by Tisserand from a salon for my daughter, it's a lotion that's got essential oils in it and it worked for her hair. As she got older I was recommended to use Tea Tree oil by my hairdresser, that also worked and after that I used a teatree shampoo and conditioner from Sainsbury's that seemed to keep them away from her head/hair.

 

[Cathie!]

Hmmm, look on your funiture, bedding, car, the dog, etc

OMG can they live in these places? I am meticulous with my bedding....but the car, the dog...she has flea jabs...can they live on the dog...it's never ending!

I'll continue my weekly ritual......and be happy when Laura is older and doesn't do the head to head thing!

I can't imagine trying to wash mayonaise out of her hair....washing conditioner out is a feat in itself!

 

[blossom]

It makes me really cross. There always seems to be a small element of mothers at the school who shrug their shoulders and go "oh well, that's school innit, they always get nits. I'm not botherin'. This means there are always some infested children to pass them round and you can't seem to stamp them out completely.

 

[Cathie!]

It makes me really cross. There always seems to be a small element of mothers at the school who shrug their shoulders and go "oh well, that's school innit, they always get nits. I'm not botherin'. This means there are always some infested children to pass them round and you can't seem to stamp them out completely.

Totally!

 

[BABSann]

It makes me really cross. There always seems to be a small element of mothers at the school who shrug their shoulders and go "oh well, that's school innit, they always get nits. I'm not botherin'. This means there are always some infested children to pass them round and you can't seem to stamp them out completely.

Yep and then they blame it on the fact that there is no nit nurse anymore,what a load of cobblers.There hasn't been a nit nurse for years and it's too easy for some parents to pass the buck rather than check their kids hair.

My daughter used to get it all the time from her friend.It caused a lot of bad feeling from a lot of the mums in the class.Even the teacher said her hands were tied and all she could do was hand out the standard nit letter to ALL the parents in an attempt to nip the culprit in the bud.

I feel for the kids who dont have parents who check,not only do they have itchy heads but the stigma of other kids seeing the nasty eggs in their hair and being able to see the nasties crawling through their heads when close by.Very sad.