Well once again it seems the dreaded head lice have made their way back into both my daughters hair. It seems to be a never ending problem. They itch, I get rid and then they come back again. I do wish there was a permanent solution to get rid of them, but for now I have to just constantly check at least once a week and treat when needed. I think the problem lies with other parents who won’t or can’t be bothered looking at their kids hair and then they spread.
Headlice are a pain and especially so when they have to be combed out of long curly hair. Both my girls have very long and thick hair. It can be time consuming and really frustrating when they make a return a few
I have used a fair few different brands of headlice/nit removal products and found that not all of them work. This seems to be more true for the more expensive products and of course the lice do get immune to some of them. The one product that always works is Hedrin.
Hedrin have many products for treating and prevention of headlice and this time I have used the Hedrin once spray gel.
This spray gel is a really fast treatment and can kill both eggs and lice in 15 minutes. The “once” in the title indicates that hair only needs one treatment rather than the usual two. It can be purchased for just £5.00 in Boots.
I had to apply it to dry hair on my girls, so it’s a good idea to apply before bathing. The bottle recommends leaving on for at least 15 minutes but anything up to an hour is fine. Thicker and longer hair will need leaving longer. Once the treatment time is up, shampoo is applied to the hair without wetting and then wash out.
The gel has an ever so slight odour, it’s not unpleasant and goes away once hair is washed. I was quite impressed that the one treatment did what is was meant to and kill the lice. I combed out a fair few from my girls heads. One small bottle of this stuff is enough for 3 heads of long hair.
Hedrin has a 3 stage phase to treating headlice. – “Detection, Treatment, Protection” Detection involves spotting signs such as itching and using a special lice comb to detect them. Treatment is as above and applying one of many products to kill the lice, then removing them with the comb. Protection involves using products to try and stop the lice from returning. Hedrin sell products for all 3 phases.
To protect from lice I use the Hedrin protect and go. Not only does this stuff help prevent live returning , it also acts as a hair detangler and leaves the hair looking healthy. It actually comes with a pretty pleasant smell too unlike that familiar tea tree scent.
I think it’s okay to use the protect and go daily and in the morning before school as that’s where they seem to pick them up.
There is some useful information on products and headlice on the Hedrin website.
