Def get everyone in the household checked so you’re not passing it back and forth to one another.

You can either go to a head lice clinic or purchase a good quality head lice comb. Metal with long tined which are close together and have micro grooves are the best. Check everyone at home by adding any white based conditioner on the hair and combining out the hot spots (crown of the head, nape of the neck and behind the ears). As you comb wipe the residue on a paper towel, if you see black dots, then it’s head lice. That’s the best way to know for sure because they can be hard to see especially in the beginning stages. If you see live bugs, that of course is an indicator it’s head lice.

As someone suggested, an oil soak is a great idea! But you want to avoid using a plastic bag, it’s a choking hazard. Instead, use a towel and leave the oil on the head over night. Head lice can hold their breath for 4-6 hours so you want to give it enough time

to suffocate (that’s what the oil soak does) you can use whatever cooking oil you have in hand at home. Just keep in mind that the oil soak will only get rid of the live bugs, if there is an infestation eggs will hatch 7-10 thereafter. The oil soak is great to contain the problem until you can get a head lice product to get rid of them. I would recommend to avoid over the counter pesticide based products, they don’t work - lice have built an immunity to them and lice eggs have to be manually removed, even if the product claims to work on both - it doesn’t.

The only product I know of that actually works on both live bugs and eggs is #1Time Head Lice Solution by licesquad.com because it removes moisture form the eggs so it leaves nothing to hatch after the solution is applied but does leave hair debris that needs to be combed out after. It’s expensive but all you need is one application.

Otherwise you can keep doing an oil soak daily and regular daily reduction combing of the entire infested head for 30 days to get rid of the problem without any additional products. Along with regular environmental care.

In terms of your environment, vacuum all surfaces that can’t be wiped down (couches, carpets etc) whatever you can’t vacuum put in the dryer on the highest heat setting for 30 mins (blankets, pillows, swears, bedding, stuffies etc) . Don’t bother washing (unless you need to) head lice can swim. It’s the high heat of the dryer that does the trick - dehydrates them. Anything you can’t vacuum or put in the dryer, tie in a garbage bag and leave it in the garage or outside for 3 days (hair brushes, hair ties etc) The key here is to isolate any head lice that may have transferred to a surface from being in contact with a human head. They will die in 24-48 hours without blood supply. They don’t live in your environment or on your pets :) They can transfer by falling/crawling off the head hair but will not survive.

Hope that helps. I know it’s info overload but they’re such a pain in the butt I wanted to share the key info so you can nip it in the bud should anyone encounter this problem. There is so much crazy and inaccurate info online that people often panic and stress to the max when there’s no need for it and the problem can be addressed easier, quicker and with a peace of mind :)

Lice help