Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can you guarantee that I'll be lice free after just one treatment when other services say you need two?
A: We can guarantee it because our removal process is extremely thorough and proven. We use natural products that have been clinically proven to be safe and effective at eradicating lice and their eggs from human hair. The traditional conditioner-based comb out, which other lice removal services offer, requires two separate treatments since it is difficult to remove all louse eggs when the hair is smothered in conditioner. This is particularly difficult to do in thick, textured hair.
The products we use at Nit Hunters, combined with our unique 5-step process lice removal process, facilitate louse and egg/nit removal without the need for a second, follow-up treatment.
But you don't have to take our word for it. See what our client's have to say here.
Q: Do plant-based enzymes work? I’ve heard that they loosen the glue that the eggs are attached to the hair?
A: No, enzyme products do not loosen the eggs and nits from the hair.
Enzyme based products claim to be able to kill head lice and help remove lice eggs from the hair. These products use protease, lipase, cellulase, and amylase, which help break down proteins. However, the outside cuticle of the head louse is made from chitin, which is carbohydrate based, thus these enzymes would have no effect on it. The glue which holds the eggs to the hair strand does contain some protein but it is not susceptible to gentle enzymes and experiments have shown that it is easier to dissolve the hair than to break down the glue that binds the eggs to the hair shaft! In fact, here at Nit Hunters, we took a hair strand with louse egg attached and immersed it in 100% concentration of these enzymes for an hour. After the hour, the egg remained cemented to the hair and had to be picked off.
Enzyme-based products merely act as lubricants which facilitate the removal with a highly effective metal comb – the comb is the real reason the lice and eggs are removed. Nothing, absolutely nothing, removes the eggs from the hair other than by physical means (by hand or by comb). Even if the eggs are dead or have hatched (nits) they will remain in the hair until they are picked/snipped off or combed out.
Q: How do I know if everyone in the family got it from our daughter/son?
A: Live lice moving in the hair and/or dark grey eggs attached to the hair shaft near the scalp are an indication of an infestation. Based on the hundreds of families we’ve treated at Nit Hunters, typically one person (son or daughter) brings it into the family and depending on how long the infestation has been allowed to go undetected in conjunction with the amount of hair to hair contact will determine whether it has spread to other family members.
Our statistics indicate that mothers of young children tend to get a light infestation when their child/children have lice. Fathers rarely get lice; those that do tend to have longer/thicker hair and a lot of head to head contact with their infected child.
Q: Is it true that men don’t get lice because of their testosterone (in other words, they naturally repel lice)?
A: There is no scientific evidence to back up this claim. Men simply don’t get lice because they either have very short hair, thinning hair, and/or use a lot of hair product which stiffens and hardens the hair.
Q: Where does lice come from?
A: Lice comes from another person’s head of hair and has existed for thousands of years. They likely evolved from body lice (which resemble tiny crabs) that infest body hair. Head lice have an elongated body which better suits movement along hair strands.
Q: It seems like there’s lice everywhere! What’s going on???
A: Indeed, lice has become a persistent problem amongst school age children for a number of reasons:
Q: Should I tell my child’s school and close friends of my child that she/he had lice?
A: Yes! Informing people is the best way to stop lice from transferring to a new host. Some people are embarrassed to admit their child had lice, falsely believing that having lice means you have poor personal hygiene. This is not at all true.
If you are human with hair, you are a candidate for lice. They do not discriminate when it comes to hair and in fact, the cleaner the hair, the easier it is for them to crawl onto your hair!
Q: How can I prevent my child from getting lice again?
A: The best way to prevent lice is to contain the hair since lice are attracted to hair movement – braids and buns are best.
As well, a number of studies now support that certain essential oils contain scents that do repel lice. Some of them may irritate the skin, especially on young children so it is best to dilute them into a spray.
Q: How is lice transmitted?
A: Head lice are only able to crawl. They cannot jump nor fly. They do, however, crawl very fast on the strand of hair, but it takes head-to-head contact before the head louse grabs another person’s hair and transfers to a new host.
Lice are attracted to hair movement; thus, longer hair that dangles is more susceptible to contracting lice.
Q: How long can lice live off a person’s head?
A: Head lice cannot survive for very long away from the scalp of their host. Several studies in schools have demonstrated that even in classrooms with several infested children, no live head lice are found in the surroundings. Furthermore, no study has proven that hair brushes, combs, headphones or the like are transferring lice.
Most people tend to spend more time cleaning their environment or buying enzyme sprays claiming falsely to kill the bugs. When you have a head lice infestation you need to focus your energy on where the head lice are – on the scalp.
The pervasive myth about infestation of head lice from the surroundings most likely originates from a time when body lice (aka crabs) infestations were common. Body lice live in clothing and unlike head lice, they survive much longer in the surroundings.
Q: How can you guarantee that I'll be lice free after just one treatment when other services say you need two?
A: We can guarantee it because our removal process is extremely thorough and proven. We use natural products that have been clinically proven to be safe and effective at eradicating lice and their eggs from human hair. The traditional conditioner-based comb out, which other lice removal services offer, requires two separate treatments since it is difficult to remove all louse eggs when the hair is smothered in conditioner. This is particularly difficult to do in thick, textured hair.
The products we use at Nit Hunters, combined with our unique 5-step process lice removal process, facilitate louse and egg/nit removal without the need for a second, follow-up treatment.
But you don't have to take our word for it. See what our client's have to say here.
Q: Do plant-based enzymes work? I’ve heard that they loosen the glue that the eggs are attached to the hair?
A: No, enzyme products do not loosen the eggs and nits from the hair.
Enzyme based products claim to be able to kill head lice and help remove lice eggs from the hair. These products use protease, lipase, cellulase, and amylase, which help break down proteins. However, the outside cuticle of the head louse is made from chitin, which is carbohydrate based, thus these enzymes would have no effect on it. The glue which holds the eggs to the hair strand does contain some protein but it is not susceptible to gentle enzymes and experiments have shown that it is easier to dissolve the hair than to break down the glue that binds the eggs to the hair shaft! In fact, here at Nit Hunters, we took a hair strand with louse egg attached and immersed it in 100% concentration of these enzymes for an hour. After the hour, the egg remained cemented to the hair and had to be picked off.
Enzyme-based products merely act as lubricants which facilitate the removal with a highly effective metal comb – the comb is the real reason the lice and eggs are removed. Nothing, absolutely nothing, removes the eggs from the hair other than by physical means (by hand or by comb). Even if the eggs are dead or have hatched (nits) they will remain in the hair until they are picked/snipped off or combed out.
Q: How do I know if everyone in the family got it from our daughter/son?
A: Live lice moving in the hair and/or dark grey eggs attached to the hair shaft near the scalp are an indication of an infestation. Based on the hundreds of families we’ve treated at Nit Hunters, typically one person (son or daughter) brings it into the family and depending on how long the infestation has been allowed to go undetected in conjunction with the amount of hair to hair contact will determine whether it has spread to other family members.
Our statistics indicate that mothers of young children tend to get a light infestation when their child/children have lice. Fathers rarely get lice; those that do tend to have longer/thicker hair and a lot of head to head contact with their infected child.
Q: Is it true that men don’t get lice because of their testosterone (in other words, they naturally repel lice)?
A: There is no scientific evidence to back up this claim. Men simply don’t get lice because they either have very short hair, thinning hair, and/or use a lot of hair product which stiffens and hardens the hair.
Q: Where does lice come from?
A: Lice comes from another person’s head of hair and has existed for thousands of years. They likely evolved from body lice (which resemble tiny crabs) that infest body hair. Head lice have an elongated body which better suits movement along hair strands.
Q: It seems like there’s lice everywhere! What’s going on???
A: Indeed, lice has become a persistent problem amongst school age children for a number of reasons:
- Many children continue to attend school despite having lice infestations
- Long hair is in fashion and is often not contained or tied back
- Parents often co-sleep with younger children thus enabling lice to transfer from child to parent
- Previous drugstore treatments that worked 30 years ago are no longer effective; the lice have evolved (commonly referred to as “super lice” and are now resistant to these synthetic insecticides
- People don’t realize how difficult it is to fully remove lice, in particular, the eggs from the hair and prevent a recurring infestation
- Parents don’t always inform the school or the parents of their children’s friends/cousins to ensure the lice has not transferred to another host
Q: Should I tell my child’s school and close friends of my child that she/he had lice?
A: Yes! Informing people is the best way to stop lice from transferring to a new host. Some people are embarrassed to admit their child had lice, falsely believing that having lice means you have poor personal hygiene. This is not at all true.
If you are human with hair, you are a candidate for lice. They do not discriminate when it comes to hair and in fact, the cleaner the hair, the easier it is for them to crawl onto your hair!
Q: How can I prevent my child from getting lice again?
A: The best way to prevent lice is to contain the hair since lice are attracted to hair movement – braids and buns are best.
As well, a number of studies now support that certain essential oils contain scents that do repel lice. Some of them may irritate the skin, especially on young children so it is best to dilute them into a spray.
Q: How is lice transmitted?
A: Head lice are only able to crawl. They cannot jump nor fly. They do, however, crawl very fast on the strand of hair, but it takes head-to-head contact before the head louse grabs another person’s hair and transfers to a new host.
Lice are attracted to hair movement; thus, longer hair that dangles is more susceptible to contracting lice.
Q: How long can lice live off a person’s head?
A: Head lice cannot survive for very long away from the scalp of their host. Several studies in schools have demonstrated that even in classrooms with several infested children, no live head lice are found in the surroundings. Furthermore, no study has proven that hair brushes, combs, headphones or the like are transferring lice.
Most people tend to spend more time cleaning their environment or buying enzyme sprays claiming falsely to kill the bugs. When you have a head lice infestation you need to focus your energy on where the head lice are – on the scalp.
The pervasive myth about infestation of head lice from the surroundings most likely originates from a time when body lice (aka crabs) infestations were common. Body lice live in clothing and unlike head lice, they survive much longer in the surroundings.