Always wash their hair with vinegar.

Take ivermectin/antiparasite.

I have dealt with this three times in my life: the first as a young adult and twice as a parent. The last time I felt like we really figured out how to get rid of lice relatively quickly and efficiently to the point where it doesn't make me anxious anymore.

1. We use no chemicals or prescriptions. We used a product called Lice Freee! that Whole Food sells and is chemical free. We would initially use this multiple times a day.

2. We also use a hairdryer multiple times a day, shake our heads into the sink, and watch the number of dead bugs that will fall down. Over a couple of days, this will be reduced.

3. The hairdryer also is effective at killing the nits. Yes, it takes forever, ultimately, to get all of them out of the hair, but it's less frantic an issue if they are dead. Dead nits in the hair don't really matter, and the combs take time but do work.

4. We wash bedding but not obsessively.

5. We make sure we understand the life cycle of the lice. The hair dryer with Lice Free! are very effective at killing the live bugs and most of the nits, and doing this multiple times a day, at least initially, will zap them all pretty fast.

OP, it has nothing to do with cleanliness of your kids or your house - if you are indeed thorough in your treatment , someone in your circle keeps reinfecting your kids. The only thing you can do is comb regularly and religiously. Also, braid your kids hair, if possible, and spray with one of those oil repellents (tea tree oil seems to work somewhat).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what helped. Mine showered/washed hair daily, and we used all the fairy tails tree oil/lice prevention products - shampoo, conditioner, gel, detangler and hair spray at those ages and never got lice. Maybe it was luck, maybe the products.

100% luck. None of that did anything for preventing lice. Your kid never stood close enough to someone with active lice. That’s all.

Disagree. We’ve been through a dozen or more lice outbreaks over the last 9 years of group childcare. Including Montessori where they had dress up clothes with hats and such. We’ve been meticulous with styling products and hair styles, and have never gotten them. Even when their best buddies did. Now someone has to be the first kid in the class, and that was luck, but my kids have definitely been head to head with lice and avoided it.

You gelled your kids hair back 365 days a year for years? Really?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what helped. Mine showered/washed hair daily, and we used all the fairy tails tree oil/lice prevention products - shampoo, conditioner, gel, detangler and hair spray at those ages and never got lice. Maybe it was luck, maybe the products.

100% luck. None of that did anything for preventing lice. Your kid never stood close enough to someone with active lice. That’s all.

Disagree. We’ve been through a dozen or more lice outbreaks over the last 9 years of group childcare. Including Montessori where they had dress up clothes with hats and such. We’ve been meticulous with styling products and hair styles, and have never gotten them. Even when their best buddies did. Now someone has to be the first kid in the class, and that was luck, but my kids have definitely been head to head with lice and avoided it.

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what helped. Mine showered/washed hair daily, and we used all the fairy tails tree oil/lice prevention products - shampoo, conditioner, gel, detangler and hair spray at those ages and never got lice. Maybe it was luck, maybe the products.

100% luck. None of that did anything for preventing lice. Your kid never stood close enough to someone with active lice. That’s all.

Also. Buy a cheap headlamp it helps enormously

Sigh. We just went thru this. My DD has a close friend that had given lice to her 3 times. Each time I found 1-2 adults on DD and no nits. Dimethicone is the only way outside of a prescription. You can find 100 percent dimethicone on amazon. Smother the hair and put on a shower cap for 30 min. Wash out leaving your hair and shower greasy. Spray a lot of leave in conditioner. Section the hair and comb for nits with the special comb. Repeat in 10 days. I usually do a comb out alone around day 5.

The fairy tales stuff is nice but the smell doesn’t last. I don’t think it does much. I found a tea tree and rosemary leave in conditioner that I can physically smell for hours (use it on my own long hair). And wear the hair up!

I don't know what helped. Mine showered/washed hair daily, and we used all the fairy tails tree oil/lice prevention products - shampoo, conditioner, gel, detangler and hair spray at those ages and never got lice. Maybe it was luck, maybe the products.

I combed my kids hair judiciously and meticulously. I couldn’t get rid of all the lice for a month. My derm prescribed me spinosad, i applied it once and boom lice all gone. I mention spinosad because I have not heard others mention in this thread.

Get an electric comb like Robicomb. Comb everyday for 10 days.

Anonymous wrote:Do you actually know how to comb for lice? Most people don't. YOu have to be extremely thorough and it may hurt your child, but you have to basically scrape their scalp. There's no other you will get the nits which are at the top of their right next to the scalp.

I use the lice meister comb and a 1/4 cup of conditioner in my child's long, thick hair. I use clips to section the hair and do one small section at a time. Comb, wipe on a white paper towel, rinse in a bowl of water, repeat. When they were little, I did it while they were in the bath. Now I lay butcher paper on the ground and have them sit on a chair while watching tv.

Yep. And the way I was taught was you count to 100 (one for each stroke of the hair) except everytime you find a nit, you go back to 1 again. And don’t stop until 100 stokes with no nits. Do this every 3 days until you’ve gone 2 weeks with none.

Do you actually know how to comb for lice? Most people don't. YOu have to be extremely thorough and it may hurt your child, but you have to basically scrape their scalp. There's no other you will get the nits which are at the top of their right next to the scalp.

I use the lice meister comb and a 1/4 cup of conditioner in my child's long, thick hair. I use clips to section the hair and do one small section at a time. Comb, wipe on a white paper towel, rinse in a bowl of water, repeat. When they were little, I did it while they were in the bath. Now I lay butcher paper on the ground and have them sit on a chair while watching tv.

Anonymous wrote:You comb twice a week. Period. Don't stop. Don't use poison. Don't outsource. Just put in the work. If it keeps coming back, you aren't doing it enough. It sounds like you do it for a couple weeks and then stop. The problem is you.

Why on earth would you include the last sentence here?!

It took me 3 months to get rid of my daughter’s lice. I think you’re not actually getting rid of it. You need to comb ever Day for months until every nit is gone