I was told it was coming, and now it's finally here: The Licepocalypse. A new super-resistant lice is plaguing school children (and their parents) across the nation. These evil bugs take up residence on your scalp and in your hair, and they feast upon your blood. Medicated treatments don't work on them, either. Who will save us from this awful scourge?
You will! Forget about the medicated stuff. It doesn't work on regular lice, anyway. Here's how you rid the lice. It's not pretty, and it's a big pain. But it works.
My son had an epic, I mean EPIC infestation last year. We took him to Lice Enders here in New York City, and this was what they — and later we — did.
1. Coat your child's hair with gobs and gobs of thick, white conditioner. Lice Enders recommends Pantene.
2. Section your child's hair. Comb through each section slowly with a lice comb. It MUST be a lice comb.
3. After each pass, wipe the conditioner and bugs and eggs off completely on a paper towel.
4. Repeat. That's right, after coming out all the nits and eggs, do the whole shebang all over again: Coat with conditioner and comb through.
5. You may want to repeat yet again.
6. Inspect carefully to make sure you got every last little bug. Use a magnifying glass if you have one, or have a professional examine your child's scalp.
If your child's scalp becomes itchy all of a sudden, acquaint yourself with what lice looks like in hair. Supposedly you can help prevent lice infestations by washing and conditioning your hair with products containing essential oils like tea tree, lavender, rosemary, menthol, and eucalyptus. It's not a guarantee, but it's worth a try.
Have you ever had to battle with lice? What did you do?
Image via Voisin/phanie/Phanie Sarl/Corbis
