Post Treatment

Post Treatment

After treatment care is vital in ensuring you stay lice-free. Here's what we recommend:

Here’s What You Need To Know & Do Once You Get Home

Head & Hair Care Home Cleaning Ongoing Lice Prevention Re-Checks After Treatment

Head & Hair Care

ITCHING

Itching after treatment is common for 10-14 days. Lice bites are the same as mosquito bites, but much smaller. Therefore, itching is an after-effect of lice bites.

Since itching is a lingering symptom of lice bites, post-treatment itching is NOT a symptom of active lice. Unless you see LIVE lice bugs in the hair (not nits/eggs), it's safe to assume that the itching is left over from before the treatment.

REMOVING TOPICAL PRODUCT FROM YOUR HAIR POST TREATMENT

Option 1): Wash hair several times with regular shampoo to get the oil out. If you think it’s not coming out, keep trying – it WILL come out.

Option 2): Add some dishwashing soap. This should get the oil out with a single wash, when a small amount is added to shampoo. *Note: Dish soap will also strip hair dye. Use at your own risk, or if hair is not dyed.

Option 3): Head and Shoulders. We have been told by many customers that Head and Shoulders shampoo is very good at getting the oil out AND helps with post-treatment itching due to hydrating the scalp.

Option 4): Use a clarifying shampoo. This helps to break down the grease in just one wash.

WHAT ABOUT COMBS, BRUSHES, AND HAIR ACCESSORIES?

You can place them on the top rack of the dishwasher or soak items in HOT (not boiling) water for 20 minutes. You can also put them in a plastic bag in the freezer for 24 hours.

NITS/EGGS & OTHER DEBRIS IN THE HAIR

It is expected that you will have a few nits that are no longer viable (dead) left in your hair after treatment. The focus of our treatment (and our guarantee) is to KILL all the nits and lice on the head. To completely remove every nit from the head typically requires a several hour comb-out, which is not part of our treatment process. Therefore, unless you see LIVE bugs in the hair, you can assume that all the nits are no longer viable (dead).

Should you see dead nits, there are several ways you can facilitate removing them:

1) Continue to use a nit comb in the showerover the next several days throughout the entire head.

2) Every time you shampoo, rub your scalp vigorously; this will help break apart and dislodge the dead nits.

NOTE: Nits/eggs that “pop” when squeezed between fingernails does NOT indicate that the nits/eggs are “alive.” This is a widely perpetuated lice-myth or Wive's Tale.

Home Cleaning

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT LICE

  • Head lice CANNOT survive without a human host for more than 24-48 hours.
  • Lice CANNOT fly, jump, burrow, swim, and cannot even crawl very well, once dislodged from hair.
  • Therefore, it is ONLY necessary to treat items in your house that have come in contact with an infested person's head within 24-48 hours.

CLOTHING & BEDDING

All clothing and bedding that may have touched an infested person's head in the last 24-48 hours should either be:

  • Washed in HOT water and then dried on high heat for 2 cycles OR
  • Placed DIRECTLY into a hot dryer for 30 minutes or more (NOT necessary to wash before putting into the dryer, if already clean)

FURNITURE / VEHICLES

  • Items with hard surfaces such as leather, plastic, or vinyl may be wiped clean with a paper towel and an ammonia-based cleaner (like glass cleaner).
  • All other items made of cloth should be vacuumed (or lint rolled). You can cover furniture with a clean sheet or blanket for 48-72 hours.
  • Throw pillows can be put in a hot dryer for 30 minutes or isolated in a plastic bag (48-72 hours).
  • Don’t’ forget to vacuum (or lint roll) child car seats.
  • Lastly, floors can either be vacuumed, swept, and/or mopped.

FLOORS

Vacuum rugs and carpets. Sweep and mop non-porous, hard surface floors.

TOYS & STUFFED ANIMALS

Store items in a plastic bag for 48-72 hours or they can placed in a dryer for 30-45 minutes on high heat. All other non-porous toys may be wiped clean or kept isolated in a plastic bag for 24-48 hours.

BACKPACKS & HELMETS

Vacuum, lint roll, or wipe down backpacks and helmets or isolate in a plastic bag for 24-48 hours.

HOW DO I TREAT MY HOME FOR HEAD LICE?

Vacuum the carpet and furniture; wash bedding and clothing in very hot water; place pillows in a dryer at highest heat setting for 20 to 30 minutes; boil hair ties/hair brushes for 10 to 20 minutes or freeze them in a plastic bag overnight. Head lice cannot survive off of a human head for more than 24 hours. It is recommended that you do not use pesticide sprays in your home; they will unnecessarily expose your household to harmful chemicals.

RE-CHECKS AFTER TREATMENT

The ONLY reason a re-check would be necessary is in the event you are seeing live bugs. It is NOT necessary to come back to the clinic for a re-check “just to make sure” the treatment worked. We have successfully treated thousands of customers over the past several years...the first time.

If you would like a re-check, we offer them for $25/person. If the re-check occurs within the 30-day guarantee window AND is determined that the treatment was ineffective for any reason, we will re-treat you for $15.

ONGOING LICE PREVENTION

  • Girls: wear hair as high & tight as possible. Tight hair equates to less surface area for a louse to latch onto your head.
  • Be aware of any situation where you may have head-to-head contact with others, or if you use things that may have touched other peoples’ heads/hair. Do your best to avoid those situations.
  • DO NOT, under any circumstances, put anything in your hair or on your head that has touched someone else’s head.
  • Do periodic combing with a nit comb.
  • Spray preventative spray or preventative detangler on your head anytime you go into a situation where there may be a high risk of lice exposure.