Area Salons Tackle Pesty Problem

Technicians at Hair Butterflies, Oak Park, remove head lice and nits from infected children, shown in the photo above. LNS Photo/Steve Buck

By Steve Buck

Contributor

Those long, silken strands of protein on your child’s head are not just beautiful, shiny hair to match her pretty eyes and winning smile. To hordes of microscopic, persistent pests known as head lice, the smooth strands are expressways for transporting human blood.

Blood-sucking lice, dating back to ancient times, rarely carry disease, but they can turn a human scalp into an itchy, reddened war zone supporting eggs – or nits – which hatch in about a week. Lice are wingless and don’t jump or fly, but rows of crab-like claws allow lice to race along a strand of hair like an NFL receiver streaking toward the end zone.

Two heads are not better than one in a kindergarten class or a spirited tussle on a rumpus room carpet. If one child is infected, the second child’s buzz-cut becomes an off-ramp for ravenous lice. Even worse, the six-legged critters are the chameleons of the parasitic world, able to disappear into a forest of hair follicles.

Estimates vary, but in the U.S. about $150 million is spent on treatments. More money is lost by parents missing work and schools losing federal revenue tied to attendance. One theory is that today’s super lice are mutants who’ve built up resistance to lice treatments.

Edward and Kelly Tare, owners of three busy hair salons in Oak Park and River Forest, decided to give back to the community by dedicating one facility, Hair Butterflies, 425 N. Marion St., Oak Park, solely for treating head lice. Kelly, who attended cosmetology school after the young couple emigrated from Albania 20 years ago, conceived the idea.

The Tares’ flagship business is Clydon’s Salon, 7053 W. North Ave., River Forest. Lilies and Spikes, a spa for kids and teens, is at 1105 Chicago Ave., Oak Park. Popular for birthday parties, attendees, at times, are discreetly asked to visit the salon around the corner for a complimentary head check.

Butterflies opened in 2010, providing itchy, stressed children and frustrated parents—some albeit in denial—a welcoming, private and protective haven to visit and solve the problem. One family treatment at a time, with window shades drawn, is customary.

The Tares stress communication, education, confidentiality and ease of access. “We are ready to help any time of day or night,” said Edward Tare.

“I look at emails from customers at midnight, telling me their problem. They can send in a photo of lice on a child’s head, and they can bring in a sample the next day (of infested follicles) on a paper towel inside a baggy. Everything we do is to take the stress out of the process.”

Some lice treatment centers use the fear factor to charge exorbitant rates, but the Tares say that’s never been their approach. Not only are institutional visits virtually a free public service ($1 a head for 100 plus exams), but salon and home-visits are reasonable, also.

“After all, we’re not removing someone’s appendix,” said Tare. “Ninety-nine percent of clients are done after one treatment. It’s very affordable for any family,” he added, pointing to an initial head check for $25 and follow-up checks for $15.

Treatments for those found with head lice or nits are $75 an hour, with an average treatment about 90 to 120 minutes for girls, and 30 to 45 minutes for boys or girls with short hair.

The Tares’ willingness to travel—usually two lice technicians at a time visit a home—on nights and weekends, and the salon’s zeal for lice removal, has made the salon a valued area resource.

Technician Anna Rodriguez has been chasing lice for five years at Butterflies. “I think every time you do it you learn a bit more technique,” she said. “I wear magnifying glasses when I work and we use the Nit-Free Lice Terminator comb. My husband said this is a great job for me because I have OCD and I won’t stop until I take every last one of them out.”

Rodriguez, formerly a nursing assistant, said different types of hair, different personalities and different stress and discomfort levels present unique challenges to the operators.

“Some people are very itchy; some don’t feel it at all,” she said. “Some are patient, some are very fidgety. But once they’re in our hands, we’ll guide them in the right direction with the least amount of stress possible. We’re the ones who get to make this right.”

Kathy Jefson, a parent and program chair at St. Paul of the Cross, 320 South Washington St., Park Ridge, said Hair Butterflies played a major role in helping the Park Ridge school become proactive with a head lice program. Hair Butterflies’ staff began screenings a year ago, starting with K-4 students, but later incorporated the entire school, some 620 students. Visits after holiday breaks proved especially productive.

“We were having a difficult time prior to Ed coming here,” said Jefson, a medical professional. There’s been an increase of head lice on the North Shore and there was concern among parents. Now the incidence of head lice has gone down at the school.”

“They don’t use fear tactics by any means,” added Jefson. “And they’ve been wonderful with our kids and staff. Lice are more common in younger kids. They have sleepovers, they share hats and they share combs. Kids are germy and they don’t have a concept of personal space.”

Nick Johnson, an assistant manager at Hair Fairies, 2336 N. Clark St., Lincoln Park, said denial is part of the human equation, delaying needed treatment of infested scalps. “There are a thousand reasons why peoples’ heads might itch and lice is the last place some of them want to go,” he said.

Johnson estimates that seven out of 10 Hair Fairies’ clients are school children and the rest adults, usually mothers. “The adult clients are mostly moms. They have longer hair and more personal interaction with their (infested) children,” he said.

Hair Fairies does an initial exam of between 10 and 30 minutes, depending on the individual client. “We might find lice right away or some people may not have much at all, just a bug or two hidden in a ton of hair and it takes a while to find.”

“Some kids just take it better than others, and are pretty good. Others cry or scream, but you pretty much gotta tell them you have to calm down until you’re done.”

A dedicated facility for lice treatment is invaluable. Veteran stylist Angie Stark, of Waukegan, recalled scenes with near-panic stricken operators at a Chicago hair-cutting chain salon where she worked, years ago, when a child came in with lice.

“The parents were often desperate and wouldn’t tell us their child had lice,” said Stark, “but we got pretty good at recognizing the ‘tells.’ Like if a mother requested us to cut the long beautiful hair of a young girl short, or we’d see a boy scratching his head as he was getting out of the car. We would know almost right away.”

“As soon as we saw (signs of infestation),” said Stark, “we would ask the parents to take the child home and throw away combs and wash sheets, all that stuff. We weren’t set up to treat lice and we couldn’t afford to have our shop infected.”