Gasp, Lice! 10 Things You Need to Know

My name is Julie Stolker.  I am the mother of four daughters and have recently opened my very own head lice treatment center.  I co-own and operate Lice Lifters of the Jersey Shore with my business partner, Cynthia Wellington. Cynthia and I help families in Monmouth, Ocean and Atlantic counties by partnering with them to help them resolve their lice situations and give them piece of mind.

No one wants to get that dreaded note sent home from the school nurse telling them that their child was exposed to lice. The mere thought of these little buggers (pun intended) crawling on their child sends them into a panic.

I am writing this piece to hopefully, calm your fears, debunk many myths and provide some extremely valuable information regarding this oh-so-dreaded topic that affects 3% of school-aged children at any given time.

The truth versus myths about lice:  

• Hair color does not kill lice, it only colors lice.

• Boys do get lice.  Even boys with very short hair or buzz cuts.

• Hairspray and gel are not lice deterrents -- but mint and citronella are.

• Lice like hair whether it is clean or dirty. (Lice only like sweet and clean kids.)

• Lice do not fly or jump. They crawl from one head to another through head to head contact or personal items like brushes, hats or helmets.

• Only 50% of people are itchy from head lice. People are itchy from lice bites not from the bugs crawling around. It may take up to 4 weeks of an infestation to become itchy. People taking antihistamines for allergies may never become itchy at all.

• There is no season for lice.  It is a year-round problem.

• Lice are not living in your house and re-infesting your family…Lice can only live and reproduce on a human head.  Off the head, adult lice die within 48 hours and they only lay nits (lice eggs) on a human head.

• The over-the-counter pesticides and prescription treatments have become less effective as the lice have grown resistant to the pesticides they contain. Product failure is part of reason for the high level of lice outbreaks. People using these products follow all the directions, do an overwhelming amount of housework and in 2-3 weeks find that they have lice again. If this has happened to you, it’s not your fault! You did not have the right products, tools and instructions to truly get rid of lice.

• Special house cleaning products, sprays and laundry additives are completely unnecessary. Using the heat of the dryer or vacuuming items that have had contact with someone’s head is all you need to do.  Services that sell offer these items are taking advantage of their customers.

Your children have a greater chance to be exposed to lice now more than ever.  The best way to avoid a family infestation is to do weekly head checks on your children with a professional lice comb.  If you catch it early, it will help ensure that it does not spread through your entire family.

At our treatment center we offer head checks, The Triple Threat Treatment that combats the lice and nits, pesticide free The Nit Nanny Products and plenty of support and education about cleanup and preventing re-infestation. 

Our center is located at 265 Route 36 West in Long Branch, NJ.  Our Services are non-toxic, completely natural and pesticide free.  More information can be obtained on our website at www.licelifters.com or call us at 732-440-4760.