used to have lice: now afraid of hairdressers

LegacyUser

hey, I am writing because I have very long hair (I'm a girl) about 9 months ago I got lice from someone in college/sister's kids/do not know. It was very early stages according to the pharmacist. I used this mathalon treatement and used 3 bottles because of the length of my hair. It was a horrible experience, I couldn't leave the house for two days, I was ashamed of myself saying it to my boyfriend that we had to strip the bed/bag up coats/wash scarves and clean the place stringently and had to put a bottle of it in his hair too.

Now I can't go to the hair dressers. Once a few years ago I was getting my hair done and a girl near me was being told by the hair dresser she had lice and they couldn't do her hair until she had it "cleaned of the lice and nits" completely. I was petrified for the poor girl and now I'm afraid that the traces of lice will show and they'll say it to me when I Go to get my hair dyed.

I'm so ashamed and have developed quite an unhealthy complex, please has anyone here ever been in this situation before?

Zen65

nottherenow wrote: »

I'm so ashamed and have developed quite an unhealthy complex, please has anyone here ever been in this situation before?

I have too little hair for it to be successfully occupied by any life form, so I'm afraid that I can't claim to have been in this situation myself.

But Op, having had headlice is not something to be ashamed of. It's not something that gets transferred as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle, nor a lack of hygiene.

Headlice have a preference for clean, long hair. In girls' schools it is very common to have outbreaks of headlice and it's almost always the long-haired girls who get infected.... and consequently they also get blamed for passing it around.

There is a product called "Full Marks" which I have found to be very good at eradicating these lice from my kids. The real difficulty with headlice is that they lay eggs which are hard to remove, but using the steel-toothed comb which comes with this product we have been able to clear the kids of infestation.

I find it hard to believe that you still have lice after 9 months if you don't have an itchy scalp. That was always the give-away sign to check my kids for headlice.


Be at peace,

Z

jeepers101

Hi OP, my OH is a hairdresser and she says its very common for people to be turned away for lice. People are not judged for this, it can happen to anyone. If you're still worried about it go to your pharmacist first for an inspection. If he/she gives you the all clear then you'll be safe to go to the hairdresser.

astra2000

OP if you want to know for definite that you dont have head lice before you go to the hairdressers, then use a treatment again. There should be no reason that you cant leave the house for two days due to treatment. Get one of the ones you leave in your hair for only 10/15 mins I have used lyclear spray on my children and find that works best, its very oily so you need to shampoo your hair really well after.
You need to stop freaking yourself out about this and take action. I know your hair is long but if you use a lot of conditioner it will make combing through for detection easier. Do this on a weekly basis using a very fine toothed white comb chemists sell them. If you do this your mind will be at ease that you are clear of lice and you will relax about the whole situation Best of luck

Katgurl

omg OP, let me tell you, my hair is my crowning glory - it is thick & glossy & rarely lets me down. However, unfortunately the little b@stards flock to it from time to time and because its so thick even after treatment i sometimes cant get all the evidence out. I've had same experience in hairdressers, thankfully she was very nice abotu it & i had to explain to her that i had treated it already but i'd go home & repeat & be back again. i did go back the next day & she laughed it off & said it happens a lot & she was sorry if she'd embarrassed me.

it is horrible but honestly its no reflection on your own hygiene or anything like, don't even let that enter your thoughts.

fatmammycat

Lice LOVE clean scalps and hair, so it is no reflection on you if you've had an outbreak. I've been hit by the buggers twice in my adult life, both caught from children and I have really long thick wavy hair so it was an absolulte pain to get rid of them.
If you've used the treatment correctly and the comb there won't be any trace of them. Don't let what is essentially a common place happening become any more of a complex. Go get your hair done, you'll feel so much better afterwards.

lightglow

If you're really worried about it, why not get one of your close friends or boyfriend to check your hair carefully before u go to the hairdressers? If they can't find any, then there won't be any for the hairdressers to find.