If you’re using one of the two really good lice combs, you can boil it for a short time to get it really clean. Remove debris from the nit comb and soak it in really hot water for 15 minutes. You don’t want to leave any nits on the hair-and they are very easy to miss the first time around.ĭon’t see any more nits? Great! Rinse all the conditioner out of your child’s hair, tell her how great she was at sitting still, and let her go do something fun. As you let down each section, look at the roots of the hair again. This is the hardest part of getting rid of lice, and you’ve done it! Repeat this careful comb-out process for removing nits from every small section of hair.Īfter you have combed out all the sections of hair, heave a sigh of relief and get up and stretch your legs. Once a section is done, band or clip it up close to your child’s head, away from the areas of hair that you have yet to comb. I always ran the comb through one more time, just to be sure I didn’t miss anything.
Look carefully at the section of hair again. (You’ll get the hang of it quickly.)Īfter running the comb through the hair section, dip the comb into a bowl of water to remove any lice, nits and stray hair (or wipe it with a tissue that you toss immediately into the wastebasket). Then pull the comb through the hair from the scalp all the way to the ends, using pressure to make sure that no strands escape from the comb. Angle the comb sharply in the direction you're combing, and run it along the scalp through all the hair roots. Putting the comb teeth as close to the scalp as possible, insert the comb through the entire ½-inch section of hair. Either way, your goal is to remove every single one.
You may see only a very few nits, or you may see a whole lot. They are light-colored oval containers, only about the size of the head of a pin. Nits will be attached very close to the scalp. That was an easy way to keep track of which sections I had combed.įor each section, first look carefully at the roots of the hair. I would undo one of them, comb that section thoroughly, and then fasten it up again close to her head with a yellow band. I used blue ponytail holders to put lots of ponytails all over my daughter's head. A section should be no more than ½ an inch wide at the scalp, and not longer than the width of your nit comb. You’re only going to be removing nits from one section at a time. If it doesn’t, you should use more lubricant in the rough area before beginning to use the lice comb for removing nits. The regular comb should glide through the hair very smoothly after detangling. Lice MD is a dimethicone-based product specifically designed to make the combing process easy.Ĭomb the child’s hair with a regular comb, to get all the tangles out. Leave-in spray conditioners work well too. Just massage it into the wet hair from scalp to roots, and leave it in for the combing process. Regular hair conditioner works very well. If your child’s hair is curly or hard to comb, or if your child has a sensitive scalp and dislikes having her hair combed, you’ll definitely want to use a lubricant. And adding a lubricant can make removing nits much easier. If you use the tissue method, make sure you have a wastebasket to drop the used tissues into.Ĭombing wet hair is easier than combing dry hair. Have a bowl of hot water next to you (to dip the comb into between passes), or a box of tissues (to wipe off the comb between passes). Seat your child comfortably in front of you – and make yourself comfortable too, in a position where you can comb your child’s hair easily. Wrap a towel around your child’s shoulders.
Or get a strong lamp – ideally one that can be directed at the side of the head you’re combing. If you need to be indoors, sitting by a window on a bright day is a good idea. Natural sunlight works the best we did our nit-combing out on the deck. Get comfortable in an area with really good strong lighting.
Ready to get those things out of your kid’s hair! Here’s the best way to go about removing nits: Okay – you’re armed with a really good nit comb, and you’re fired up.