7 Ways to Reduce Your (or your child's) Risk of Headlice-BTSWK

Hey! Sorry that I missed last week, I missed it on my YouTube as well, I'm still trying to work on configuring things and getting posts set up ahead of time. However, today I have a little post I though would be of use to y'all. (this is the first post of my BTSWK-back to school with Ki-series, since head lice gets more common around school time.)

Head lice are nasty little critters, and when you or your child gets them it can become an extremely difficult problem. Around here, head lice were always common in elementary school. Letters home about head lice being in the classroom or grade were pretty common. And since I had very long hair I've definitely had my fair share of head lice cases. They're awful, I know. Since school is coming so here are 7 simple tips to reduce your risk of head lice (with one bonus one that if you're older trying to prevent lice-not necessarily one for younger children or for all people).

1. BE AWARE

  One of the most simple and best working tips I can give you is to simply be aware. If you or your child starts itching their head a lot more all of a sudden, be sure to check for lice. Know if other kids in your child's vicinity have lice. Now, I'm not saying close your kid off from kids that may have head lice, just know to check their head. 

2. CHECKING FOR LICE

Check your head has been mentioned many times, and it’s definitely a simple way to know when someone has head lice, but how do you do that? You know what dandruff is, those little white flakes or dots in the hair. Lice eggs look almost identical to small bits of dandruff, but lice eggs are attached around the hair strands and will not be easily brushed off. The most common places for head lice are above your ears and on the back of your head. To most efficiently check, have someone else part your hair where the itching is most common and look for lice eggs. Be sure to try to take off any possible lice eggs, because if they just fall off they are dandruff, not eggs. 

3. SHARING ITEMS

Many people, especially children, think nothing of sharing hats, jackets, hair brushes, hair ties, etc. However this is a habit that can be the one difference between being lice free and having head lice. Make sure your child knows if they share hair ties to either have the other person keep it, or throw it away after. Hair ties are surrounded by fabric, which can get lice or lice eggs attached when used. Also be sure to wash jackets or sweatshirts that have been shared with someone, as well as hats. When kids share hair brushes at sleepovers (which is pretty common), you either need to completely clean out the brush of hair afterwards or get a new one (it may seem extreme, but it’s very easy to get head lice after sharing a hair brush).

4. CLEAN OUT HAIRBRUSHES

When hair is collected in the hairbrush it holds all the hair styling product, lint, and things that were in the hair. It's a good idea to clean the hair out of your hairbrush at least once a week, if not more. This keeps your brush from getting those product deposits that can result in having to get a new one, and helps keep you from getting head lice all over again from an earlier experience or other person.

5. REPLACE HAIR ACCESSORIES

Hair brushes should definitely be replaced at least every three months. The average hairbrush is usually around 5 USD, which really isn't much to spend every couple months to help keep your hair from getting infested. Also, be sure to get rid of hair ties that you've used too much, when they have lots of hair hanging off of them or when you can see the rubber band inside, you should think about getting some new hair ties. They aren't that expensive either.

6. CLEAN BED SHEETS

Cleaning bed sheets every month or less (a month is stretching it) will not only reduce the risk of head lice or re-infestation, it's just a good thing to do.

7. MAYO

If you already have head lice, a simple way to get rid of it (without cutting off all of your hair) is mayonnaise. Mayo is very inexpensive, and all you need for this is some plastic wrap, a shower cap, and mayo. Put the mayo in your hair (it's easier to have someone else do this for you), making sure to be extremely thorough on your roots, and put your hair in a shower cap. Then wrap plastic wrap around it tightly, making sure all your hair is covered. Leave this in overnight and wash out in the morning. Be sure to get new hairbrushes, hair ties, and clean your sheets & pillowcases before using them again. It's a life saver.

BONUS:

Also, the chemicals in hair dyes typically kill any lice or knits in your hair. Just saying

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hope you guys enjoyed this and it will help some of you, more back to school themed posts to come (comment any suggestions).

Love y'all -Ki
(p.s-my newest YouTube video is up, go check it out, there's a link to my youtube on the side)