Head Lice: How Do They Start?

Ever wonder why you still have lice, despite cleaning your hair every day? Like several other pests, louse is a complicated creature that is difficult to deal with.

Having head lice can be a frustrating and embarrassing problem. It’s annoying because lice keep coming back.

If you’re a victim of head lice, using an effective head lice treatment can put an end to your misery once and for all. Similarly, people think that louse is a sign of bad personal hygiene. The reality is that lice have nothing to do with cleanliness. Louse can’t even cause a life-threatening disease.

In fact, head lice are tiny insects found on the scalp and neck. Due to their small size, lice can be really hard to spot with the naked eye. Each louse lays eggs or nits. Nits are even smaller than lice and are glued to hair strands. Removing nits from the hair is a challenge of its own.

Understanding Lice Life Cycle

Head lice live in the hair and feed on blood from the scalp. Regardless of a person’s age, gender, race, hair texture or type, anyone can get hair lice anytime.  Children, however, catch them more easily than adults because of close contact with other infected children in schools.

A female louse lays her egg (nit) near the scalp. The oval-shaped nits can be brown, white or yellow.

Eggs stick to a person’s hair shafts. This means shampooing and brushing your hair will not remove the nits.

It takes nits 7 to 9 days to hatch. Once hatched, their shells remain attached to the hair shaft. With hair growth, the shells move farther away from the scalp.

Hatched eggs are called nymphs. They have small size and light color. After 9 to 12 days, nymphs become adults.

An adult louse has six legs. Although its color varies, it is generally brown and gray. It lice can live up to a month in the hair.

A female louse can lay up to ten eggs (nits) every day. If you don’t take appropriate action, female lice will continue laying eggs.

How To Protect Yourself

Lice spread from one person to another due to close contact. Remember, a louse doesn’t fly or jump, but it crawls.

To minimize the chances of catching lice, do not share or use an affected person’s hat, cap, hair band, comb, brush, etc.

If you’re considering using a chemical lice treatment product, it can seriously damage your hair. For the best lice treatment, Lice Busters simply is a click away. We specialize in providing natural, safe and effective lice removal treatments in Miami Beach, FL.

In case you can’t visit our lice clinic, our experts also offer in-home treatment.