Lice Removal FAQ

What are nits attracted to?

Nits are lice eggs and are glued to the hair shaft and do not come off easily. Nits are not attracted to anything since they don’t move.
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Can mayonnaise kill lice?

If mayonnaise could consistently kill lice, why would there be any lice products, prescriptions, and lice removal businesses?

Think carefully before you attempt this home remedy. Every article that recommends mayo also recommends combing with a lice comb because lice combing gets rid of lice. Mayo may suffocate some of them, but you won’t get the nits and probably won’t get all the adults. When lice can hold their breath when submerged in water for more than 8 hours, mayo is not going to do much.
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What can I spray on furniture to kill lice?

Unless they are body lice, they will die within 8-24 hours without spraying anything. Your best option is to vacuum the furniture, concentrating on the headrests.

Spraying listerine on your furniture is a great way to damage or ruin your furniture and won’t kill head lice. Don’t do it.
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How long can lice live in carpet?

After spending 8-24 hours off a head, without feeding, head lice will dehydrate and die. Any nits that fall off the head are unlikely to hatch and if they do, they will die very quickly unless they can feed,

Unless you are rolling your head around on the carpet, you are not going to get head lice from there.
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Can a hair dryer kill lice?

It is unlikely you will completely eliminate head lice using a hair dryer without damaging your scalp or hair in the process. Even professional services that rely on heat devices with carefully calibrated temperature and airflow manually comb for 30-60 minutes or more after they use the device. If you are tying to treat lice on your own, get a professional quality metal lice comb, some hair conditioner, and start combing regularly.
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Can you get lice from a quick hug?

Yes. If you are worried, get a professional lice check and you’ll have peace of mind instead of fretting about it. Lice spread primarily from head-to-head, or hair-to-hair, contact.
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Do lice like clean or dirty hair?

Lice do not care if hair is clean or dirty. They are bugs that evolved to live on heads of all kinds and eat blood to survive. It’s not worthwhile to anthropomorphize head lice or label people as dirty or clean because they were unlucky enough to get head lice.
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What is the best treatment for lice?

The best treatment is fast, effective, affordable, convenient, and healthy.

Compare all the time and money lost trying to do it yourself: the cost of a lice comb and products, lost wages from missed work, lost daycare days you already paid for, childcare for missed school days, and hours spent combing on irritated children, hiring a service will be the best option.

If you simply can’t afford it, I recommend buying a lice kit, a high quality, metal lice comb, and learning how to comb for lice and manually removing all lice and nits.

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How long does it take to get rid of lice?

It depends on how you treat them and if you check and treat everyone that might have them.

Here are the ways to get rid of lice from fastest to slowest.

Shaving everyone’s head. It’s the fastest, but also very unpleasant.
Hiring a lice service is the second fastest way to get rid of lice. When we finish your treatment you are lice-free and 100% non-contagious.
If you can get a doctor’s appointment quickly and a prescription and it works on the first try, you should be lice-free in a week or two.
Buying a kit and manually combing everyone’s head with a high-quality comb will take you at least two to three weeks to be absolutely sure you are lice free, but you should check once a week afterward to be safe.
Home remedies are a gamble and may make the problem worse because you will think it’s gone, but it is still there and steadily getting worse as the lice reproduce and spread to more people.

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Can head lice live on pillows and sheets?

It is possible for head lice to live on pillows and sheets for about 8-24 hours. After that, they will be too dehydrated to generate the saliva they need to feed and will dies. They do not burrow into beds or pillows.

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How do you get rid of lice quickly?

Identify who has it and who doesn’t by checking everyone in the household or getting a professional lice check.
Treat everyone at the same time using a lice service, a drugstore lice kit and combing everyone’s hair, or combing with hair conditioner. If you choose to treat it yourself, you will have comb through everyone’s head multiple times until there are no signs of lice.
Wash your sheets and pillowcases in hot water or put them in the dryer or high for 30-60 minutes.
Optional: bag up anything that can’t be washed and has contacted an infested person’s head and leave it for 48 hours. Vacuum the headrests of your furniture and car. Lice rarely spread from these objects, but it is possible.
Continue checking for lice once or twice a week for three weeks to ensure it is gone and no one was reinfested.

The fastest way to get rid of lice is to hire a service to do it in one appointment.
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Up Next: A Quick Guide to Lice Removal

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Based on 883 reviews

Bonnie Degner

If you need to be lice free within an hour, go to this place! They have gotten us in same day both times and they utilize the heat treatment which is the most effective. Plus we appreciate they have stuff for kids to do while they wait.

Jenny Nieh

The best experience. Worth every dollar spent. My daughter and I were both treated and it was such a pleasant experience (sans getting lice). Highly recommend!

Amber Darkwood

Melanie was super knowledgeable and thorough. Apparently, I did not have lice and was just charged for check and peace of mind. Highly recommend.

Michael

After finding out about cases at our local school, we suspected one of our children had lice. As this was our first experience with lice, we were nervous on how to handle the situation. We found Lice Charmers and brought the whole family. She was able to see us very quickly. This was the best decision we could have made. Our child did have lice, and June was phenomenal. Her treatment of it, as well as her knowledge and suggestions instantly put us at ease. While lice is frustrating, it can be handled relatively simply and it made us realize it's a very manageable situation. The rest of us got looked at as well. Our child's hair is not the easiest to run a lice comb through, but June was phenomenal and our child barely even noticed. Highly, highly recommend if you want to feel at peace.

Kelly Sanders

This place was great. June is very knowledgeable and did very thorough work. I am satisfied that our lice issue was properly addressed. Would highly recommend!

Sophie Charles

Got an appointment 2 hours after my initial call! Melanie was kind, patient, thorough, and answered all of our (many) questions. She took the stress out of an otherwise very unpleasant circumstance. My kiddo adds, “She even worked a bit late to make sure that we could all be checked- which was very nice.”

Megan Sever

They were wonderful! Got a same-day appointment, and they were very thorough and kind. They made my 8yo and me feel comfortable and were pleasant to chat with while the process was done. Very knowledgeable and very easy. 10/10 recommend over doing it yourself!

kathy larsen

Lice charmers are a Godsend. Especially Melanie. I was so anxious and so uncomfortable. She was knowledgeable and so kind. She is an expert with compassion. The price was reasonable I personally thought the price was low compared to what they do. Don’t even try to do this on your own. Make appointment.
The products I bought to do it myself cost me more than what they charged. Thank you Melanie.

Sara Kupper

Did I want to spend my birthday money on lice treatment? No, of course not. But I’m so glad I did. My attempt at treating my daughter’s lice with drugstore shampoo was ineffective and she was still scratching out bugs (barf). Melanie was very kind and even checked my younger daughter and me as well. Plus, we learned all about lice! At least now if this happens again (god forbid), we’re well-informed. 100% would recommend.

melanie garrick

Gave me great piece of mind of being lice free after treating my son! Friendly staff and I learned a lot of helpful information! Great experience.

Courtney Ferris

We had a great experience with Lice Charmers! Very thorough and answered all my questions. Worth the money and they accept HSA/FSA!

Janet Stewart

We went to Lice Charmers as a family of four. We were able to make a same-day appointment, which was great. Marigny was great with the kids and was able to give us lots of good information while de-lousing us. Money well spent!

Christy Stevens

June is amazing and super knowledgeable! We had a loce scare and needed head checks done and she was really great with my kids. Would 100% recommend going to see June!

Leann Witt

So thankful to have found this salon! They had us in and out in under two hours. June was efficient, kind, calming, and best of all, we left without lice. Highly recommend.

Lindsay Kantor

Margaret was able to take my daughter for a check as soon as we learned about an exposure. No lice found; and I’m grateful for the peace of mind!

Claire Frazier

Melanie was fantastic! She was professional, gentle, knowledgable and effective!
I appreciated the day of appointment, the education she shared and the thoroughness of the appointment. 5/5.

Karyn Reinebach

Margaret was amazing, she was thorough, fast and diligent. I have used Lice Charmers before and they are the only place that answers the phone and has appts at any time.

Mason Andrus

Lice Charmers literally saved my sanity. I tried the over-the-counter stuff with no luck, and I wish I’d just come here first. The 'Charmers' are aptly named—they were so kind and handled the situation with such ease that my kids actually enjoyed the visit. No more itching, no more stress. They took a situation that usually makes you want to burn your house down and made it manageable. 10/10 recommendation is an understatement!

Amanda Willet

June was very helpful, kind and knowledgable. The treatment is all natural and actually relaxing. My daughter called it the Lice Spa. Thank you for helping us! It worked and she is much more comfortable. Definitely worth the cost!

Christina Besperstova

I was so scared and felt bad of idea I might have lice and spread them around to my family.
And I had made an appointment this morning and was seen same day . June took great care of me and my daughter, we didn’t find any lice but June has shared the great recommendations and advices about how to take care of my head skin and hair since I have still been adjusting to a new WA climate . Thank you June very much! You are very caring professional, you know how to do your job on a high level , and just great human being . Wish all the best to your business :)

Devon Roulette

Very helpful and informative. I have so much on my plate in the week, I was grateful to have Lice Charmers help us treat our daughters lice.

Alyson Birrell

Kind, non judgmental and informative. I appreciated the care and time taken during our check to make sure we were clear.

Miranda White

Melanie at Lice Charmers is amazing! They were able to make a same day appointment which allowed us to be lice and stress free by the end our session! So grateful for the quality of service that she provided and the guarantee is a blessing. Such a relief this company exists when your in a whirlwind of chaos at home! Thank you Melanie!

Sarah Brown

I found lice in my daughter’s hair on a Monday And after doing a treatment at home I wasn’t sure about my ability to get rid of it all and I was able to get in for an appointment on Tuesday morning. June was very thorough and knowledgeable. She helped put my five-year-old at ease while also teaching us a few things here and there to help ease our worries. She checked me and my two other children. Overall, it was a good experience even if lice had to be involved ☺️

Emily Galeria-Wolfe

Melanie at Lice Charmers is amazing! We had never dealt with lice before and she instantly put us at ease. She was great with my neurodiverse son, as well as my husband and I. I can't recommend Melanie and Lice Charmers enough. We got in right away and now all happily lice free! Thank you Lice Charmers!

In-Home Lice Removal

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