Head Lice Removal Cost & Time Required

Lice removal times and costs vary depending on the thickness of your child’s hair, the treatment option you choose, and the severity of head lice infestation. But first, you should identify which family members have it to get the most accurate estimate.

Symptoms of Head Lice

If your child has lice, in most probability she got it from a family member, friend, or a classmate. Sharing items such as combs, towels, brushes, and hats, as well as sitting close and sharing a bed, can cause lice to spread. However, head to head contact is the most common infection method. The symptoms of head lice may not show for up to five weeks from initial lice infestation.

· Itchy scalp

· A feeling of something crawling on your head

· Sores due to intense scratching. 

· Difficulty in sleeping.

· Irritability

Head lice should immediately be treated to prevent them from spreading. 

How to Kill Head Lice

1. Professional Treatment. Head lice treatment clinics, centers, or services.

2. Home Remedies. Olive oil, tea tree oil, coconut oil, thyme oil, sesame oil, garlic mayonnaise, petroleum jelly. These are applied in the dry hair and allowed to stay for a few hours before rinsing. 

3. Over-the-Counter Products. Pyrethrin combined with another chemical to make it more toxic to lice and permethrin, the synthetic version of pyrethrin. 

4. Medical Prescriptions. Ivermectin, Benzyl Alcohol, Malathion, Spinosad, and Lindane. These medications come as shampoos and are applied on dry hair and allowed to stay for a few hours before rinsing. 

5. Lice Removal Devices. These are mechanical devices that come as combs or vacuums or dryers. 

It is recommended to avoid using the same treatment more than twice. Use only one type of medication at a time, too. 

How long does it take to remove lice?

Getting rid of head lice can be a daunting task. It does not, however, need to take forever to battle head lice infestation as long as a thorough job is done the first time. How long it will take to remove lice depends on these factors:

· Type of treatment

· Hair length, thickness, and curly or kinkiness

· Number of family members with head lice

· Lice spreading in school 

· If everyone is treated at once or at different times

Treatment centers

Getting rid of head lice through a lice treatment clinic or center may take only one treatment. The length of the treatment depends on the severity of lice infestation. A second appointment may be required to check for re-infestation.

Home remedies

If you opt for home remedies, your child should be lice-and-nit-free two weeks or so after the initial treatment. A second treatment is needed one week after the first treatment. 

Lice products & prescriptions

If after two weeks and the lice and nits are not gone, try OTC products. OTC products will require two treatments. A second treatment is done 9 days after the first treatment to kill the remaining lice and nits from the first treatment.

OTC products often fail because sometimes the medication is not kept on the scalp long enough to make it effective or the OTC products are not used properly as indicated. 

Of the prescription medications, only Ivermectin kills lice with a single treatment. All the rest may need second treatments a few days or weeks after the first. 

How much does it cost to remove lice?

Most lice treatment clinics, centers, or services charge per hour or family member. It usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half and only one visit to treat head lice. Severe lice infestation would take much longer. 

OTC, prescription medications for head lice as well as treatment clinics can be costly. Most Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) provide reimbursement for head lice treatment. You, however, need to check with your provider if head lice services and remediation products are covered expenses. 

Home remedies are the cheapest of all head lice treatments. Using a lice removal device is also cheaper than OTC products and prescription medication. A lice removal device can be cleaned and/or sanitized for re-use.

This place is so amazing. I was stressed when my daughter had lice and they were so calm and answered all my questions. We called on a Saturday afternoon and she squeezed us in that same day around 5. My daughter went home lice free and with oil to... take home. Would defiantly recommend.read more
My daughter is boarding in Oregon and discovered she had gotten lice from somewhere. She went to Lice Charmers and Lex took AMAZING care of her. Despite...
Lex is so helpful and knowledgeable! She was quick and made the process smooth! Scheduling with her was easy. I highly recommend her!
Lice charmers was fantastic. Both Alexis and Connor were so helpful, kind, and professional. The visit was quick, easy, inexpensive, and most importantly -...
Helpful, professional, and reliable. So grateful for this service!
Love the attention to detail and how well she worked. My kiddo enjoyed the attention she received. Just an awesome group. Can’t say enough good stuff.
If you ever have lice go to Lice Charmers! Emily was awesome. We had already done a treatment at home but weren't sure we got everything out of our daughter's head. She found 3 bugs that we either missed or that had hatched since the home... treatment. She was extremely thorough. Highly recommend!!read more
Emily was so helpful. Made me feel right at ease and made me smile throughout the process. This is a service you hope not to have to use often but if in fact I get another case of head lice, they’d be the first to call. Great communication.... Responded quickly to my request etc. Thank you again! Will be sure to tell others about them.read more
Everything was super easy and everyone was so helpful. Would highly recommend this place!
Lice Charmers did a great job removing all lice and left us with an action plan. Best money spent to give our family a peace of mind. Quick, efficient and personable.
Emily was fantastic! She was very personable and made us feel comfortable. Service was thorough and really gave me peace of mind. Definitely recommend this place if you ever have to deal with those nasty little bugs!
Fluid experience from start to finish. Lots of tips and good experience while getting treatment. My 14 year old actually had an enjoyable experience and thought the person was “really sweet.” . Highly recommend Lice Charmers!
Emily was awesome and was able to rid my daughter of all the lice. She was extremely knowledgeable and helped me know what to do to clean out the house!Thanks Emily and Lice Charmers!
Great, friendly service and exactly what we needed to get peace of mind we were rid of all the lice. Tried home treatment first, but she still caught a few of the nits we missed and did a a thorough check of everyone in the family. Totally worth it!
Alexis was fantastic. She was super patient with our daughter, who had a pretty nasty infestation. She also was very good at explaining to and educating us about these nasty little insects.
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