Lice Salon Insider: 10 Facts About Head Lice
Lice salons encounter a lot of confusion among their clients regarding head lice and nits. We’ll share the real facts about some common ideas about lice that we’ve encountered.
- They can’t fly.
Lice have claws and they cling onto our hair with the help of these. They are unable to fly or even jump. Therefore, we don’t have to worry about these little creatures flying from one head to another. However, they do spread primarily from head to head contact, such as hugging.
- Lice stay in the dark.
Well, this is one of reasons it is so challenging to spot lice in our heads. They look for darkest regions in our head and stay hidden there.
- Nits match the hair color.
Lice’s eggs (nits) can appear lighter or darker shades of brown to match the shade of the hair and protect themselves. It is more challenging to find nits than adult lice.
- Why does it itch?
Lice undoubtedly initiate the itch, but probably not with their movements. Their saliva is most likely the cause. The skin is allergic to the saliva of the louse, and thus, it leads to the itching sensation.
- Lice prefer clean hair.
It is a myth that untidy people have more lice in their hair. Everybody can have lice on their head. Some people also say that people with longer hair have more lice. This is incorrect, too, and the reason is that the length of hair does not determine the number of lice an individual has. However, we’ve found in our appointments that it’s more likely for women to have it than men and that may be strictly because of typical gender roles and shorter hair styles are more popular with men now and longer one’s with women.
- Shaving off hair will help.
You really have to shave your head to get rid of them. Not buzz or trim, but shave completely down to the scalp to eliminate their environment. If that’s not appealing, try calling up a local lice salon.
- They can survive submersion in water.
Lice can survive for up to eight whole hours entirely underwater. There are studies that show that it will kill some of them, but others have been shown to survive after 24 hours of submersion.
- Lice can’t survive off the head.
If they are removed from our hair, they will not survive for more than 24 hours or so because they will dehydrate. Even if they get back on a head, they may not be able to produce the saliva they need to feed.
- Lice are specie-specific.
Pets/wildlife do not carry the same lice and they cannot survive if they do transfer.
- Lice are the size of a sesame seed.
Last but not least, mature lice are about that size, but nymphs are much smaller. Nits are about the size of a grain of salt.