Our technician will take a thorough look through your family’s dry hair. Live lice are able to expertly move away from the screening area, but their nits are glued to the hair shaft and cannot escape the scrutiny of our high-magnification visors. 

A dry screen takes about 10- 15 mins per person, depending on the density and condition of your hair (freshly detangled hair is much quicker to check!) If nits or live lice are seen on a dry screen, we will offer to switch from screening mode to removal mode.

A wet screen is a more definitive screening technique than a dry screen because live lice cannot escape detection. We will saturate your hair in conditioner and comb through it in larger sections. The live lice are immobilized by the conditioner and the nits are no match for our comb. After combing each section we wipe the conditioner on a white cloth. The brown lice and nits are easily visible. After a clear wet screen and hearing your treatment history, our Educator can give you a very definitive all-clear

A wet screen takes 15 - 30 mins depending on the length and condition of your hair. As with a dry screen, freshly detangled hair will take less time. If lice or nits are found, we will immediately offer to switch from screening mode to removal mode.

In cases where head lice is already known to be present, we will jump right into removal mode. We begin by saturating your dry hair and scalp in ordinary white conditioner, sectioning it into four main quadrants, then clearing each quadrant one small section at a time. We will add more conditioner to your hair and scalp as we go to ensure the live lice are immobilized. As we work, we are wiping our comb onto a white cloth. The lice and nits are shades of brown, and stand out from the white conditioner and cloth. This allows us to assess how established your case is and customize a follow-up schedule for you. 

The average removal takes about one hour for a person with medium to long hair and a low infestation. This will vary depending on hair length, hair condition, and level of infestation. We will be able to give you an approximate quote upon looking at your hair.

Follow up is always a necessary part of head lice treatment. This is because there are two stages in the life cycle of head lice when the items are too small to remove. When the nit is first laid on the hair shaft, it is too small to comb out, and when the baby nymph hatches out of its shell it is very tiny and stays directly on your scalp feeding. These two stages are all but impossible to remove during your first combout. The same would be true for a pesticide treatment. During your first combout we will remove almost all of what is present, but there will almost certainly be a number of those two tiny phases left behind.

The best strategy is to wait a few days for the tiny nits to plump up as they develop, and for the tiny nymphs to feed and grow a bit larger. The next combout will be more effective if the items are allowed to grow. This is good news - there is absolutely no need to exhaust yourself or your children by combing every day. Lice cannot reproduce until they are adults, so as long as you continue to comb regularly - every three to five days - you will comb out the developing nits and nymphs before they reach adulthood.

You can have us come back to do your follow up combouts, or do them yourself, as we will teach you how during your first appointment. We will leave you with a follow up schedule to follow until you get a first clear combout. Getting two combouts 7-10 days apart is the sure-fire way to know you are absolutely finished.