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Champho Phonique is the start for removing head lice

Submitted by April

Here is a step by step way to get rid of the lice. And trust me after going through it with my daughter with waist length hair several times, I can honestly say this is the easiest and least traumatic of all lice treatments we tried.

1) Lay down a tarp or do while on tile or linoleum. Do not use this while on carpeting!!

2) Have your child sit backwards on a chair (we found putting a movie in helped with the attention span)

3) Take a small amount of the Champho and pour it in your hands and start working your hands through your child's hair. You want to do this on dry hair. Continue doing this until their hair is saturated with the Champho (CP for short from now on)

4) After you are done, wrap their head in some plastic or put a shower cap on them and finish watching their movie with them.

5) Take your child into the bathroom and have them lean over the bathtub and remove the shower cap letting their hair hang over. (you can also do this part outside on a warm day.)

6) Gently shake your child's hair over the tub with your hands moving it all around. Shake it pretty good but not so hard as to create knots in their hair. The bugs and some eggs will just drop out of their hair dead and you will be amazed and slightly disgusted with just how many bugs drop out.

7) Go back to the chair on the tarp and have your child sit backwards on the chair again and put in another movie.

8) Using some inexpensive shampoo, such as Suave that you can get for a dollar at the Dollar Store, apply the shampoo the same way you did the CP until all of the hair is coated in the shampoo. Using another disposable shower cap cover your child's hair and, what the heck, finish the movie.

9) After the movie wash your child's hair as normal and instead of conditioner pour warm not hot.. barely warm vinegar through their hair. and back on with another disposable shower cap. Watch another move or play games or let child play outside in warm sun for about an hour. Then rinse with lukewarm to warm water. (using hot water on your hair damages it)

10) While child is playing your work has just begun. (Ha Ha) Strip the beds, remove all dirty clothing and soak child's hairbrush and comb in a mild bleach solution) The bed will either need to be sprayed with a lice removal spray(not my first choice) or ironed with your iron making sure you get the tip of your iron well into the seams and trim. gather all stuffed animals or dolls with hair and if they cannot be washed put in a large bag and close tightly. Keep the bag closed tightly and not in the house for at LEAST one month. Wash and dry all bedding, clothing and washable stuffed critters in the hottest wash water and dryer you can use without ruining the item. Don't forget jackets, hats and scarves in winter time. If there is carpeting in their bedroom it must be vacuumed very thoroughly. If tile or linoleum then mop well with a medium bleach solution. THIS ALL MUST BE DONE BEFORE ALLOWING CHILD TO SLEEP IN THEIR BED.

11) Time for another movie, a bright light, a regular comb(must be cleaned completely later), and a GOOD nit comb. The nit comb should be one made of metal teeth very close together. Don't even try using the cheap plastic ones they don't work at all. Comb your child's hair to remove tangles and working in a one inch section slide the comb through the hair. The vinegar should have loosened the glue making the nits easier to comb or pick out. Go over hair at least twice on the first night. If you don't see ANY nits or live bugs you can send your child to school the next day.

12) For the next 6-10 days, check your child's hair every single day for more nits or immature lice. If you just find nits just pull them out. However, if you see something that is about the size of a pin head and moving then you need to do the CP treatment again.

HOW TO KEEP THE LICE AWAY FROM YOUR CHILD.

Sometimes it just happens and you have to deal with it. But there is nothing that says you have to make it easy for them to get a foothold on your child's head.

Lice absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE fresh clean hair. So use styling products like hairspray and gel to coat the hair and keep them from laying eggs(nits) But the best way to keep from getting them again is teaching your child to never ever share hats, combs, brushes or be head-to-head with anyone. Some people swear by the tea tree oil.. I never had the oil to work on my child's hair even with daily washes using it. For us the main thing that worked was teaching the child about lice, what they were, what they do and how they lay their eggs and how many just one adult could lay in 24 hours. Education is the key to keeping your child from being reinfected. I hope this helps at least one family go through this a little easier.