1. Carmen says:

    We’re there with you Beth! Sophia came home with lice from Oaxaca after spring break and we’re currently fighting them. We’ve now dealt with Brazilian, U.S. and Mexican lice. Mexican lice seem to be the tiniest and hardest to see. We do the mayonnaise thing. Tried chemicals once with no luck. I think no matter what you do, as you say, the nit combing consistently over time is the most important. BTW Brazilian lice are huge!

    • Beth says:

      Glad for the confirmation that they are, indeed, different in different regions! I’m imagining your long-haired brood all have thick hair, too? THAT sure doesn’t help, does it!?

  2. Leah says:

    Here is my question, if you treated the whole family, how did you get your own head? Did you just comb and comb hoping that you got it all?

    • Beth says:

      This is the million dollar question…who nit picks the nit picker!? I am now so on top of it (I check the kids every few days, boil brushes regularly etc…) that I never really get them (knock on wood), BUT I had them when we lived in Austin and quickly learned that though talented and able-bodied in so many ways, nit picking is not something my husband is capable of. That’s where your patient, meticulous and empathetic mom friend comes in! I do oil and comb through my own hair on occasion with the nit comb just to make sure I’m free. If I found many, though, I’d be calling a girlfriend.

  3. lexi tallant says:

    Seriously Beth, you make even lice sound amazing…. That’s how I know I’m desperate to be back in Mexico with you and the girls!

    P.S. Pretty awesome pic of Taos. I can tell that was a fun photoshoot 🙂

    Love y’all.

    • Beth says:

      You are going to LOVE it here. And no worries, I’ll make sure the girls are 100% piojo free before you get here!!! You are sorely missed yourself, lovely. Hope you’re loving life.

    • Taos says:

      Just to get it clear that was a 60 peso picture…
      Love and miss you guys!
      Oh! Lucy was asking about you 🙂

  4. Heidi says:

    Um first , I found this post to be quite hilarious. (The girls are going to kill you when
    they are older.)
    Second in regards to the lice mavens quote, lice ARE in fact disgusting and gross and I dread the day Abel gets them because I will throw up.
    Third, I love the girls expressions. Makes me miss them and cherish them so much. And you too b/c this post brought a smile to my face. So funny. Thanks for doing all the leg work so I will know what to do.

    • Beth says:

      Yeah…I kinda love that I’ll have posts to bust out as leverage when they’re being intolerable. You made me laugh pretty hard, too as I’m pretty sure you actually WOULD throw up if you found them, knowing your love of such things (wait…lice and worms…same category for you?) You can send that little man to my house and aunt Beth will pick his piojos any day.

    • Taos says:

      Who says I’m to young to kill her now?… hehe 🙂

  5. Jenn says:

    I’m suddenly very, very itchy!!

  6. Anka says:

    You´re gorgeous!! And your girls ought to love and hug and adore you for not cutting their hair! That definitely would have been my plan after one week of oiling and combing… they once called me lice maven – undeservingly, for I never saw one live lice my whole life, just did research and interviewing for the school; to inform parents and promote the idea of lice loving super clean people AT LEAST as much as, let´s say tramps. Your lice maven is pretty damn right.
    Well, since I have two boys, they had to wear hair shorter than an inch during lice season. Which is November and June or so, here in Germany… ;o)

  7. Taos says:

    Mom you owe me $60. And there is no such thing as payback for 12 yr. old sass, its natural 😀
    And in my defence I have had it ONCE living here, that makes two times in my life. I don’t get it because ….unlike some people… I shower. 😀

  8. Gina says:

    Great advise! The first time we experienced lice, I researched it a lot and finally found that Licefreee worked really well, it’s just a heavily concentrated saline solution (salt!). Your link to the Nit Free comb is broken, but after having checked a few combs myself I agree that some are so worthless. The comb that came with this kit had metal teeth and worked really well. I also recommend that one keeps scotch tape and a magnifying glass handy so you can see and confirm you’re doing the job and that over time there’s no more lice. Once I knew what they looked like I was a lot more confident with combing.

    My 12 year old just had lice last month and all I do now is change her pillow case nightly, sheets and blanket every other day or so, clean clothes/pj’s/bathrobe daily, no hats or headsets, one spot for her to sit in the house and car for two weeks and clean that nightly, and comb every night while she plays video games. I’ll check everyone else in the house every few days for at least two weeks.

    There’s no way around the time commitment in combing and laundry. Anything that seems easier is not going to work.

  9. Lau says:

    Apple cider vinegar – not mentioned here also kills lice.

  10. Ana Barbosa says:

    A true Fighter indeed! This is the awesome demonstration of love, discipline and care for children so, as a parent, I take my hat off to you.

  11. Jennifer says:

    Hi Beth, I’m a new reader of your blog. All your tips for natural lice control are great!

    When our son brought home lice from school at 9 years old, we too did not want to use chemicals. We completely avoided them, but it was a big challenge, especially with my very long, thick curly hair. (One of my good friends had practically shaved her head several months before and I didn’t want to do that!)

    We found these three things to be indispensable:

    1. Robi Comb
    http://www.liceguard.com/products/robi-comb-electric-lice-zapping-comb
    We made it a nightly ritual, zapping our son’s hair before he went to sleep and zapping each other’s hair while we sat in front of the TV.

    2. Licefreee shampoo (yes, that’s with three “e’s”)
    http://www.licefreee.com/products/licefreee-everyday-shampoo/

    3. Uncle Harry’s Lice Away oil mix
    http://www.uncleharrys.com/store/aromatherapy-oils/synergy-blends/lice-away-mix

    I also rubbed my hair, and my hubby’s and son’s heads, with coconut oil mixed with the Uncle Harry’s mix every day to try to keep lice from re-infesting any of us. And of course we did the daily washing of towels, pillow cases, etc.

    Ugh, feeling itchy just thinking about it. 🙂

  12. Angela says:

    I second the Licefreee recommendation. One treatment with that stuff and you don’t have to continue the battle for months on end with everything else (I know, been there). It’s basically salt, and suffocates them on contact. Try the spray and see what I mean. You can skip the sandwich fixings! 😉

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  14. Ashley Swierczek says:

    In my frantic online searching to make sense of this never before chartered parenting territory we have found ourselves in I came across the “what you will need” picture from your post and clicked on it immediately recognizing the Chedraui shopping bag! We live in Belize (moved from the states down). Thank you!

  15. sara says:

    I’m so sad I just noticed my 6yr old boy has lices and guess what I’m infested with this lil bugs I dont want this lices on my hair I cant even go to sleep …..Im so grossed out…

  16. Anne says:

    Hello there, Loved your article, it is spot on.
    I just wanted to add that back in 98 my red head for some reason couldn’t get rid of them. We tried everything from tea tree oil to harsh chemicals. What it came down to I used Aloe vera gel in her hair overnight, covered her head with a plastic grocery bag. Then manually pick the nits out the next morning. within five days (this had been a 6 week debaucle) all the nits were gone.

  17. Becca says:

    We used your treatment along with some other treatments my aunt’s sister recommended and it worked great!

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