WHICH HAIR TYPES ARE MORE LIKELY TO GET HEAD LICE? Here's the short answer: all types. Lice do not care what color or thickness your hair is, whether it has been dyed, or whether it is straight or curly.
There is no specific hair type that lice prefer. All lice need is a clean strand of hair to attach to. It doesn't matter the thickness, the length, if it's been colored, if it's straight, or if it's curly. It has been found that people with longer hair tend to report getting lice.
Hair color does not make a difference with head lice. Whether you have blonde or dark hair, you are as susceptible to lice as anyone else. So it's better to prevent the infestation before it spreads.
Although head lice can feed on different blood types, they cannot thrive on different Rh blood factors. Therefore, lice will only prefer to move to somebody else of the same rhesus factor irrespective of the blood type.
Some studies suggest that girls get head lice more often than boys, probably due to more frequent head-to-head contact. In the United States, infestation with head lice is much less common among African-Americans than among persons of other races.
Adults are not immune to head lice. In fact, if you have any close contact with children or even parents of children you can be at risk of catching them if they have them. Lice transfer primarily through head to head contact, so you would have to get close to the other person.
Experts do suggest however that keeping long hair pulled up and back is a good way to ward off lice and nits. If hair is out of the way it is not as easy for someone to brush up against it and pass on a louse, or a nit to find its way on a scalp.
No one is immune, but frequent head checks help
Anyone can get lice, and personal hygiene has nothing to do with the likelihood of being infested, Rukke said.
Hair gels, hairspray, oils or other non-medicated hair products including dandruff shampoo will not kill lice or prevent eggs from hatching or sticking to the hair.
Lice are attracted to the blood they get through your scalp – short, long, clean or dirty.
Lice and nits can't survive the high heat. It's true that lice and nits can't survive temperatures above 113°F (45°C). This makes them susceptible to any heat source, such as a hairdryer or the plates of a hair straightener.
Dyed hair doesn't repel lice and won't stop you from becoming infested if you come in contact with head lice again.
Lice don't care if hair has been colored. As long as a louse can grab on to a hair strand, it can make its way to the head where its food supply (blood) is. Myth #6: Lice like dirty hair. Head lice actually prefer clean hair since it is easier for the female to attach her eggs.
Head lice and coily hair: Signs and treatment. Head lice have difficulty gripping onto coily hair. As a result, Black people with coily hair and others with this hair type may be less susceptible to head lice. Head lice are small insects that live in human hair.
The common braid, a French braid, a fish tail braid, or a crown braid are all excellent hair styles to keep your hair up and out of the way of others. Any braid type that keeps your hair pulled back and contained is perfect for helping to prevent your contact with head lice.
Lice are more common in straight hair, but they can still attach to curly hair. According to Henry, lice are more likely to attach to straight hair because of the shape of the follicle.
Tea tree oil appears to be able to kill some live lice (at least when used in conjunction with lavender oil), however we know that over-the-counter lice treatments are far more effective at killing live lice and getting rid of the eggs once an infestation has occurred.
Benzyl alcohol lotion, 5% has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of head lice and is considered safe and effective when used as directed. It kills lice but it is not ovicidal. A second treatment is needed 7 days after the first treatment to kill any newly hatched lice before they can produce new eggs.
To treat lice, people often soak their scalps with Listerine, wrap damp hair up in a towel for half an hour and then rinse the Listerine and lice away. Repeating the process every five to six days will kill emerging lice as they hatch, since the mouthwash does not get rid of lice in eggs.
Parasites such as lice have a role in the conditioning of a 'natural' immune system and reducing the likelihood of immune dysfunctions, a study of mice from a Nottinghamshire forest indicates.
Items that cannot be laundered such as headgear, earphones, and bike helmets, can be placed in a plastic bag and put in a freezer. If the freezer is 5°F or lower, all lice and eggs should be dead within 10 hours. Also, keep items and areas off-limits to people for 48 hours to limit exposure to any live lice.
While head lice live in your hair and feed on your scalp, body lice usually live in your clothes and bedding. They travel to your skin several times a day to feed on blood. Your clothing seams are the most common places for body lice to lay their eggs (nits).
Coconut, tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon grass, and peppermint are scents popularly believed to repel lice. Using any coconut scented shampoo and conditioner is an easy way to increase your defense. At 1% concentration, tea tree oil killed 100% of head lice after 30 minutes.
The head lice may have become resistant to the treatment. If the treatment used does not kill the head lice, your health care provider and pharmacist can help you be sure the treatment was used correctly and may recommend a completely different product if they think the head lice are resistant to the first treatment.