Can curly hair get head lice? Firstly, it is important to understand that all types of hair can get head lice and no hair type is immune to them. In fact, curly hair is often more vulnerable to catching them because it has more volume than straight or thin hair.
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.
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.
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. Lice only want to find a strand of hair to which they can attach so they can climb up to the scalp in order to get their food i.e. your blood.
While lice do prefer fine, straight hair strands over coarse, curly hair, so it is indeed less likely, lice can nevertheless still affect every person regardless of race or hair type. One reason is the variety of ways lice can spread from sharing hair brushes and accessories to touching other people's hair.
Pubic lice usually are found in the genital area on pubic hair; but they may occasionally be found on other coarse body hair, such as hair on the legs, armpits, mustache, beard, eyebrows, or eyelashes. Pubic lice on the eyebrows or eyelashes of children may be a sign of sexual exposure or abuse.
There's nothing you can do to prevent head lice. You can help stop them spreading by wet or dry combing regularly to catch them early. Do not use medicated lotions and sprays to prevent head lice. They can irritate the scalp.
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.
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.
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.
Lice lay their eggs at the base of the hair follicle as close to the scalp as possible. The adult lice spend their time hanging out feeding off the scalp. Without hair, you would think no head lice could attach to a bald person's scalp. Getting head lice is possible if you're bald.
The Reality. If a person is bald, then the odds of them getting and maintaining a head lice infestation are drastically lower than others with hair. With no hair for the lice to hold on to, hide in, and lay their eggs on, any lice that might find their way to a bald person's scalp die or fall off quickly.
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.
White people get head lice more often than other racial groups. And girls and women tend to get them more often than boys or men because their hair is longer, says Dr Mervyn Elgart, emeritus professor of dermatology at George Washington University.
Preschool and elementary-age children, 3-10, and their families are infested most often. Girls get head lice more often than boys, women more than men. In the United States, African-Americans rarely get head lice.
In the United States, infestation with head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) is most common among preschool- and elementary school-age children and their household members and caretakers.
They hang around children often
Naturally, parents, teachers and other adults who spend time within close vicinity of children are more susceptible to lice infestations. To sum it up, the reason why some people do not get lice is due to pure luck.
The most likely explanation is that by the time H. sapiens evolved in Africa about 200,000 years ago we had our own lineage of head lice, and then picked up more from H. erectus on our travels, says Reed. The study is reported in the current issue of PLoS Biology1.
How many head lice are usually found on an infested person? Typically, 10–15 head lice are found. The number of lice often depends on personal hygiene, for example, how often the person bathes, shampoos, or changes and washes his/her clothing.
Do not share clothing such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, hair ribbons, or barrettes. Do not share combs, brushes, or towels. Disinfest combs and brushes used by an infested person by soaking them in hot water (at least 130°F) for 5–10 minutes.
It's possible that the nits are leftover from a previous infestation and are no longer viable, which means they are dead and won't hatch. It's difficult to tell the difference, so you should still treat any nits you find, even if there are no lice.
Head lice are annoying, but they're not dangerous and they don't spread disease. They're not a sign of poor hygiene — head lice need blood and they don't care whether it's from someone who's clean or dirty. It's best to treat head lice right away to prevent them from spreading.
Washing, soaking, or drying items at a temperature greater than 130°F can kill both head lice and nits.
Hairspray makes it harder for the louse to grab hold. The smell of hairspray and the use of solvents (sad but true) in them can also deter creepy crawlies from finding their way in. Not to mention that if you're tying longer hair back, you've got a double whammy.
Head lice nits usually take about 8–9 days to hatch. Eggs that are likely to hatch are usually located no more than ¼ inch from the base of the hair shaft. Nits located further than ¼ inch from the base of hair shaft may very well be already hatched, non-viable nits, or empty nits or casings.