We have shared many posts about the dangers of home remedies for head lice, including safety, chemical exposure, and risk of cross pollination among family members. In this post, we want to address perhaps the most important factor – cost! Professional lice removal can be expensive, especially when multiple family members in the home are affected. However, procrastination in the form of attempting to rid yourself or your family of lice via home remedies is the single highest cost many families experience. By the time families come to see us, they have often already spent hundreds of dollars and have nothing to show for it. There are many hidden costs to home lice treatment that many families simply don’t think about, and waiting too long to get professional lice treatment can mean spending more than double the typical cost of professional lice removal.
The Potential Costs ofHome Lice Treatment
Dry Cleaning: $$
Lice co-pollinate up to 90% of the time in any given household; however, they are unable to live for more than 24 hours in the environment outside of a scalp. In other words, they cannot easily spread from the scalp to clothes, furniture, or other household accessories. Not knowing this, we often see families rack up huge bills for dry cleaning in an attempt to eradicate what they thought was a house-wide infestation! As we say, “don’t burn your house down” just because you find lice; simply doing the laundry with an all-natural detergent will do the trick.
Over-the-Counter or Home Treatments:$$
Put simply, these do not work! So, what do you do if you find lice over the holidays? First, don’t panic! It is not as bad as you think. Hair Fairies offers three main solutions: DIY, in-salon professional treatment, or a combination of both. New strains of “super lice” have built a resistance to traditional over-the-counter treatments. Applying Nix or any similar product to the scalp and hoping for the best is not going to solve the problem; in fact, it may make things worse by providing a short-lived, false sense of security that ultimately results in reoccurrence and the spreading of lice to others.
Nannies & Sitters: $$$
Want to know what is really great about head lice? It always happens on a day when your schedule is completely free, with no obligations or responsibilities! Ha! Actually, head lice are one of the top three reasons kids miss school each year. When receiving a call from school or daycare demanding to “pick up your child immediately,” many parents are caught completely off guard and wind up having to hire a nanny or babysitter to pick up and watch their child for the remainder of the day. Even if lucky enough to find someone in the spur of the moment, costs accrue quickly. Hundreds of dollars, even! Couple that with failed home remedies and what was originally a one-day ordeal quickly turns into two, three or more. Cha-ching!
Buying New Stuff: $$$
Upon discovering lice, you may have an urge to throw away every sheet, towel, and pillow throughout the household in an effort to eradicate lice. You are not alone! We have spoken with hundreds of families over the years who have thrown away perfectly good sheets, towels, pillows, rugs, and even furniture! The best advice we can give is don’t panic! (And don’t throw away perfectly good household items.) Call your local Hair Fairies and we can walk you through the process of getting rid of lice and nits without moving everything to the curbside bin.
Missed Work: $$$$
Can’t find a sitter? Family and friends not particularly thrilled about the prospect of looking over your lice-infested child while you head off to work? Sounds like a missed day at the office! Those of us with school-aged children know how hard it is to balance teacher planning days, holidays, sick days, and inconsistent school schedules with busy work schedules. It requires a lot of understanding by the boss and your fellow coworkers. For that reason, unplanned days off due to a lice outbreak can be especially stressful for working parents. Not to mention the lost pay or vacation days spent staying home.
The Alternative
Professional Lice Removal: $85
For $85 per hour, a professional Hair Fairies specialist can comb through the hair, meticulously picking out each nit and removing lice completely – often in a single session! Also, did you know that lice removal is often covered by insurance? Each of our salons is located in areas of the city that provide options for busy parents to take care of errands while kids receive treatment. At Hair Fairies, you can drop off your child and come back when treatment is completed. It is the epitome of convenience, and as many of our frantic families know, that convenience is priceless Find a Salon Near You
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