How To Keep Lice Away This Summer
“Lice only infest during the school year” is a common myth that you may learn the hard way. Although your children are most likely not in school from June to August, lice still run rampant. If anything, lice have an easier time spreading due to activities that require kids to be near each other, like sports or sleepaway camps. Follow our tips and don’t let lice ruin your summer plans!
Educate About Avoiding Head-to-Head Contact
Lice spreads through head-to-head contact, and it’s no mystery that kids get lice so often because they are always near each other and sometimes have a lack of personal space. Even if it’s not perfect, reminding your children to stay vigilant about head-to-head contact may help stop an infestation, or two.
Another aspect of head-to-head contact is sharing items that go near our heads. While you are educating your children also encourage them to avoid sharing common items that touch their heads. For example, this could include hats, helmets, or hair accessories.
If your child goes to a sleepaway camp, remind them not to share their pillows or towels with bunk mates as that is one of the quickest ways to spread lice.
Regular Lice Checks
Checking for lice consistently can save you a lot of time and money in the long run. If you catch a lice outbreak before it spreads to the entire family, you can eradicate it and not have a much larger issue on your hands. Pick a cadence that works for you and conduct lice checks on everyone in your household. We recommend weekly because if you wait too long in between checks you can have an infestation run wild, making it much harder to remove.
You should be checking the front of the hairline, the back of the neck, the crown, and behind the ears. Check out our step-by-step guide here for more help.
Prevention
One of the easiest ways to prevent a lice outbreak is to keep longer hair in pulled-up hairstyles like space buns. If your child has longer hair and is participating in activities this summer, keeping their hair out of their face will help reduce their chances of getting lice. This is because lice latch onto the bottom of hair to climb up to the scalp. So if they have nothing to latch onto, it makes it much harder for them to spread.
It is also a good idea to have our Hair Fairies Clenz Prevention Oil on hand, which contains only natural ingredients like tea tree, lavender, peppermint, and orange oils, which can be used 2-3 times a week on your scalp to keep lice away.
Communication
Relay this helpful information to any nannies, babysitters, or family members who will be watching your kids this summer. The more people that are aware of how to keep lice away, the less likely it will infest in your home!
You should also ensure you are keeping an eye out for any communication from your child’s camp or activities regarding a lice outbreak. If you do hear about one, conduct your lice checks and stay vigilant with your prevention practices.
If lice does find its way into your summer plans, don’t worry! Our team of experienced Hair Fairies is ready to help you and your family effectively remove any unwanted lice so you can keep enjoying all that the summer has to offer!
Welcome to the Hair Fairies blog where we share education, tips, and professional guidance on all things head lice.
