Selfie – a photo that is taken by a person of oneself, typically with a smartphone. These have increased in popularity over the years, with teens and adults getting into the action! Teenagers especially love taking selfies everyday and posting the pictures on social media. They get “likes” and compliments on good selfies. People have also reported another development, in connection with selfies. That is spread of head lice! As one of the best professional lice removal services in Kendall we cater to a lot of people in our lice clinics. Perhaps it’s just coincidence but the majority of our clients belong to the age group of 13-17.

Is Taking Too Many Selfies The Reason For The Increase In Head Lice Infestations?

As mentioned in previous blog posts, head lice spread by close head-to-head contact. Teenagers love taking selfies, which require people to get close together in order to fit in the selfie. Parents of teenaged children fear an imminent onslaught due to this but is their reasoning justified? Yes – teens love taking selfies with their friends that increase the possibility of head to head contact but this shouldn’t stop them from taking the perfect picture! So, what should be done?

Keep Your Hair Tied Up!

Lice can’t jump or fly. Still, head lice are very fast crawlers which makes up for it! Lice removal specialists reckon even five seconds of head-to-head contact is enough for lice to crawl from one head to another.

The Solution

Side braids! Not only are they fun, they are a fashionable hair style and very easy to do. Even tying up your hair in a simple ponytail can do the trick. An alternative to this boring (but practical) hairstyle is the lovely bun or a fun side braid.

Use Hair Spray!

Lice don’t discriminate. This means they prefer all hair types, whether clean or dirty! If lice had a choice though, the pests would certainly choose clean hair over “smelly.” By this we mean, use of hair products. While people can choose to apply so called lice preventatives sprays available on the market, the easiest thing to do is spray a little hair styling product before going out. This will prevent lice from grabbing and attaching at the strands with their claws. You can also invest in a quality louse repellant through Lice Troopers.

Conduct Regular Head Checks!

Early lice detection will help prevent fully blown lice infestations from taking place by spotting and removing lice. Try to spot nits, nymphs and adult lice through a magnifying glass, every other day. As early detection in considered an important factor for a lice-free scalp, contact Lice Troopers for our screening service.