Backpacks are back. Desks are filling up. And, right on schedule is lice season. Knowing the facts can make lice season feel a whole lot less overwhelming. Here is what's worth knowing this year, whether it's your first time hearing the word lice or if it's your fourth time dealing with an outbreak.
This Is Not About Clean Hair or Dirty Hair
A very common misconception is that someone gets lice because of poor hygiene or dirty hair but this is not true. Lice come and go regardless of how much you shower or shampoo. So parents, don't feel like you're doing anything wrong!
They Can't Jump or Fly
Lice don't have wings to fly and they cannot jump. They crawl, and most often, they spread through direct head-to-head contact. Maybe it's huddling together for a photo, sitting close during story time or piling together at a sleepover. It could be a shared hat at recess or passing headphones around the bus on the way back home. Backpacks hung shoulder to shoulder on a hook, but that's much less common.
Back to School Chaos
New classroom, new seating chart, new group of friends who all want to sit close together after a summer spent apart. The contact just goes up this time of year into the fall. That's the reason schools tend to send more notices home in September and October. Not because anything's gone wrong, just because kids are back in action together in the classrooms.
The Routine That Works for the Whole Family
So what does all of this mean? The good news is none of this calls for a whole new routine. It just means building a couple of small habits into the one already happening every morning.
Small Habits Worth Adding to the Routine
- 1. Keep long hair pulled back in braids, buns or ponytails to reduce loose hair-to-hair contact.
- 2. Remind kids not to share brushes, combs, hats or hair accessories.
- 3. Know what to look for, especially if there’s been a known exposure or a notice comes home. We recommend doing quick hair checks throughout the week!
None of these are foolproof on their own. Stacked together with the right daily habits, they can make parents feel a little more prepared during lice season. And that's exactly where Rosemary Repel® fits in.
Rosemary Repel®
Rosemary Repel® was made to fit into the routine families are already doing each morning so you can send your kiddos off to school with a bit more peace of mind. The formula is backed up by naturally derived ingredients like rosemary, peppermint, tea tree, and citronella. It’s a scent kids love and lice do not!
From shampoo and conditioner to Conditioning Spray and styling products there are plenty of ways to work Rosemary into wash days and school mornings.
For parents with children who love a slick back, spiky hairdos, and other styled looks there's a Rosemary Repel® pomade, hair gel and even a hair spray for the finishing touches on a hair style. Rosemary Repel® is for before anything shows up show when that lice letter comes home you can take a deep breath.
The Lice Letter Came Home. Now What?
Don't panic! A school note doesn't immediately mean your child will be coming home with lice. Take a look at their scalp and hair, the clearest sign of an active case is finding a live crawling bug. Nits or the eggs can be confused with dandruff, product residue and other particles in the hair.
If lice do show up, that’s when Lice Good-Bye® comes in. The Survival Kit pairs our mousse with the Terminator™ Comb to help parents tackle the comb-out process at home. It's made as a gentler alternative to traditional chemical treatments.
And remember: getting lice has nothing to do with how clean your child or your home is.
