Learn effective methods for lice removal in wigs. Explore tips and tricks to get rid of lice infestation in wigs and maintain hygiene.
You may have wondered at some point if it was possible for your wig to get lice. You’re not the only one. It’s true that wigs and hair extensions can get lice, though it doesn’t happen very often. If you just bought your wig, it won’t have lice on it yet.
Before the wigs are made, the hair is usually soaked in a “acid bath” to get rid of any germs. This cleans and sanitizes the hair completely, which eliminates any chance of lice.
There is, however, a chance of getting lice after wearing the wig for a while. Lice feed on human scalps and are only interested in human blood, so there is a small chance that they will get on a mask. Lice have a harder time living on wigs because it’s harder for them to get to your skin.
However, they could get through the material of the wig and onto your scalp. Because human hair wigs look so much like real hair, they can have the same problems as real hair. One of these is lice.
Keep in mind that having lice has nothing to do with how clean you are. It’s not true that lice will only stay on hair that is dirty or oily. In fact, lice like hair that is clean and shiny.
Lice only need blood to live, so how clean your hair is doesn’t matter much. If lice are in a place they are used to, they may not be able to tell the difference between a mask and real hair. Lice don’t care what kind of wig it is or what color it is.
Even though lice can’t see the scalp through the wigs, they can still lay their eggs on a surface that looks like the scalp. It’s hard to find lice eggs because they look like dust and are very small.
It’s hard to get the eggs off because they stick to the hair roots. Lice like to live close to the skin, like behind the ears, at the nape of the neck, and other places. Lice can’t live away from their host (the head) for long, which is good news.
But taking off the wig and putting it on a stand for a while will not get rid of the lice because the eggs can be hard to get rid of.
So How Can Wigs Get Lice?
Lice can’t fly or jump, so it’s hard for wigs to get them. Most of the time, lice are spread by touching and rubbing against someone else’s hair. You might also get lice if you share a comb or toothbrush with someone who already has them.
This is one reason why people shouldn’t share a toothbrush. Share a bed or pillow with someone who has lice to get lice yourself.
You might also get louse on your hair if you share them with other people. If someone else wears your wig and has lice, you could get lice on your wig and they could move to your hair. So, please do not share wigs at all costs.
How Do You Prevent Your Wig From Getting Lice?
- The most important thing is to keep your hair and makeup away from other people’s hair. Because of this, don’t rest your head on someone else’s hair if you think they have lice.
- Only use combs and brushes that you own. If you use someone else’s comb or brush, you’re just inviting lice into your hair.
- Don’t let other people see your wigs. You shouldn’t share wigs because you don’t know what’s in someone else’s hair.
- Don’t keep your wig near other people’s wigs or tops. Keep it on its own wig stand or in a plastic bag.
- If you don’t want to get lice, put your wig in a bun or braids.
Symptoms Of Lice
1. Itching
This is most likely the clearest sign that you have head lice! If your head is itching and there aren’t any other obvious causes, like sweat or dandruff, it’s likely that you have lice.
When a louse bites your hair, neck, or ears, you can get an allergic reaction. If you find yourself scratching those areas, it’s time to skim through your head.
2. Ticklish Sensations
Did you know that you can feel the bugs on your head? The lice use their claws to grab the base of your hair follicles and feed off of your skin. This makes you feel irritable, tingly, and tickly, which is both gross and scary. People, check your heads!
3. Visible Critters
There has been at least one time when we leaned as close to the mirror as we could and cut off a piece of our hair to look for lice. Most of the time, these grayish-brown bugs that look almost unnoticeable have been crawling through our hair.
There are possibly lice in your or your friend’s hair if you see anything that looks like a bug crawling through it. Nits could also be what you see if you see small, similar-colored bits that don’t look like dandruff.
Lice eggs, or nits, are very small. If you don’t get rid of them quickly, they’ll grow up to be full-grown lice.
4. Sores On The Upper Body
Since having lice makes you immune, you must scratch them, right? Well, the itching can be even worse because you might get small, red sores on the neck, ears, or head that are infected.
It might hurt to touch these spots, and they might even bleed sometimes. To stop itching, the best thing to do is to get rid of the lice.
Removing Lice from Wigs: 4 Effective Methods
We are going to assume that you have looked at your head and are pretty sure that you have lice. What are you going to do? Do you sit in front of the mirror and carefully pick out every single nit and louse? Or do you shave your head and wear a wig for the rest of the year because lice can only live for one day without hair?
Luckily, your answers don’t have to be that extreme or take that long. For good, you can get rid of lice in a few different ways, including with medicine and home remedies. Take a deep breath, because we’re about to list all the effective methods for getting rid of lice for good.
1. Wet-Comb Your Hair
Putting conditioner on wet hair and using a lice comb to look through each strand to get rid of lice is probably the oldest and most well-known way to get rid of lice on the head. But sometimes you might need someone else there, so make sure you have a friend with you who can help.
Additionally, this method may work, but it takes a lot of time, so make sure you have a good podcast ready before you begin!
2. Suffocate The Lice
People have said that mayonnaise can help get rid of lice, and they’re on to something. If you treat lice with mayo, it can choke, stun, and slow them down, making it easier to catch them with a comb.
In the same way, you can use hair oil and pick through your hair with a lice comb to get rid of the bugs. But don’t forget to do this as many times as you need to!
3. Use Essential Oils
Important oils have a nice scent and are great for massage. They can also help get rid of lice when combined with combing. Tea tree oil, lavender oil, neem oil, and cinnamon oil are some oils you can look for.
You should mix about 20 drops of the essential oils with some olive oil and put it on your head. Do this for at least 12 hours. After you’re done, brush your hair out and wash it like always. If you do this enough times, your head will be free of lice in no time.
4. OTC Treatments
Keep in mind that these may cause allergic responses in kids younger than two and people whose scalps are sensitive. Sometimes, the best way to get rid of lice is to use an over-the-counter product that kills both the lice and, most of the time, the nits as well.
Look for ingredients like ivermectin, which only needs one treatment to work and doesn’t need to be nit-combed. You can also ask your doctor for pharmaceutical drugs that will help get rid of lice for good.
In the end, don’t worry if you have lice on your head. Stay away from people whose heads are infested with lice and let those you may have come into touch with know so they can get rid of lice if they have them too.
You should be fine in about a week. Simple, effective steps can be taken to get rid of lice on your head for good. If you follow them exactly, your skin will be lice-free in no time.
What Do I Do If I Notice Lice Or Eggs In My Wig?
Put your wig on a stand or in a plastic bag right away after taking it off your head. Next, wash your hair with a shampoo made especially for lice to make it a bad place for them to live. Keep in mind that regular shampoo or conditioner would not hurt the lice or nits in any way.
You can also get different lice treatments at the market and put them on your hair. You can also use a lice comb, which when you pull it through your hair will catch all the eggs and lice. Most of the time, these treatments kill lice and their eggs on the first use, but most of the time, you should use them again.
Make sure to keep your wig away from your own hair until you’re sure it’s free of lice and eggs. Use warm water to wash the wig the right way, like you would wash your hair, but don’t put it on your head while you do it. If you have a lice cure that is safe, you can use it on your wig by following the directions. Dry the wig with a towel, then put it back on the stand.
With care, use a special lice comb to go through the length of the wig and remove the lice and their eggs. Do not rush through this, or you might not be able to comb them all out.
Pay close attention to the neck and the roots of the wig. Eggs and lice can be easier to get out of hair if you use a light conditioner. After this, you will need to rinse the wig again.
You can also put your wig with lice in a bag that is well sealed and leave it there for at least one month. This should give the lice and their eggs enough time to grow up and die. Along with the fact that lice don’t do well in hot places, the lice would die of hunger.
What Is The Life Cycle Of Head Lice?
Lice come in three different types: the nit, the nymph, and the adult louse.
- Nit: Nits are the eggs of lice. People often mistake nits for dandruff or hair spray drops because they are so small and hard to see. Nits are found stuck tightly to the hair shaft. They are oval, 2 to 3 mm long, and white to yellow most of the time. It takes about a week for nits to hatch.
- Nymph: A nymph is a louse insect that hatches from a nit. Bigger than an adult head louse, it looks like. About seven days after hatching, nymphs turn into adults. For the nymph to stay alive, it needs to eat blood.
- Adult: An adult louse is about the size of a sesame seed, has six legs, and is tan to grayish-white. The adult louse looks darker on people with dark hair. The females lay the nits, which are generally bigger than the males. Head lice that are adults can stay on a person for up to 30 days. Lice that are adults need to feed on blood to stay alive. The louse will die in two days if it falls off a person.
- The nits hatch into nymphs, which then grow into full-grown lice. Adult lice have to mate in order to make more nits.
What Prescription Drugs Treat Head Lice?
Malathion .5% (Ovide):
Malathion is an organophosphate insecticide that can only be bought with a prescription. It kills both living lice (pediculicidal) and lice inside eggs or nits (ovicidal). Fears about safety have taken it off the market twice, but in 1999, it was brought back to the US market because head lice were becoming less susceptible to other treatments.
There are terpineol dipentene, isopropyl alcohol, and pine needle oil in the US recipe. Both of these have the ability to kill pedicures. This substance is used in a different way than others. This item is very dangerous and should never be near heat, hair dryers, or curling irons.
The product is put on dry hair and spread out evenly across the head and hair. Make sure you cover the back of your neck and the area behind your ears. Don’t use a hair dryer on the hair; let it dry naturally. For eight to twelve hours, the item is left where it is.
Shampoo the hair and rinse it out after eight to twelve hours. To get rid of any nits, use a nit comb, which is a fine-toothed comb. Stay away if you see live lice after seven days. At this point, only people between the ages of 6 and 60 are advised to do it.
Alcohol Benzyl 5% (Ulesfia):
In the U.S., you can buy benzyl alcohol as a 5% cream. The product is put on dry hair and spread out evenly across the head and hair. Make sure you cover the back of your neck and the area behind your ears.
Do not leave it in your hair for more than 10 minutes. Then, wash your hair well in the sink. To keep the solution from getting on your other body parts, don’t take a shower. You can wash your hair with normal shampoo right away. It doesn’t kill lice eggs, and you need to do it again in a week if you see any signs of live lice.
Spinosad (Natroba):
Spinosad comes from bacteria in the dirt. It kills both live lice and lice that are inside eggs or nits. It works a little better than over-the-counter medicines, but you can only get it with a prescription, and it costs a lot. Stay away if you see live lice after seven days. This medicine is okay for kids 6 months and up, and it also has benzyl alcohol in it.
Ivermectin (Sklice):
There are two forms of ivermectin: a 0.5% lotion that is FDA-approved to treat lice and a pill that you take. Neither is allowed for use in the United States to treat lice. Weeds, which are helminths, have been treated with it for a long time. Most of the time, you only need one treatment.
It kills live bugs, so you can use it. Not ovicidal (kills lice inside the eggs or nits), but it seems to keep nymphs (newly hatched lice) from living. Children 6 months and adults can get rid of lice with ivermectin lotion that they put on their skin.
Invermectin taken by mouth is often used to treat lice in other countries, but it is not yet approved for use in the U.S. There is usually only one dose, which is typically given again after nine days in places where it is legal.
Lindane (Kwell):
It’s important to know that lindane 1% (Kwell) is no longer suggested as a way to get rid of head lice because it can be harmful to kids. It can still be given, but most experts say that people shouldn’t use it.
The FDA has not yet allowed other treatments like permethrin 5%, crotamiton 10%, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (Bactrim) to be used to get rid of head lice.