Head Lice Resources

headlice February 18th, 2008

Lice combs made of plastic are available in stores, and through mail-order. Some have obviously been manufactured with intent to catch nits. They have teeth spaced very closely together. There are plastic nit combs with very short teeth, as well as lice combs with much longer teeth. A plastic lice comb can be made of strong plastic, and be considered "unbreakable". Some of these lice removal combs come with a long handle, meant to be used the same way one would hold a disposable razor. Others have an extended handle, shaped for a comfortable grip. Unfortunately, no matter how well planned the design, plastic teeth will not catch the nits. 

Louse nits are attached to the hair with a very, very strong biological glue. This glue is naturally created to keep that nit attached to the hair. The survival of the nit depends on that nit staying attached to the hair shaft. This is so that the nymph inside the louse egg can grow and thrive on the human host. To the naked eye, the teeth of the plastic lice comb appear to be rigid. However, the plastic teeth will spread apart, just enough to get around many nits. Plastic teeth on a lice comb do bend microscopically and slide past the tightly glued nits. Remember that nits can be tinier than a poppy seed!

It doesn't matter if the plastic lice nit comb is especially made and marketed for this purpose by "experts". A plastic comb passes over too many nits to be considered worthwhile. This has been proven by the thousands of frustrated parents who have attempted to use such a plastic lice nit comb. The amount of time needed to properly comb out lice and nits is long enough. It is a shame to invest all that effort using an ineffective lice removal tool.

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