Review - Head Lice - Hedrin

Coming off of the back of a post that I did last November on the boys having Head Lice I was contacted by Hedrin asking if I was interested in reviewing so of their products.

 

The timing of this was perfect as the Boys, once again, had contracted them. I believe that this was down to the fact that a new term has started and James has started going back to Nursery.

 

If, like me, it is common to have Head Lice circulate, as my frequently asked questions states, because children become more prone to catching them  especially within settings with a large number of children.

I received four different products from Hedrin:

• Treat and Go Mousse
• Treat and Go Spray
• Protects and Go Spray
• A fine, thin toothed, white nit comb

 

When I choose lice treatment products there are always points that I am looking for:

• Asthma  Triggers (As James is Asthmatic)
• Sensitive skin friendly
• No Ammonia/Pesticide or Nasty smells
• Easy use (I don't do well with complicated instructions)

The first thing I had noticed, on the above products, is that they specified that ALL of the above were met. Can this be true?

Usually most brand products available will tick some and not all of the above criteria, However, I was surprised when these products stuck to their word.

Each product contained informative, well designed, information and instruction sheets; easy for someone like me to understand. They are designed to allow the reader to be assured first; this put my mind at rest immediately and I felt comfortable to continue to use these products and to read the instructions.

*Please note I would always suggest reading the instructions fully and careful to make sure they are suitable for you and your children*

On investigation I realised that I had two products that killed the nits; I decided to choose ‘Treat and Go Mousse’. 

60ml spray is £6.15

Once the product is shaken properly you can spray the foam on to the hair and massage it in encompassing all of the hair. The easiest point of this is that you don’t have to wait 15 minutes to then wash it out; it is advised to wait 8 hours which, for me, is ideal, for example, to use at bed time. It is easy to apply and it amazingly dries in minutes, therefore, allowing the child or adult in question to feel comfortable to carry on with a normal routine. The best part is that there is no nasty strong smell that accompanies it. (This was a key factor for me; the moment the Boys would smell the products normally they would automatically complain)

Following the 8 hour wait; it is easy to brush through and use the comb provided to collect any of the dead lice and eggs and then easy to just wash the hair normally.

The Hedrin louse detection and removal comb provides the standard use that you would expect a louse comb to have. However; it also provides two features more that I haven’t found with any other comb available.

 

Firstly the colour; having a coloured comb can make it difficult to detect nits easily and the lice can be easily hidden, however, due to it being white it instantly showed up all lice within the hair.

Secondly; the comb offers fine but comfortably made teeth.  Subsequently; it allows the user to comb through hair that is wet and dry!

If, however, you are unsure of how to check or use the comb I would suggest reading the guide to combing.

My biggest worry at this point was about James entering back into a setting where the Nits were originally caught. I know a lot of parents will react quickly and treat their children’s hair but I also know that some might not.

It then was obvious to try the next product: Protect and Go Conditioning Spray

200ml Spray £4.79

I was immediately surprised when using this product! The fruity smell was instantly noticeable, for both myself and the boys, and made application appealing to use. After the spray was applied to all areas of the hair, just like the mousse, it dried quickly and continued to allow the hair to look healthy and clean (rather than hair that has been clearly treated with a product)

I would suggest checking 5 days after treatment; if eggs are still present you will be looking at another 5 to 7 days for them to hatch again.

I carried on checking and despite not finding anymore lice or eggs within the boy’s hair I treated with both products 2 more times.

I am aware that there is still a Nit ‘problem’ within James nursery; however, both boys have remained clear which, for me, shows the quality of these products. (As a parent there is nothing better than feeling fully reassured in products that will help)

 I will carry on checking the boy’s hair regularly but in the meantime I will carry on using the Protect and Go Conditioning Spray.

Although I have not trialled the Treat and Go spray, as I wanted to see the productive qualities of the other items, if it follows the same route as promised on the box, as the other products have, I am sure it will equally work well.

Overall; the products tested ticked all of my boxes as a parent and everything listed on the packaging didn't fail and let us, as a family, down. I will definitely be using them in the future.

My useful tips:

• Repeat throughout every member of the family.
• I know in the facts that it says they can't survive on pillows or sheets.  This is true because they need to feed. However it occurred to me that the eggs take 7 to 10 days to hatch and if they were on the pillows or sheets that they could re-enter the hair so subsequently I've washed them anyway on a high wash.
• My final courtesy is this:  Wherever the child or children caught the lice please inform them; Nothing worse, for all involved, than doing all this hard work and it not actually stopping the problem at the source.