Frequent Washing = Lice Infestation????

[smooches]

<font color="orange"> I've never seen or heard of a black person with head lice. Someone once explained to me that this is because we don't typically wash our hair as much as others.

Well, I'm washing my hair twice each week and I do a conditioner rinse on most other days. Problem is, this summer I'm working at a school where the children are regularly infested with lice. Already there have been two bad cases.

What to do, what to do? Somebody please enlighten me. </font>

 

[nita4]

I always thought the reasons "we" didn't get lice is because we kept our hair oiled. My daughter's school had a case a while back, but she had no problem. I don't use grease our scalps, but I do use a shea butter/mix on our hair. If you are wetting most days, seal in your moisture with an oil mix, shea butter/oil mix and maybe this would help.

 

[joyous]

I've never heard of frequent washing causing head lice. The reason why black people usually don't get head lice is because a lot of women of color use relaxers, hot combs or heat on their hair to straighten it. The relaxers and heating implements usually kill lice and their eggs. I've only known one black person in my life who had head lice, but her hair was very straight and she didn't use relaxers and hotcombs, etc. Here's a website: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/headlice.html

 

[Allandra]

[ QUOTE ]
I always thought the reasons "we" didn't get lice is because we kept our hair oiled.

[/ QUOTE ]
This is the same thing I heard.

 

[TsAngel]

I always heard that it was because AA used oil in our hair.

TsAngel

 

[karezone]

My grandma always said that if you kept your hair oiled that you won't lice, ticks, or fleas.

 

[azul11]

well at least the oil is good for more than one thing. God bless you all.

 

[Tracy]

The real reason "we" don't get lice is because the insects have a harder time traveling through and moving around in our heads because of the curl pattern. It's simply easier to travel unfettered on and through straight strands of hair than it is one with tight curl patterns....

It's not because we don't wash our hair, and it's not because we use oil.


My family is quite multiculutural, and undertstanding these kinds of "differences" were a practical necessity when you had four children of arguably different races in one house for a summer.

HTH

 

[diamondlady]

Tracy,

No offense or disrespect intended but. . .
"The real reason "we" don't get lice is because the insects have a harder time traveling through and moving around in our heads because of the curl pattern. It's simply easier to travel unfettered on and through straight strands of hair than it is one with tight curl patterns...."

I find this kinda hard to believe. Believe me, I'm not trying to come down on you or anything. I truly believe in everybody's right to express their opinions. I asked my instructor when I was in beauty school, her answer was the products we use. I would tend to believe this answer to be correct.

 

[sylviaetc]

hmmm... and i was thinking what about caucasion people who have a tight curl pattern in their hair? think justin timberlake without all the mouse *L* just curious

 

[smooches]

<font color="orange">
Hey Tracy, I always love reading your input, but I don't know about lice traveling down a straight shaft rather than a curly one because the child with the worst case has a head full of gorgeous 3b ringlets. Plus, what does that mean for those of us who relax? And, excuse the raunch, but can't lice live in certain other dark curly places and flourish?

I suppose it could be the products, but I know people of other groups who use just as many if not more products. I guess the biggest difference is that we tend to add oil or grease in some cases. Beats me, but I'm still curious. </font>

 

[Sunnysmile751]

I was watching the news one night a couple of years ago and they did mention that African Americans get lice at a much lower rate than other races. They said it was because of the actual shape of the hair. If you magnified a white persons hair, it would be round like a straw, but if you magnified an African-American's it would be flat, sort of like those flat coffee stirrers. Lice have an easier time holding on to a round hair strand than a flat hair strand. The oils that most AA's put in their hair could most likely be a hindrance too.

 

[tekmommie]

Ladies, I must agree with Tracy. The lice don't like to travel in tighter, coiler, kinkier hair. So if a person has ringlets that are "smooth" textured they are much more likely to get them than a person with tightly coiled kinks. In addition they don't like the oily products.

As an ex instructor I have seen AA's with relaxers have lice and not know it until I discreetly pointed it out. However I have never seen a person with hair described above (white or black) with lice.

 

[debyjay]

OK, I say don't look a gift horse in tha mouth. Let us all be happy that lice is just not our thing. Lord knows we have a lot of other issuses to deal with.

 

[Leigh]

Yeah me too. I remember my grandmother saying keep your hair greased when a note came home saying that several children in the school had head lice. She said they can't live in grease.

Leigh