Destroy all head-crawlers!

November 14, 2006 2:34 AM

OK to use permanent hair dye immediately following a treatment for lice? Will the dye assist in the slaughter of any post-holocaust scalp-crawling survivors?

This Metafiler post was of great interest chez moi since we've just experienced a particuarly nasty outbreak of the beasties. My wife is concerned that using permanent hair dye immediately following chemical treatment might affect the extermination of eggs. Is there any danger of this or conversely, will the dye itself have any exterminating properties?

posted by NeonSurge to health & fitness (10 comments total)

It strikes me that using hair color when your scalp integrity is compromised might not be the best idea.
posted by Malor at 3:03 AM on November 14, 2006

You might try asking The Beauty Brains, they write all about the chemicals behind beauty products and can probably shed some light on the subject.
posted by ukdanae at 5:00 AM on November 14, 2006

The coloring might help with the extermination of extra guys, but I'd suggest waiting a few days (maybe a week or so) before doing anything like that to your hair. (Depends on what treatment you've used to get the lice out of your hair - if you used something like T-Gel Shampoo, I'd say you can probably color your hair sooner than, say, harsher treatments.)
posted by itchie at 7:21 AM on November 14, 2006

I can't vouch for the validity of this web site, but according to it:

Dye and Bleach
There is no evidence that dye or bleach kills or prevents head lice infestations, in the concentrations normally used. Therefore dyed or colored hair is no protection. Using these products to kill lice will cause injury to the scalp, burns to the scalp, loss of hair and other dangers and is definately NOT recommended.

I used to work in a school and it was commonly accepted that dyed hair was 'immune' to lice. Further research leads me to believe that this is not the case though. Too bad!
posted by infinityjinx at 7:26 AM on November 14, 2006

Several of the lice shampoos leave a residue for up to ten days so I'd wait at least that long before treating your hair. Both so the product can do it's killing work and so that the dye doesn't have to contest with the product for access to your hair.
posted by Mitheral at 8:56 AM on November 14, 2006

Do not, do not, do not color your hair right after lice treatment, unless the treatment you used was Tea Tree Oil...and only Tea Tree oil.

If you used commercial lice killer and put dye on top, you are going to be in a world of hurt, especially if your dye product is a lifter. Your scalp will blister, bubble, and generally be a monster to deal with for at least 6 weeks if you do it while the chemicals are still on your scalp.

Pain aside, the chemical residue will react as though it's a metal, and you'll get some funky colors and streaking. In fact, if you've done lice treatment, you'll want to go get some stripping shampoo before you dye, or it'll be like putting it on top of chlorine. (Sally's or any beauty supply store will have the right kind of shampoo. Just ask the clerk to help you find shampoo to strip out heavy metals.)
posted by dejah420 at 11:46 AM on November 14, 2006

The instructions for your hair-lice treatment will probably specify a period of time over which you shouldn't use hair dyes in your hair. Even if they don't, I wouldn't be going anywhere near the stuff for a week or so, at least.
posted by cholly at 1:20 PM on November 14, 2006

I'm not really sure if it's safe or not, but...

I got lice from my first roommate's kids way back in the day (ok, so like 10 years ago). I went 17 years without having anything and then when I lived with her, I got lice after a month. Blech. After 2 lice treatments, I STILL had the fuckers. I colored my hair with some generic hair color from Revlon in the hopes of killing the bastards. Yeah, my scalp burned a bit (no blisters, though). But my hair stayed intact, the asshats died and I became a brunette.

YMMV, of course.
posted by damnjezebel at 3:58 PM on November 14, 2006

This is not really a direct answer to your question about dying hair to kill lice. However, I'm a mom with two kids in a pretty lice-infested public school system. I've also managed to catch them in a university computer lab.

For the record, I HATE the little bastards with a white hot passion and have made it one of my missions in life to be able to effectively wage war in the most efficient ways possible.

The shampoos have gotten next to useless, especially on the eggs. The best remedy that we have found has been a combination of an electric comb and an ultrafine lice comb (in a dual set of the Rid combs, one is regular and the other is ultrafine) used pretty religiously. I also have an acquaintaince (also a mom in the same district) who flat-irons her quite curly hair straight with good results.

I wouldn't recommend the chemicals in the dye on bitten and otherwise abused scalp, but hey if it works for some folks, I'm not gonna tell you what to do.

If you're in a place where you may be regularly exposed, I would recommend the semi-regular use of tea tree shampoo (it's very drying, so a good conditioner, too) for preventative measure. I would also strongly recommend the purchase of a very fine comb and/or the electric and checking daily. You CAN get rid of them with the use of those two tools, but you have to be diligent and understand their lifecycle.

Take some comfort in that they aren't as bad as bedbugs and please find my email in my profile if you need tips or a peptalk.

Sorry for the rant. I truly do hate the critters and my head itches in sympathy.
posted by lilywing13 at 9:56 PM on November 14, 2006

Speaking of tea tree oil, since my son started preschool, about once a week, I "mousse" his hair with a tea tree oil, lavender oil and aloe gel goop, and leave it on while he bathes, then wash it out with baby shampoo.

Even though other kids in his school have come down with lice, we haven't seen hide nor hair of the little beasties here. You can email me if you need suppliers for essential oils, I know a couple that have good quality and let you buy in small amounts. (Versus the kilograms I buy...an amount that would be way too much for a noncommercial house.)
posted by dejah420 at 8:51 AM on November 15, 2006