FAQs
What happens during a lice treatment, and how long will we be there?
Plan on about an hour, a little longer for long or thick hair or a bigger case. Your visit to our Princeton clinic begins with a head check. If lice are there, a technician applies a lice-immobilizing mousse that loosens the nits’ grip, combs out lice and eggs methodically, then finishes with a treatment solution.
You’ll leave with clear aftercare steps. Curious about timing? Read is it really possible to clear lice in one day?
Can adults and the whole family be treated?
Absolutely. We treat all ages, and parents are welcome in the chair too. Adults get head lice the same way kids do, through close head-to-head contact, so a parent who reads bedtime stories or shares a pillow can pick them up.
Booking everyone together at our Princeton clinic gets the whole household answers in one trip, and a head check shows who needs treatment and who doesn’t. See why one child with lice doesn’t mean treating everyone.
Someone we know has lice. Can you just check our family?
Yes, and after an exposure that’s often the smartest first step. Our Princeton clinic offers head checks on their own. If a technician does find lice, the cost of the check is applied toward treatment.
If nobody has them, you get a clear answer the same day. For a step-by-step plan, read what to do if your child was exposed to lice.
What does treatment cost, and will insurance pay for it?
What you pay depends on your family’s visit. For current pricing, call or text our Princeton clinic.
We don’t take or bill insurance. You pay at your visit with a credit or debit card, and an itemized receipt is yours on request to file with your insurance company, which makes any reimbursement decision. If you hope to use an HSA or FSA, ask us when you book. More on insurance and reimbursement.
Do you offer a guarantee?
Yes. Treatment at our Princeton clinic comes with our 30 Day Guarantee, which applies as long as everyone in the family has been checked. We ask for everyone because lice travel by close contact, and a parent or sibling with no itch can still pass them back.
Checking the full household is how we can say your family is guaranteed lice-free. Call or text us to plan a visit for everyone.
How do I make an appointment, and how quickly can you see us?
Call or text us, or send a message through our contact form, and we’ll set up a time. We see families by appointment only, all at our Princeton clinic on Emmons Drive; we don’t make house calls. We can often fit families in the same day, which helps when the school calls mid-morning.
Our area covers Mercer and Middlesex counties, from Hopewell and Trenton to Edison and New Brunswick. Start on our appointments page.
When can my child return to school or daycare?
Once your child has been properly treated, they can go back. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that kids shouldn’t miss school over head lice, and it discourages no-nit policies, the rules that keep children home because of leftover eggs.
Daycares and schools may still set their own rules, so a quick check with the nurse or director is smart. Read should kids stay home from school with lice?
Is it normal to still itch after treatment?
Yes, it’s common. Itching is the body’s allergic reaction to lice bites, and the scalp can stay irritated for some time once the lice are out, so a lingering itch isn’t proof they’re back.
If a scalp rash or itch keeps going beyond seven days after the visit, see your doctor. And if you spot a live louse, reach out by call or text for a head check. More: why your head still itches after treatment.
What do we need to do at home after treatment?
A short, targeted routine is enough. Run what your family wore, slept on or used in the two days before treatment through a 130°F wash and a high-heat dryer, and seal anything you can’t wash in a plastic bag for two weeks.
Soak brushes and combs 5-10 minutes in water no cooler than 130°F, vacuum couches and floors where heads rested, and check everyone at home. Don’t use fumigant sprays or fogs; they can be toxic. See how to clean the house after lice.
What do lice and nits look like? Could it be dandruff?
The giveaway is attachment. A nit is a tiny oval egg, usually yellow to white, glued tightly to one hair a quarter inch or less from the scalp, and it won’t flick off the way dandruff, dirt or a bit of hair spray does. The lice themselves are about sesame-seed size, with six legs and a tan to grayish-white color; young ones are no bigger than a pinhead.
How can I check my child for lice at home?
Use bright light, a metal lice comb and a little patience. Work through the hair one small section at a time, combing from the roots down, checking the comb after each pass. Spend the most time on the area behind each ear and the nape, the spots where nits are most often found, close to the scalp.
Some children never itch, so check even if nobody’s scratching. Not sure what you found? Bring them to our Princeton clinic. Guide: why a two-minute head check pays off.
How do children get lice, and can lice jump or fly?
Lice can’t jump, hop or fly. They crawl, so they move from one head to another during close contact: leaning together over a tablet or a book, or piling onto the couch for a movie. Hats, brushes, towels and bedding can pass them too, but that’s much less common.
Lice show up most in preschool and elementary-school kids, who spend so much time close together. Learn more: how head lice actually spread.
Can Black people get head lice?
They can. CDC data show Black Americans get head lice much less often than people of other races, yet cases still happen, because the route is the same close head-to-head contact.
Thick or tightly curled hair can make a visit run a little longer, and our technicians simply plan extra time. If a classmate or relative has lice, we’re glad to check the whole family at our Princeton clinic.
How long do lice survive on pillows, couches or hairbrushes?
Only a short while. Once a louse falls onto a pillowcase, sofa cushion or brush, it’ll be dead within about two days.
That’s good news for busy parents: there’s no need to deep-clean the whole house, only to deal with what heads touched in that short window. A child’s head is still where lice live and spread, so checking hair matters more than scrubbing. Read how long lice can live on a hairbrush.
Will mayonnaise, olive oil or hair dye kill lice?
No, these aren’t reliable fixes. The CDC finds no scientific evidence that suffocating lice with olive oil, margarine, mayonnaise or similar products works. Hair dye isn’t proven to treat lice either.
Some home fixes are unsafe: never use kerosene, gasoline, bleach, rubbing alcohol or other harsh chemicals on a scalp, since they can burn skin or ignite. Our non-toxic treatment and comb-out are a gentler route. Also see what a vinegar rinse really does to nits.
Do over-the-counter lice shampoos still work? What are super lice?
Often they don’t. In many areas, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, lice have become resistant to the pyrethroid ingredients in common drugstore kits, permethrin and pyrethrins. Those resistant lice are what people mean by “super lice.”
If a box treatment hasn’t worked, it isn’t something you did wrong. Our non-toxic products and hands-on comb-out work differently. Read what super lice are and how to treat them.
Can head lice make you sick?
No. Head lice don’t carry or transmit disease, and the CDC doesn’t consider them a health hazard. They’re a nuisance, and their bites can set off an itchy allergic reaction.
Check with your doctor when a rash or itch is still going more than seven days later. Otherwise, the goal is simply to get them out calmly. Read is head lice an infection or an infestation?
Can my dog or a swimming pool give my child lice?
Neither is a real concern. Animals don’t catch head lice or pass them around, so there’s nothing to treat on your dog or cat.
Pools are unlikely to spread them either. Lice can survive underwater for several hours, and pool chlorine leaves them alive, which means swimming won’t clear a case. Learn more: can chlorine in a pool kill lice?