Why Lice Is A Dirty Little Secret

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Feb. 10, 2023 - PRLog -- Shame around head lice has made me thousands of dollars...and broken my heart. Here's why. So many people still think having head lice means you are dirty. They are ashamed to admit it, when it happens. As a result, it spreads to friends and family. That process repeats itself over and over. We have checked and treated over 30,000 people in my lice salon (Picky Pam at the Beach) since 2012. Thirty thousand. Here is the truth. Head lice prefer clean hair.  We see cheerleaders, dancers, soccer & softball girls - the most! Example: when the local middle school Pop Warner Cheer Team of 35 girls (6th, 7th, & 8th grade) had a lice outbreak a few years ago, all 35 had to come to my shop and be checked, before they could go back to practice. So, it turned out 27 cheerleaders HAD LICE! In my shop, the group we see the most is "popular girls with long pretty hair". I've said that phrase thousands of times. If 'shame' was taken out of the equation, head lice would not spread like wildfire, especially among teens, because family and friends would get a 'heads up' and hopefully prevent an outbreak. Brene Brown shared this common thought with Oprah, "If I look perfect, I will minimize shame, blame, and judgement". Brene shared "The road to courage and authenticity is letting go of what people think". The way to change what people think, is to educate with facts. Did you know pets can't get lice? Or that buzz cuts on boys can make things worse? Or that lice eggs can not hatch off the scalp? Lice and eggs die off the head, so there is no need to wash everything in sight! There is so much misinformation. The bottom-line: if more moms knew some simple facts of lice, and not treat it like a dirty little secret, I could focus less on guarding my customers identity (blurring faces, deleting names on social media, double limo tint on the shop windows, and doing undercover lice checks on desperate customers inside their car!), and focus more on Project HOPE (volunteering with under served populations around the world). I can only hope. For more information about Project HOPE and how to prevent lice, go to: https://www.LiceFreeKids.com.