how do i get rid of lice in dreads? | Squat the Planet

how do i get rid of lice in dreads?

lostinspace

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figured that if anybody knew it would be the people on here. I am about to cut my hair off but really don't want to, its been at least a decade since i had a haircut. I've had them for nearly a month know, haven't done anything thing about them because i've been hanging out with a girl i care a lot about and its a rather embarrassing subject to broach. "By the way i have lice." You try and get a girl to kiss you with bugs. I have been very careful not to spread them though. Or as careful as possible while still having them. If anybody has any advice it would greatly appreciated. Otherwise i'm just gonna chop it. Thanks.
 
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lostinspace

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thanks i'll probably just have to cut them once i'm back in cali, make it that much easier to get a job for the winter anyways. God that's gonna be weird having short hair again.
 

lostinspace

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yeah i know what you mean but we haven't been intimate since before this happened and have keeping our distance since anyways. If we were still in physical contact it would be one thing, but we aren't so i'm not exactly contaminating her. At this point i'm lucky to see her for a little while and talk to her for a few minutes. Trust me i have no intention of letting it spread to her, which is easier because she doesn't want any physical contact. She wants me to come back in a year. And i actually mentioned that i was going to cut my hair already and she freaked out, so i'm gonna wait until i leave town tomorrow. I do agree with what you said but, but as i said it would be different if we were still together
 

finn

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Okay, here's what I'd do if I had dreads: chop them off, boil them, sew them back in after your shorn head grows enough hair again. Nice and simple. Also, people like you are the reason I try to avoid hugs from people I don't know very well.
 
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rabidpossum

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i had pretty long dreads when i got lice. had it pretty bad. i shelled out the loot for the shampoo for it and also used teatree shampoo. but i used the lice shampoo like everyday which yr not supposed to do. and followed it with the teatree shit (which is wicked good for yr scalp and shit anyway) and i got rid of em that way.
 

lostinspace

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Okay, here's what I'd do if I had dreads: chop them off, boil them, sew them back in after your shorn head grows enough hair again. Nice and simple. Also, people like you are the reason I try to avoid hugs from people I don't know very well.

don't worry i try to avoid hugging people like you anyways, though i may make an exception for you know. Where you at?

just so you all of you getting upset know, i don't touch anybody anyways so the whole lice issue is only a concern for myself, and then its not so much of a concern as a nuisance. Never knew that all the people on here would be so clean-cut and cleanly. But what what do i expect i am on the internet talking to people who claim to be squatters. I do really appreciate the few of you who actually gave me advice, i thought that was what this forum was for in the first place. But thank the few of with ideas, i'm just gonna cut them anyways but thanks for the feedback. Everybody else come find me so i can rub my head all over you. Probably one of the people on this site who gave them to me in the first place.
 
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finn

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don't worry i try to avoid hugging people like you anyways, though i may make an exception for you know. Where you at?

That did come out a bit meaner than I meant it to, but understand, this is coming from a street medic who was in post-katrina nola during the first lice outbreak among the volunteers, which at the time included a lot of college kids who insisted that they were too clean to be infested. I checked a lot of scalps and argued with a lot of people, and then escaped to a friends squat to drink away my problems, since I'd be woken up by people wanting me to check them, and I'd be kicking away at them because it's like waking up to a zombie movie because you are surrounded and there are all these desperate faces looking down at you.

I forgot to add that if you get wool dye, you can color your dreads permanently since they require boiling to set in and shouldn't make the hair brittle. And as for where I am, you see the woods over there? No, the one past that. That's where I am.
 
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lostinspace

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And as for where I am, you see the woods over there? No, the one past that. That's where I am.

ohhh.... i know the one's. That's cool it did come off harsh, but i was just annoyed that i asked a serious question, where i thought i could get a good answer and so few people seemed to have serious advice instead of talking shit. Also there's been a lot of crazy shit going on for me, so i was more annoyed then normal, i know join the club huh. I have thought that over; the idea of cutting, sanitizing, and sewing on. But not all of my hair is dreaded right, about half, in random spots. And pretty much i think that'd look weird, which granted i do already and don't care, i wouldn't want to look like that, all my dreads are random sizes and shapes and never manicured, so it would just be funny. I don't know though maybe i will sew some back on anyways. Or i actually know at least one friend who, if i run into them, would probably want to take some of my dreads and sew them onto themselves. Which really would be even weirder. He actually found one of our friend's dreads in the trash after she cut them off, and took them to make himself a beard. She freaked out when she saw that he had them. It was funny as hell. So maybe i'll do something with them just for the hell of it, but i'm definitely done with them, i think.:sucks::agreed::deadhorse:
 

Whiteyisacommiefaggot

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figured that if anybody knew it would be the people on here. I am about to cut my hair off but really don't want to, its been at least a decade since i had a haircut. I've had them for nearly a month know, haven't done anything thing about them because i've been hanging out with a girl i care a lot about and its a rather embarrassing subject to broach. "By the way i have lice." You try and get a girl to kiss you with bugs. I have been very careful not to spread them though. Or as careful as possible while still having them. If anybody has any advice it would greatly appreciated. Otherwise i'm just gonna chop it. Thanks.

Karma will give you crabs for the chick thing.
 

angelenesdreams

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get rid of lice super cheap

i linked to this in the DIY Dreadlocks thread, but i'm sure someone will find this info useful, as it's not just for dreadlocks, but everyone. 70% pure rubbing alcohol can be had at any Dollar Tree store, and i'm sure its fairly cheap elsewhere too.

thanks to my friend moonshyne for supplying this info!

First off, let me say that I know for a fact that this works...I have school age children, and before we moved to B town, we lived in a town with a shitty school system, and my oldest daughter used to get them all the f'king time and bring them home to us.

Too many dreadie folks panic and end up shaving their heads because they believe that is their only option. Don't do that, please, dear Gawd. Also, avoid any kind of lice shampoo, prescription or over the counter. We found out that lice shampoos are like antibiotics....improper usage has lead to many bugs developing a resistance to the poison, meaning they won't die. Not only that, but generally the nits (eggs) won't die anyway because they are protected inside of their shell. Plus, those shampoos don't rinse very well, and you don't want nasty pesticides building up inside of your locks.

This is cheap, effective, and does not require you to chop off all your lovely locks!

To start, pull your dreads up and try to bun them up if you can, or at least pull it into a high ponytail. Use about a half bottle of rubbing alcohol (70% or higher) or however much it takes to cover your scalp. Don't worry about soaking your dreads, because the fumes will kill them (the lice) as much as the alcohol itself. Tie a plastic bag or wear a shower cap tightly around your head for about 30 minutes. It'll itch and its annoying and stinky, but it'll kill the bugs. Rinse it out, and watch the bugs fall out.

Now, you'll have to do this again in about 3-5 days because the alcohol only kills the bugs, not their eggs (remember, most of the actual lice shampoos don't kill the eggs either...) so you'll have to do this process over again to kill any newly hatched critters, before they have time to reproduce. At this point you really should be lice free, though I would suggest you do it yet again in another 3 days....just to be on the safe side.

This is a cheap, easy and very effective way to get rid of lice. It has never once failed us. Just make sure you do it in a well ventilated area (we don't need you passing out on alcohol fumes), and it helps to have a friend or relative to help so you don't accidentally pour the shit in your eyes. That shit ain't cool. Also, no smoking, as alcohol is highly flammable. (don't want you head to go up in flames, do you?) And ta-da! Lice free, for under 5 bucks, and without having you sacrifice your lovely locks! The alcohol rinses out with no residue, and it'll disinfect any wounds you have on your scalp due to scratching. It will dry out your locks if you have to do it very often, but not anymore so than any of those harsh shampoos would....this is nothing a little aloe wouldn't cure.

one more note...using tea tree oil in your hair acts as a lice/insect repellent. Dr. Bronner's makes a soap with tea tree oil, and that's what we use. You can also buy it as a fancy, overpriced spritzer to spray in your hair. I think you're better off with the soap, personally. We also use tea tree oil in the deep cleaning concoction. I've read that rosemary also acts as a lice repellent, though I've never used it myself.

The beautiful part about this treatment is that no matter how often you use it, it's guaranteed to work....Lice may develop resistances to poison, but they damn sure can't resist BREATHING! And that's what the alcohol does...it suffocates them. This will also work on undreaded hair, but you'll have a bit of a hard time with it because the dreadlocks tend to soak up the alcohol much better than straight hair will.

The only folks I would advise against this method would be folks with serious breathing problems, or young children...I mean, common sense tells us that young children+plastic bag on head=disaster. Plus, I'm not sure how safe it is to use full strength alcohol on little kids.

And....that's all! I hope this info might eventually be helpful to someone!
 
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FLAPJACK

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i have lice a few years ago and i have dreads that were pretty long, i had had them for three years or so, so i couldnt brush them out. anywho, friend o mine told me if went down to the needle exchange, picked up a bag of like 10 10cc rigs, and then steal a couple boxes of nix i would be set. totally worked. just pretty much shoot yer dreads up, front n back erry inch or so on each dread. takes a minute but it workds. i dumped a bunch of vinegar or em afterward just to be safe. but hey, lice free dreads.
 
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Poking Victim

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I don't think any method is going to work 100% unless you pick out all the nits or completely destroy them with heat.
I had some friends (stubborn ones) that tried to get rid of lice earlier this year. They did all the home remedies possible and none of them worked
 

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