Easy Nitty Gritty (Nitty Gritty Comb)

Member Name: clairemichelled

Product:	Nitty Gritty Comb
Date:	08/12/08 (87 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy removal of head lice and their eggs

Disadvantages: Difficult to clean and expensive

When I waved goodbye to my little girl at the school gate, with a tear in my eye, on her first day at infant school I did not realise just how many guests she would be bringing home with her!
The school were kind enough to send a note home to say that nits were in her class and could all parents check their children's hair - yuck was my first thought! But I dutifully checked her hair, not really knowing what I was doing; where is the nit nurse that used to check hair when I was at school? So i decided to learn a bit about them and found that they are no longer a problem for "dirty" hair as I originally thought, so I don't have to hide from embarrassment when she does catch them! I now know that nits are the eggs that produce head lice, and you can see their old cases along the hair shaft to which they stick - like glue may I add! They are also harder to treat in longer hair and spread VERY easily through hair to hair contact, especially between girls as they like to hug each other. I read up on lots of different treatments from lotions and potions to wet combing and using an electric "zapper"
So the dreaded day came when it dawned on me that my daughter's hair was playing host to a few guests. Off to the chemist I trotted for a potion ; it cost me a fortune, was time consuming and stank. Over the next few years we tried several potions and the zapper, but in the end we resorted back to wet combing - wash hair as normal, smother in conditioner, then sit child in front of tv with a favourite film and with a "nit" comb begin the laborious job of combing each section of hair. But the white egg cases stuck to the hair shaft don't come off easily that way so you have to pull them off by hand. The process needs to be repeated every few days until you are sure they have gone. You can buy a few types of comb from very cheap plastic things that bend and break easily to metal ones. Then a friend told me about the Nitty Gritty comb
So I go to get one to keep it in hand, because if you treat these annoying things straight away the less effort it takes. I did get a shock when the price was just under £10, but I used to spend so much more than that on lotions, and it comes with a life time gurantee. It is a strange looking object with 33 very long teeth and a rounded top. If you look at the teeth they appear to be spiral and to have little holes along them.
When we have another invasion I bring out the comb and wow! It was very easy and effective to use, bringing out nits and head lice plus those awful egg cases. It went through my daughter's long hair very quickly and smoothly; you do still have to smother the hair with conditioner so the louse can't grip onto the hair and you do have to repeat the combing every few days to make sure everything has gone. I can honestly say though that I usually get it all out on the first go.
I now have another little girl who is now 2 years old and I have used this comb on her with no fuss or bother.
The only real problem I find with the comb is cleaning it; the debris doesn't wash off the comb easily and I have to rub quite hard with tissue or a towel.

Summary: Far better than using chemicals