Double guaruntee this review will make your head itch, but it will also solve the problem (Nitty Gritty Comb)

Member Name: Stripery77

Product:	Nitty Gritty Comb
Date:	28/06/09 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great on really thick hair - actually works

Disadvantages: It doesn't kill em so they do wriggle about

Both my kids on a number of occasions have brought home headlice from school as an extra little treat for me to contend with. I can't help but scratch my head just thinking about them.

My son was easy to deal with. I got a good pair of clippers and chopped off his locks. Brutal but effective. Now my daughter wasn't so keen on this treatment and to be fair, I took her point.

Having trained as a pharmacy counter assistant I was well aware of the myriad of products available to treat the lice. Most of the pharmacists assured me that the majority of products may well kill the lice but you'd need to retreat in a week or so to be sure as they don't kill the eggs.

So we gave it a try. The family were doused in chemicals and had the follow up a few weeks later. Inside the packet was the white plastic double edged comb one side fine, the other finer - great for my hubby and son. Absolutely pointless for me and my daughtes long manes of thick curly hair - we kept braking the 1cm wide comb teeth.

What narked me off the most was that after the two weeks, my daughter still had nits and these chemical treatments are not cheap.

Okay okay - I'll get to the comb
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We took delivery of a box of Nitty Gritty combs at work to trial and at £9.99 I wasn't convinced. There's plenty of blurb on the front to try and change your mind - claiming that the comb is 100% effective with a lifetime gurauntee and no chemicals.

After my third or fourth chemical attempt to burn my childs skin off, I decided to give the Nitty Gritty a try, as a last ditch attempt before she got scalped for good.

What's it like
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Sealed into the plastic packaging the comb has a big round head which is easy to grasp and had raised plastic grips for added ..grip. It has about 35 individual stainless steel prongs which are about 5cm in length. Each prong has a superfine thread spiralling all the way up to help catch the nits.

What do you do
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From dry hair, you coat the hair in conditioner - I have used both the spray on leave-in conditioners (aussie range) and the thick conditoners (pantene). Both work equally as well and in the thicker conditioners you can see all the eggs getting stuck.

You then part the hair into sections and if, like me and my daughter you have longer hair it is a good idea to use a couple of butterfly clips.

You then comb through each section clearing it before you move on to the next.

This is a fairly time consuming process to get it right and you also need to have a towel or tissue to hand to wipe the "scrapings" onto. It is one of the most grossly fascinating things I have ever had the displeasure to do on (unfortunately) a number of occasions. If you are really derranged you can even pop the live nits to be sure of death (but I would never do something so grim :-))

You need to comb right down to the scalp and concentrate on key areas such as at the back of the hair and ears and over the top of the scalp where the hair is thickest. (I'm itching away just thinking about it). "The micro-spiral teeth get the eggs out! Rounded tips won't scratch your scalp" it says on the front and I can confirm that this is true.

The verdict
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This product is made by mums for mums. It has a lifetime guaruntee and this is one product where it's a good idea to keep the box as they say if it ever breaks just post it back to them and they'll replace it for free.

When it think of all that money I wasted on chemicals looking for a quick fix solution, I'm quite annoyed. This is so simple and straightforward. The long prongs of the comb will work through even the thickest hair and it's nice and natural.

Now when a case of headlice pops up I get out the conditioner and this comb and over a period of a week I'll go over our hair two to three times to be sure and the job is done.

Summary: Simply Brilliant