It looks as if the dreaded "nit season" is upon us again. It seems that around April every year, I notice the kids scratching their heads, and closer inspection reveals the presence of these oh, too familiar little bugs. Usually, after weeks of fastidious "bug busting" with copious amounts of conditioner and a fine toothed comb, we eventually manage to rid ourselves of the infestation of lice until next year. However, this years batch have proved particularly difficult to eradicte, mainly due to the fact that my daughter has grown her hair so long that she can almost sit on it, and refuses point blank to have it cut. This makes the bug busting sessions particularly tedious, and bathtime is usually accompanied by ear piercing shrieks of pain and I try, with frustration, to drag the comb through the tangled mass that is her hair. This week I finally gave up on "bug busting" when, after we returned from a week's holiday, I washed her hair and discovered that the problem was worse than ever. That is when I declared war on the headlice. No more Mrs. Nice Guy!

I am not a fan of chemical methods of lice removal, and have never had to resort to them before. It was always my opinion that the lice can become resistant to such treatments over time and that they can also cause allergic reactions in children. However, after a bit of research on the internet, I realised that a new type of treatment was available, which killed the lice in a very different way. Sprays, solutions and Mousse products containing an ingredient called dimethicone work by suffocating the lice rather than poisoning them. With this method, the lice cannot become resistant to the treatment, and the good news is that the treatments can work in around 15 minutes. On scouring the shelf of my local Wilkos store, I decided to try Hedrin, which was a dimethicone product in a spray gel form. It only cost £5, so in my opinion was well worth a try.

The spray was really easy to use, even on my daughter! I made sure that she brushed her hair thoroughly first and then sat her on a chair with a towel round her shoulders. The spray has to be applied on dry hair and needs to cover all of the hair so that the lice have no escape. I started at the top and sprayed all of the hair, working my way down and then brushing it through so that the gel covered the whole of her hair from root to tip. The feel of the gel was similar to baby oil in consistency, and it was a bit greasy. I noticed that the wooden chair she was sitting on was getting a bit greasy, but it was easily wiped off with no problem. The trouble was that i then had to leave it to work for 15 minutes. As I didn't want grease getting all over her clothes and my furniture, I wrapped her hair up in a towel and put a film on TV for her to watch. After about 30 minutes, I sat her back on the chair and unwrapped her hair. Then I started to glide the comb through her hair to pick out the lice. It was easy to comb because the solution seemed to condition the hair and detangle it. I was absolutely shocked at how many lice came off on the comb! I had only "bug busted" two days before, so actually expected to find very few lice, but there were absolutely loads. Because they were all dead, it was a lot easier to remove them and I just rinsed them off the Nitty Gritty comb into the sink. There were no live lice at all on her head.

Once I had done this, it was a case of washing the product out. This was the hard bit. Imagine washing baby oil out of your hair and you get the idea! I washed her hair with shampoo and rinsed several times with warm water, but when it dried, it was still pretty greasy. Several washes are needed with this product, although you won't need to use any conditioner, because the hair is really soft and manageable after use. It is a bit unsettling though, when the dead lice drop off the head and onto the clothes, but at least they are dead and not moving around!

Despite the length of her hair, the bottle still contains enough of the product to do another session. I plan to do this in a weeks time, just to make sure that no eggs have hatched in this time, although the product does claim to penetrate and kill eggs. For boys, or girls with short hair, a single bottle of Hedrin would last for quite a few applications, which makes it really good value in my opinion.

In conclusion, I have found Hedrin to be a great product. it is easy to use and not messy. Lice cannot become resistant to it. It works quickly and does not need to be left on overnight, and best of all, it is not expensive. Next time the lice attack, I will leave the time consuming conditioner and comb method and go straight to a bottle of Hedrin, my new best friend!