Hold Your Breath - Effective Child choker - Oops, Headlice Choker: Lyclear Lice Repellent (Lyclear Repellent)

Member Name: foreveramber

Product:	Lyclear Repellent
Date:	18/11/08 (275 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Seems to work at keeping head lice away

Disadvantages: The smell isn't nice and can make kids cough

For anyone who's had the misfortune of having to deal with troublesome head lice (on their children's head) or their own, you'll know it's no mean feat eliminating the little blighters.

If however, you've managed to find a solution that worked, the last thing you want is 'the return of the lice.' A 'B' movie in the future perhaps?

Anyway, I've had more than my fair share of head lice invasions, or rather the kids have. After the last expelling session, I decided, enough is enough. I couldn't face going through this palaver again and thought "there must be a way to stop this happening." And there was (so far)!

As a follow on to my earlier review on the effectiveness of the Full Marks Head Lice Treatment, I now present - Lyclear Repellent.

After a brief chat with the pharmacist in my local chemist, I left with a paper bag containing a small bottle of Lyclear Repellent costing £6.50, quite expensive, but if it worked, then it would be worth it.

~~~About Lyclear Head Lice Repellent~~~

Lyclear head lice repellent is a liquid solution that promises to provide prolonged protection against invading head lice. It states that it's clinically proven to repel head lice through laboratory testing and studies on people.

It contains a safe and effective repellent which is called IR3535. I decided to do a little search on this particular ingredient and found that its full name is Ethyl Butylacetylaminopropionate - whew! Any further investigation just brought forth some scary looking chemistry letters and numbers which I won't even attempt to replicate here. I'll just assume it's safe to use.

~~~Packaging~~~

Lyclear head lice repellent comes packaged in an outer cardboard box and is presented in a small 100ml plastic bottle with a pump top. It's just the right size for my rather smallish sized hands to hold on to while pushing the pump top with my forefinger.

Each bottle should contain enough repellent for up to 50 applications, although this is dependent upon the length of the hair. In the case of my kids, two of whom have waist length hair, I imagine I'll finish the bottle somewhat faster than normal.

~~~Instructions for Use~~~

According to the instructions, all you need to do is spray the repellent onto the recipient's dry hair and away you go. The instructions suggest using it daily at times when there's a high risk of catching head lice. I don't know if there is a 'head lice season' but I decided not to wait for the next invasion.

In our case, I figured the best time to use it would be in the mornings before they go to school where they seem to attract these nasty things. There is also a warning NOT to use a hairdryer after spraying Lyclear. Now, this kind of warning always makes me pose the question "why not?" It would have been useful if there was some kind of indication as to what would happen if a hairdryer was used. It's a bit like telling a child not to do something, and when they ask why, you reply "because I said so." Still I suppose as it's supposed to be used on dry hair you wouldn't be using a hair dryer anyway.

~~~Who Can Use It~~~

Lyclear head lice repellent is suitable for use on children as young as 2 years old.

~~~My Verdict~~~

As I kept forgetting to spray their hair in the midst of the frantic morning rush to get ready and out of the door, I decided to place it on a shelf next to the shoes, right next to the front door. This way I'd be confronted with the bottle and reminded to actually use it.

It would seem easy enough to apply the lotion. I'm more than used to spraying my hair with various sprays so thought this would be simple enough. Additionally, the bottle states it has a pleasant smell. Even better.

Reality begs to differ. The first time I sprayed one of my daughter's hair with this spray, she ended up almost choking and spent the next few minutes coughing. I told her not to be so silly. I then had a repeat performance from daughter number two. I repeated my statement.

I had to admit though, the smell was not pleasant. I suppose that could be because I am used to the nice fragrancy smells of hairspray and this smells, well, the closest comparison I can think of is a cough sweet. It's not offensive though.

Since that first day I have used it daily before school. However, as the coughing episodes continued, despite my telling them to hold their breath, we now spray it outside and they hold their breath while I do it, then run away very fast! I just have to hope no one is watching.

So does it work? I would have to say yes, although I hate to tempt fate. All I can say is so far so good. And long may it remain that way.

Thank you for reading.

Oh, and it's available at many popular pharmacies for around £6.50 a bottle.

Summary: An effective method for repelling headlice