Back To School and Back To Lice
The Pesky Business of Lice Removal
Just the thought of head lice makes me itch, so you can just imagine all the little tickles and tingles I’ve imagined as I prepared to write this article. Every hair that moved from the overhead fan, every rub of my clothing against my skin, and EVERY FOLLICLE OF HAIR ON MY HEAD (not that there is many left these days); I swear, just the process of researching this article caused me to be “stricken” with head lice. It’s not just me, it’s everyone I know. I can see my sister’s “pepper face” with the head wiggle as she talks and thinks about head lice and her three year old twin boys. I can remember my Mom saying that kids got head lice because they did not wash their hair (maybe she was just trying to get me to wash mine).
Well, the fact of the matter is that there is a lot of misinformation out there regarding head lice, its causes, and the treatment of the problem… but “lo and behold”, the fact of the matter is that head lice is a problem; and a pesky one at that. I remember my wife tirelessly combing through my children’s heads with the metal comb for hours. Oh the patience she demonstrated while sitting on the bathroom floor. Strand by strand, nit by nit. At one point, I swear she started to fill the bathtub with tomato juice—oh wait, that was the dog and the skunk. Nevertheless, I digress, but a lice infestation is no laughing matter!
Cathy “Cac” Stiner, also known as the “Cac, the Lice Queen” and the owner of The Lice Boutique inPort St. Lucie, agrees. Lice are no laughing matter, but in her case, they are serious business. A Treasure Coast resident for the past 13 years, her daughter Carli and her were infested with lice so bad at one time that she had to seek treatment from Lice Solutions in West Palm Beach. She tried everything, but she just couldn’t eradicate the pesky buggers, pun intended. Lice Solutions was so thorough, and so reassuring, she knew right away, there is a huge need for a Lice removal service on the Treasure Coast. The former court stenographer, fitness professional, real estate investor and always entrepreneur decided to get her ducks in a row and start the first certified lice clinic in the area and is currently working with parents, children, schools, preschools and pediatricians to safely and assuredly remove lice from her client’s hair.
Quite apropos for the season, with our children back in the swing of things, coming in close contact with many other children returning to school, September is Lice Prevention Month. As such, The Lice Boutique is offering Free Head Checking the month of September.
Along with being an itchy nuisance, that cause all of our skin to “crawl”, lice cause other problems like missing school, lost wages because of missing work, and in some cases children are shunned, bullied and can become depressed when infested with the little critters. As most parents know, eradicating the problem is extremely difficult, so it makes sense that parents have flocked to see Cac at The Lice Boutique with the first indication that there might be a problem.
The Lice Boutique spends a couple of hours with each client; painstakingly, safely, and painlessly combing through every strand of hair to remove every louse and every egg. To ease the tension and to make it fun for kids, The Lice Boutique has Scooby Doo, the shop dog along with movies to keep kids and parents occupied. Cac and her staff are professional and understand the stress that lice can cause. In addition to removing all the lice and eggs, The Lice Boutique gives parents and children, simple, easy to follow instructions, on how to make sure their home is lice free too. With a “Lice Help Line” from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m., Cac is available via phone at 844-363-5423 “End Lice” and via email at [email protected] for any questions that parents or caregivers might have about their infested children. All treatments include 2 free follow up checks and include a lice free guarantee for 30 days. The boutique offers discounts to groups from preschools or schools, conducts school screenings, and Cac is available for speaking engagements with groups like PTA’s, Organizations and Civic Organizations.
The Lice Boutique’s physical environment includes comfortable salon chairs, bright lighting, and a multitude of special “de-licing” tools. You might think that being around lice all day would be risky, in that Cac and her staff could get infected. “A common myth is that Lice can fly or jump. The reality is that they can only crawl,” said Cac. “Without contact, such as sharing hats or pillows, they don’t spread. We love our clients—but we don’t hug them, in fact, we teach them how to hug ‘without their heads’ to prevent further problems.”
Cac and The Lice Boutique provide parents and children peace of mind in knowing that when they get treated, the lice will be gone. With Cac’s treatments, children can go back to school right away and parents can go back to their normal lives too. Cac emphasizes that eradicating lice is not about chemicals, it is about the method and approach to end the infestation. Being certified by The Shepherd Institute, which specializes in training professionals like Cac in lice removal, Cac uses only all natural and nomtoxic products to treat the lice as opposed to many of the over-the-counter remedies that can use pesticides, are not safe for the scalp, are only mildly effective at killing lice and most importantly, do not remove the eggs. “You can kill the live bugs, but if you don’t take the time to go strand by strand and remove all of the eggs (also known as nits) the infestation can show up in seven to ten days”, said Cac.
Ok, I can stop itching my head now!
For more information about Cac and The Lice Boutique, feel free to stop in to see her in the Lexington Plaza located at 6839 So. Federal Highway in Port Saint Lucie, call her 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. help line at 844-363-5423, visit www.liceboutique.com, or email [email protected].
Pubished in: Treasure Coast Parenting Magazine
Author: Don Ferraro
Publication: September 2014, Pages 74-76
The Lice Boutique removes head lice without pesticides or harsh chemicals. Lice removal treatment leaves you lice free and nit free. 844-363-5423
Update 10-24-15
New address:
The Lice Boutique
8715 S. USHighway 1
Port St. Lucie FL 34952
844-363-5423