Can Wigs Get Head Lice? Here Is The Fact!

Getting head lice is insufferable because it's hard to get rid of completely. And if you are one of the people wondering whether your wig can get lice, you are not alone. Here we reveal some truths about head lice.

What Are Head Lice?

Head lice are parasitic insects that live on human blood, causing itching and irritable scalp. Head lice are one of the three main types of lice(Head lice, body lice, and pubic lice). And they usually can be found on one's scalp, sometimes on eyebrows and eyelashes, or areas behind the ears, etc.

An adult louse can multiply fast and it can hold tightly to hair with hook-like claws at the end of each of its six legs. And the lice nits are also hard to get rid of.

Though children are the first candidates for getting head lice, adults with bad habits, wrong cleaning routines, or getting lice from other infested people make themselves also target.

Can I Get Head Lice If I Wear Wigs?

To answer this question, we should know that parasite feeds on blood. Our hair is just a ladder for lice to get to the scalp. Theoretically, lice can have the chance to get to the scalp through synthetic hair or human hair wig.

Now legit hair companies will get the human hair materials untangled, cleaned, and the lice are picked out of the hair before making human hair wigs. So the chances that lice use your wigs as a way to live on your scalp are small. And the risk of spreading head lice from wigs is also small because head lice can only live up to one day without blood for feeding, and the lice nits will die within days away from their human host.

But it does not mean the chance of getting lice is zero, it's important to know the birth and dies of lice. Here are some common questions about head lice:

Where Do Head Lice Come From?

Before doing anything else to the lice, we should understand how or where to do on a person get lice. Head lice are usually spread from an infected person, and the person is someone you have personal contact with. Except for direct contact, sharing items such as combs, hats, wigs, or other things related to hair can also help transmit the lice. So it's important to share personal items such as hats, wigs, and hairbrushes with someone who has head lice.

How To Know If You Have Head Lice?

Spotting head lice may be hard due to their small size. But if you are experiencing an itching scalp from time to time or even sores caused by scratching the skin, checking out the lice is not a bad idea. Though head lice are small, you can see them in the hair, scalp, or neck skin. The incest can be brown, white, or grey, and they have 6 legs with claws at the end.

Can African-Americans Get Head Lice?

The chances are small due to the hair texture that makes lice not as easy to grasp the hair as other types of hair. But it is not impossible to get head lice.

How To Get Rid Of Head Lice?

If your wigs get lice, you should take your wig off and give it a full cleaning. Then put it on a wig stand, head lice can't live long without a human host.

You can try the wet-combing method, spraying conditioner after washing your natural hair, using lice comb or fine-toothed comb, you can use this method to identify the lice and get the nits out. And you can combine this method with essential oil to get the lice and eggs out of your hair. Then you need to wash your hair with regular shampoo to get the remaining products and natural hair cleaned.

If some mild treatments don't work, you can try to use head lice products. Use shampoo that contains chemicals such as pyrethrin to wash your natural hair, but pyrethrins can only kill live lice, so it is important to do a second treatment after a week. But people who are allergic to chrysanthemums or ragweed should not use the pyrethrin shampoo so it is better to consult a physician before you use harsh chemicals.

How To Prevent Lice?

The best way to prevent head lice is to have a healthy and regular cleaning routine for your hair and personal items such as bedsheets, pillowcases, combs, hair ties, headbands, wigs, etc, and of course, wash your hair regularly.

And prevent directly contacting people who have lice.

Can I Get Lice From Pets, Such As Dogs?

Different animals have their Species of lice, dog lice can not live on human blood. So you cannot catch lice from dogs, and your dogs cannot get head lice from you. But it is important to give your pets a regular clean and lice treatment for their sake.