A HAIRDRESSER has gone viral after sharing a video of a child’s horrific head lice infestation on TikTok.
Rachel Maroun, 21, from Sydney, Australia, works as a head lice technician and was asked to treat a 13-year-old girl who had been suffering from head lice for most of the year.
When she arrived, Rachel was left in shock by the severity of the case.
In the video she shared with her 1.7 million followers, Rachel films the client’s hair and says “we have a massive treatment today”.
She proceeds to zoom in on the child’s scalp, where countless lice can be seen crawling around next to their eggs.
While Rachel considered shaving the girl’s head, she wanted to save it if she could.
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She says: “As you can see these lice are just having an absolute rave in her hair, they have just completely taken control.
“I think there were more lice than strands of hair on her head.
“There was no more space in her hair so they were crawling onto her face and drinking blood out of her face.”
The lice can also be seen dropping down onto her clothes and crawling on her body.
The client remains calm and plays on her phone while Rachel gets to work, combing through the hair and scooping out “massive wads” of lice – which she proceeds to pop to kill.
The lice can also be seen on the floor and covering Rachel’s shoes as she works on the hair.
Finally, the child was lice-free after three appointments which took a total of eight hours to complete.
The hairdresser clarified that it was not a case of neglect – but that the child had special needs and “wasn’t able to communicate that she had lice until much later”.
The post went viral, racking up 8.8 million likes and being viewed 74 million times.
One person commented: “Omg how can you let it get this bad tho.”
“My head is itchy,” another user said.
She says: “As you can see these lice are just having an absolute rave in her hair, they have just completely taken control."
Someone else said: “Please the fact that she’s just sitting there feeling them all crawl of her is beyond me.”
“Oh nah we gotta go bald,” added another user.
One person said: “Whatever you get paid, it’s not enough.”
“How so calm! The lice are running around her head!” added another viewer.
Someone else commented: “Christ this poor girl her entire head is alive with them. Glad u were able to help her.”
“It’s really overwhelming because obviously, I am sympathetic towards the poor child that is in that situation,” Rachel said.
“But it’s the prime thing that motivates me to do a good job because I know it means I can make a difference.
It’s really overwhelming because obviously, I am sympathetic towards the poor child that is in that situation."
“I had a lot of pressure for that case. I understand that lockdown really limited the family’s ability to seek professional help.
“They were dealing with a case of super lice and the client wouldn’t let her parents do her hair due to over-stimulation, so they left it all up to me.
“It’s pretty rare to see such severe cases but when it does happen it’s always a shock. I couldn’t believe someone could’ve had them for that long and managed to be okay with it.”
After the treatment, Rachel said her client couldn’t stop smiling and touching her hair and described it as an “indescribable relief”.
She said: “Being able to see her scalp was a milestone moment but seeing her long hair completely clear was what made the process so worth it.”
What are head lice and how to treat them
According to the NHS Head lice and nits are very common in young children and their families. They do not have anything to do with dirty hair and are picked up by head-to-head contact
Head lice can make your head feel:
- itchy
- like something is moving in your hair
The only way to be sure someone has head lice is by finding live lice.
You can do this by combing their hair with a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb). You can buy these online or at pharmacies.
How to get rid of head lice
Treat head lice as soon as you spot them.
You should check everyone in the house and start treating anyone who has head lice on the same day.
There's no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice.
Wet combing
Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You should try this method first.
You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits.
There may be instructions on the pack, but usually you:
1. Wash hair with ordinary shampoo
2. Apply lots of conditioners (any conditioner will do)
3. Comb the whole head of hair, from the roots to the ends
4. It usually takes about 10 minutes to comb short hair, and 20 to 30 minutes for long, frizzy or curly hair.
5. Do wet combing on days 1, 5, 9 and 13 to catch any newly hatched head lice. Check again that everyone's hair is free of lice on day 17.
Medicated lotions and sprays
Ask a pharmacist for advice if you have tried wet combing for 17 days, but your child still has live head lice.
They may recommend using medicated lotions and sprays. These kill head lice in all types of hair, and you can buy them from pharmacies, supermarkets or online.
Head lice should die within a day. Some lotions and sprays come with a comb to remove dead lice and eggs.
Some treatments need to be repeated after a week to kill any newly hatched lice.
Check the pack to see if they're OK for you or your child and how to use them.
If lotions or sprays do not work, speak to a pharmacist about other treatments.
Some treatments are not recommended because they're unlikely to work.
For example:
Products containing permethrin
Head lice "repellents"
Electric combs for head lice
Tree and plant oil treatments, such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and lavender oil herbal remedies
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We previously reported…Head lice outbreaks could plague schools this winter – how to beat the bugs without spending a fortune.
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