By Lice Clinics of America

Contrary to what many believe, most lice combs don’t actually kill head lice. They mechanically remove the lice. However, they can be an extremely effective tool to get rid of lice eggs and hatched lice, if used properly.

Lice combs (also called louse combs) have finer, more closely spaced teeth than traditional combs. Some lice combs have long, metal teeth. Others have short plastic teeth. We recommend the combs with metal teeth (the closer the teeth, the better). As the comb moves through a section of hair, the teeth snag adult lice, nymphs (lice that have hatched but aren’t yet adults), and lice eggs (also called nits).

In fact, lice combs can be more effective at eliminating nits than lice shampoos (which are usually categorized as suffocation products, lice pesticides, or herbal lice remedies). However, nits are very hard to see, and using lice combs effectively can involve a big learning curve. So novice combers (which make up most of the people who try to self-treat lice at home) end up missing a lot more eggs than professional nit-pickers would.

Treating head lice with only a lice comb can work well, but it may take many hours of meticulous combing. That time can be significantly reduced if the comb is used after an AirAllé^® treatment has killed a large majority of lice and nearly all of the lice eggs.