The idea for Nits End, a lice removal salon in Plaistow, was hatched when Christine Cherry spent four or five weeks trying to free her daughter's hair of head lice. Cherry tried shampoos, and looking strand-by-strand, and even searched out professional providers. She eventually succeeded in getting rid of them, but the effort convinced her there had to be a better way.
She started Nits End in December 2011 as a mobile lice removal business using the Lousebuster, a machine that uses heated air to kill head lice. She sees about 20 clients a week and recouped her investment in eight months. Last December she opened a salon-by appointment only-and hired two employees. She says her salon is the only one in Northern New England dedicated to eradicating lice. Cherry also works part time in marketing, a background that comes in handy given the taboo associated with head lice.
There's a reason lice are hard to get rid of. Female lice are the size of a strawberry seed and reach maturity in seven to 10 days. Once mature, they live on human hair and feed on blood, laying three to five eggs a day, according to the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. They resemble dandruff, but unlike dandruff they don't easily brush away.
Cherry's treatments take 30 minutes and she says the Lousebuster is 99.3 percent effective. She has a retreatment rate of less than 1 percent and retreatments within a month are generally free. Treatments cost $185 and lice checks are $25. She also talks with people about ways to get rid of lice beyond hair such as cleaning and replacing bed sheets, pillows, clothes and any other place hair comes into contact with, and she offers emotional support.
The social stigma perpetuates the problem. Your child has lice and if you're afraid to tell other parents because you're embarrassed then those parents might go unaware their child has it, says Cherry. The stigma, she says, is unnecessary, as lice are not a sign of bad hygiene.
Cherry's business was especially strong in the summer. She was hired by summer camps to do head checks on kids as they came off the bus. Once you let one kid in who has lice, you're likely to have an infestation, she says. She is hoping to expand her business to do head checks in schools. For more information, visit nhliceremoval.com.