I've been doing hair for about 8 years now. Well, legally anyway. My first day of beauty school, I was filled with excitement that can only be equalled with my very first day of school, ever. You know, kindergarten? Let me refresh your memory of went down that day:
How about that haircut, huh?! I'm telling you, I've always had style to be admired, for sure. Basically, I've suffered from extreme emotional outbursts from the unknown. My excitement this first day of kindergarten proved to be just too much for me to handle, and when I realized my dad was leaving me there alone to deal with this new adventure, BY MYSELF, tears burst through those baby blues of my mine and I went running to keep him there. Well, to say the least the local newspaper was there to catch this little jem for me and published it on the front page news.
Back to first day of beauty school. The day was full of business stuff. You know, filling out the last of the paperwork, going over the school handbook and signing your life away to say you'll do everything they tell you, and getting your kit. The much anticipated kit. I tell you, this was like every Christmas and birthday of my whole 21 years put together and given to me all at once. I LOVED it!! I carefully went thru every little box and bag, with my other classmates, to make sure I had everything listed. Brushes, combs, 2 different capes, blow dryer, curling irons, scissors, razor, and some crazy contraption I had to put together not knowing what it was. I looked around curiously to see if anyone else had the same confusion I had. It seemed to me everyone else was let in on this bit of information as to what this was so I just followed suit and started to copy the girls around me. It appeared to be some sort of torture devis, but I wasn't sure. I mean, it had a crazy clamp on it! Then, there it was, all assembled it became clear. It was my mannequin stand! Wait, where is my mannequin?! Certainly this school wasn't going to throw me right into it with real human clients from the beginning! I mean, I knew I had talent and I was going to rock that school, coming out with the envy and admiration of everyone because really, I was only there for the technicality of getting my license. I was already a really good hairdresser. I had been cutting my friends' hair, as well as my own, for like my whole life! After letting us all peruse thru our swag, one of the instructors announced that our time was just about up for the day and we would be given our mannequins tomorrow before we got started. Phew! the relief!
The next morning, we were given our mannequins and a quick lesson in shampooing. We were then to start the practicing of this skill. As I was unwrapping my head, I overheard some talk of lice. EW! I did not want to start the talk of such disgusting creatures. Well, sure enough, as I was fingering the hair of my beautiful "Viola" I noticed a bunch of white little dusty stuff in the hair. Lice. Yup, my doll head had lice! It started a brief explanation from Stephanie (my instructor). I guess some of the hair, before undergoing many various treatments, does pick up lice. But I was assured it had all been treated and was in fact dead, which is why we all had to wash the heads before starting anything on them. Ew, ew, EW!!! I still get the chills.
That was my last encounter with, The Lice, until about 2 months ago. My brother brought my niece over so I could check her hair. He thought she had dandruff, but nothing was working to stop her itching. As I checked through her hair, I froze. There was that familiar sprinkling of nits all over.
The next morning, we were given our mannequins and a quick lesson in shampooing. We were then to start the practicing of this skill. As I was unwrapping my head, I overheard some talk of lice. EW! I did not want to start the talk of such disgusting creatures. Well, sure enough, as I was fingering the hair of my beautiful "Viola" I noticed a bunch of white little dusty stuff in the hair. Lice. Yup, my doll head had lice! It started a brief explanation from Stephanie (my instructor). I guess some of the hair, before undergoing many various treatments, does pick up lice. But I was assured it had all been treated and was in fact dead, which is why we all had to wash the heads before starting anything on them. Ew, ew, EW!!! I still get the chills.
That was my last encounter with, The Lice, until about 2 months ago. My brother brought my niece over so I could check her hair. He thought she had dandruff, but nothing was working to stop her itching. As I checked through her hair, I froze. There was that familiar sprinkling of nits all over.
After applying the special treatment (which you can get at any local Walgreen's, or the like) I had to rake thru her hair to remove the now-dead lice and their nits. ICK! As the combing commenced, I could see more and more of the pesky little bugs. I had never seen an actual louse, just their eggs, so this was really grossing me out. They are so tiny, and they move incredibly fast which is why you wouldn't be able to actually see a louse in one's hair, just the eggs (which are the white things you see above) Just to show you how tiny these creatures are here is a picture of one on the head of a Q-Tip:
For days I felt crawling all over my body. I did the treatment on myself, just to play it safe. I made my mom check my hair and scalp for about two weeks before I started to feel a sense of calmness and relief. Lice is not something to be casual about! They are disgusting little bugs that feed off of human blood and they hide amongst your hair, and they are very easily transferred from one head to the next! It doesn't matter how clean a person is, no one is immune to lice! So, be careful out there and don't share your hairbrushes and combs with others!
