Chicago Tribune Woman’s News Currents: health Wed. December 1, 2004
Hair specialists have nits to pick
Lice removers relieve burden for customers.
By Deborah Hallman
In Hawaii, Karen Tilley, 39, continues to add to more than 3500 families she has worked with in her seven years as a lice remover. Tilley realized her calling after experiencing the “nightmare” of infestation more than a decade ago, when, while living in Toronto, she and her son came down with a case of lice and found the traditional chemical shampoos didn’t fix the problem. The itching and embarrassment continued for six months.
Five years later, lice struck again, and Tilley then had five people in her life to treat every day for four months. With her growing expertise, a neighbor subsequently asked Tilley for help in removing bugs and nits from her hair, and Tilley discovered that using the right equipment- namely a specialized, sturdy, fine-tooth comb, tweezers and a magnifying visor- dramatically cut down the treatment time. Out of this neighborly task, her business was born. Tilley says she can treat most scalps in two to three hours.