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How Much Does Lice Treatment Cost - Professional vs DIY

How Much Does Lice Treatment Cost - Professional vs DIY
Created on 
April 13, 2022
Updated on 
September 8, 2023

Cost is often one of the biggest determining factors for people considering what kind of head lice treatments are best for them. Head lice treatments are an unexpected expense for you and your family members and these treatment costs can quickly add up. Maybe you've already gone out to purchase products and did an initial time-consuming removal treatment just to have it come back again.  Or, maybe you're worried about getting the head lice under control by yourself without missing work. Or you are trying to tell the difference between lice and dandruff?

Whatever the case, parents eventually begin to wonder if it would be worth spending money to just hire someone. Parents should ask - How much is a professional lice treatment? What they don't realize is that the answer may be that professional lice removal might be the more cost-effective solution compared to at-home lice treatments. After all, how many days of missing work or how much money have you spent on homemade removal treatment trying to avoid spending money on professional treatment? When trying to find the cost of lice treatment, consider the cost of head lice treatment may be the lowest if you find an effective professional lice removal service.

Parents seldom factor in all the many hidden costs of an average DIY lice treatment when considering how much professional lice treatment costs in comparison. There are times when professional lice treatment for your family saves not just time and stress, but also money.

Essential Supplies for Lice Treatment at Home

When treating yourself and your family to hair lice, you'll likely spend a good amount of time gathering supplies so include those in your total costs.

The minimum supplies required include:

Supplies Approximate Prices (USD)
Regular comb $2 - $5
Good nit comb $15 - $25
Hair clips $3 - $10
Home OTC lice treatments $10 - $20 (per treatment)

Please note that prices may be different based on the brand, quality, and location of purchase. It's essential to check with local stores or online retailers for the most up-to-date prices.

THE POTENTIAL COST OF DIY LICE TREATMENT

Let's start with the things you're likely already spending money on:

  • Seeing a doctor to diagnose head lice;
  • Gadgets marketed for lice detection or removal;
  • Natural products like enzymes, oils, and homeopathic solutions;
  • Over-the-counter lice medication, or when that fails, prescription lice medication;
  • New replacement hair brushes and grooming tools.

It's easy to see how a lice outbreak could cost you money. What's not so easy is seeing all the other little ways lice might affect your bottom line. When treating yourself and your family to hair lice, you'll likely spend a good amount of time gathering supplies so include those in your total costs.

The minimum supplies required include:

Supplies Approximate Cost (USD)
Doctor's visit for head lice diagnosis $100 - $200
Gadgets marketed for lice detection/removal $20 - $50 (per gadget)
Natural products (enzymes, oils, homeopathy) $10 - $30 (per product)
Over-the-counter lice medication $10 - $25 (per product)
Prescription lice medication $50 - $100 (per prescription)
New replacement hair brushes and grooming tools $5 - $20 (per item)

Please note that prices may be different based on the brand, quality, and location of purchase. It's essential to check with local stores or online retailers for the most up-to-date prices.

THE HIDDEN COSTS OF DIY LICE TREATMENT

OTC LICE TREATMENT PRODUCTS

Over-the-counter medicines have been the go-to for many years since you can purchase these remedies without a prescription to treat your child immediately. However, when considering the cost of head lice treatment many families fail to consider other expenses that quickly add up.

In addition to over-the-counter lice shampoos, homemade remedies, or other professional lice removal products, families should consider the price of everything they may need to complete the lice removal process properly. At home lice treatment costs accrue quickly to over $100 per-person. And yes, when you have one lice-infested child, you will probably end up finding lice in multiple family members.

DRY CLEANING YOUR HOME

When trying to treat lice themselves, many families have no idea how much time and effort to expect. Most people do not know that cleaning your home after lice is not necessary. Did you think you needed to spend countless hours and dollars cleaning, vacuuming, sanitizing, and bagging items? Lice do not live in the home; they live on the head. Off the head, bugs in the home will die within 24 hours.

REPLACING THINGS IN YOUR HOME

REPLACING THINGS IN YOUR HOME

Many families replace belongings they think may be infested. Replacing hair accessories, bedding, pillows, blankets, and toys is an unexpected financial burden when getting rid of lice at home without professional advice.

FINDING SITTERS

If any lice eggs remain in the hair, many parents may be asked to keep their children home until the infestation is completely gone. Lice is one of the main reasons kids miss school. Added childcare expenses quickly add up, as finding a sitter under these circumstances is harder and more expensive.

MISSED DAYS AT WORK

To get rid of lice, many caregivers will need to take time off of work to treat an infestation in their families. Parents may have to leave work to pick up school aged children if the school nurse notices more lice eggs. When considering how much is lice removal if you do it yourself, do not forget to factor in the price of missing work. Depending on your salary, this lost pay could be around $100 or even more every time you do follow-up treatment.

As a parent, you're already trying to balance teacher planning days, sick days, vacation days, and other inconsistent school schedules with your own work schedule. Missing work to deal with lice might not be an option for many parents. Not to mention the stress of trying to catch up once you are back in the office, and the burden that will fall on coworkers who cover for you.

REOCCURRING LICE

When comparing lice treatment services and at-home lice treatments, inexperienced parents assume either way it'll be a single one-hour process. The pros know lice are difficult to get rid of. With the rising incidence of super lice, chemicals usually fail to completely eradicate lice, and the lice keeps coming back! Most chemicals are also ineffective at killing lice eggs. If just a couple nits are missed, you may need to start all over.

As an alternative, professional lice removal is really the only guaranteed way that the lice will not recur. Your expectation with lice clinics and professional services should always be the eradication of the problem for good.

POTENTIAL DANGERS OF AT-HOME LICE TREATMENT

But what about health risks? Does having lice put you at risk of other diseases? Strangely, it's usually repeated chemical exposure and physical irritation of treatment that lead to other serious problems. Even when pesticides are touted as completely safe, FDA approved, or gentle, there are still consequences to using them too much. Children with recurrent lice often complain of irritation, scalp itching, and dryness after multiple attempts at eradication.

What’s the Total Cost for DIY Head Lice Removal at Home?

In total, the costs for DIY head lice removal at home can end up being more than $300, especially when including missed work, products, and recurring infestations. Professional lice removal services may very well provide a more cost-effective solution along with a guarantee without the need for stressful additional treatments or potential health risks associated with opting for pesticides instead of non-toxic products.

Supplies/Expenses Approximate Prices (USD)
Combs and сlips $5 - $10
Good nit comb $15 - $25
OTC lice treatments $10 - $20 (per treatment)
Natural products (enzymes, oils, homeopathy) $10 - $30 (per product)
Prescription lice medication $50 - $100 (per prescription)
Gadgets marketed for lice detection/removal $20 - $50 (per gadget)
Doctor's visit for head lice diagnosis $100 - $200
Home remedies Variable (costs depend on the ingredients used)
Missed days at work Around $100 or more (per occurrence, based on lost wages)
Finding babysitters for childcare Additional expenses (costs depend on the childcare arrangement)
Reoccurring lice and repeated treatment Additional expenses (costs depend on the frequency of treatments and additional products used)

Please note that these costs may be different based on location, brand, and the number of products needed. It's important to check with stores for the most up-to-date prices.

Why Choose Professional Lice Treatment?

Why Choose Professional Lice Treatment?

Incomplete nit and lice removal service) results in a process that lasts an average of 3-6 months!  Time-consuming and repetitive home remedy attempts to swap time and money for tears and frustration. A family afflicted with a lice infestation will try DIY lice treatments 5-7 times on average before succeeding or giving up.

Consider that professional treatment:

  • can be safer, better for your hair, and more natural, involving no applications of pesticides;
  • saves you time, especially professional in-home lice removal services;
  • is easier, since you don't need to learn a completely new skill from scratch;
  • is sometimes reimbursable by insurance and almost always is HSA/FSA eligible.

LiceDoctors touts an unmatched 99.6% lice removal service success rate among nearly 600,000 clients. How much does lice removal cost in a salon to get rid of lice in your hair versus an in-home appointment?

  • Per-head heated removal service: $700-$800 for an average family of 4 at lice clinics OR;
  • Hourly lice removal: 2.5-3 hours for a family of 4 carries and the average price of lice treatment service is $480 (based on our lice treatment pricing at LiceDoctors).

Lice Doctors: Delivering High-Quality Lice Treatment at the Right Price!

Lice Doctors: Delivering High-Quality Lice Treatment at the Right Price!

The process that is used for effective lice removal treatment must be thorough; there are no shortcuts. A good eye, good lighting, and good technique are crucial as everything needs to be removed from the hair for effective lice treatment.

Considering all this, the professional lice treatment service's cost-effective solution pales in comparison to other treatment options that may appear, at first, to be less expensive. Skip those DIY efforts for your hair and go right for the good stuff: professional lice treatment service. You may very well save a lot of money, and just as important, it will save you from several hours of work, and a lot of stress, and will get the job done right. Call to book an appointment  at 800-224-2537. Your lice technician knows what she is doing and will clean out the lice and nits today using non-toxic, natural treatments. You will see that our head lice treatment prices are well worth it! LiceDoctors removal treatment service comes with a 30-day guarantee.

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