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Checking for lice might not be your idea of fun but it's also no big deal and shouldn't be a stressful experience for you or your child. This section of the site will show you how to check properly:

• Where to peek
• What to peek for
• How to peek

Checking is just a normal part of every family's personal hygiene routine, like brushing your teeth or washing your hair, so a good time to do it would be in front of the TV after having a bath and hair wash. You could make this experience even more stress-free by:

• Showing your child how to check their own hair using a lice detection comb
• Using the weekly peek as an opportunity to tell a story or ask about their day
• Asking them to check your hair for you
• Rewarding your child for each week's successful search
• Turning it into a fun game of hide and seek
• Putting their favourite TV programme or DVD on

If you're feeling unsure don't worry, you're not alone - 1 in 4 parents aren't sure how to check for head lice properly.

To diagnose a case of head lice you need to find them alive. This is when you need to use a treatment. They move fast and are small - from the size of a full stop to a sesame - so they can be hard to find!

Good lighting is important and so is comfort! Comb for lice, parting hair in small sections, and return from time to time to areas you've already covered just to make sure. Combing through thick, curly or Afro-Caribbean hair will be more difficult so a good idea is to dampen the hair and comb through with a normal comb first to remove any tangles. You can also oil the hair using a light oil, such as grapeseed, which will help let the fine-tooth nit comb pass through easier during your search.

Head lice range in sizes from a full stop to a sesame seed.

Actual size in stages of growth.

And remember, if you find head lice on one member of your family you need to check everybody to make sure they don't have them as well.

If you find live lice take a peek at ALL your family, including yourself

The shorter the hair, the easier it is to pass lice to each other? This is because the louse has a smaller distance to travel between the scalp and the surface of the hair.

A reliable method for diagnosing head lice infection, the Hedrin Head Lice Detection Comb is 3.84 times more effective than a visual inspection alone.