Things Getting a Little Lousy Around Your House? Try Lafayette's Love Bugs

Lice can be fun!

 At least, that's the story according to Mailana Mavromatis-Broumand, the cheerful, quick-speaking owner of LoveBugs®.  The Lafayette salon, filled with laughing, eager employees who all claim to love their work, may be surreal to an adult - but it's a little bit of heaven to a scratchy child.

With snacks, videos and people who nitpick about something other than homework and chores, LoveBugs is salvation to the unlucky kids picked as a breeding ground for the sesame-seed-sized pests that terrorize entire classrooms and whole families.

Mavromatis-Brouman says there's a misperception at play.  "They (lice) actually prefer clean, oil-free hair," she says, "when hair is dirty and full of oils, it's hard for lice to get stuck in there."

Still, the insects cause more than physical discomfort.  "The parents are ashamed," Mavromatis-Broumand says, "but the kids aren't."  It's a little hard to believe, but the most commonly expressed attitude she's heard kids utter about the beasts is a forgiving: "Lice are creepy crawlies on somebody's head."

She recalls her own experience. Mavromatis-Broumand had lice in both second and fifth grade and says bugs have always liked her.  Her practical acceptance comes with a shrug and appreciation for her mother.  "My mom was the only one — she just took care of it.  Even my siblings made me feel ashamed, but not my mom."

Head lice have been around for centuries.  Which is amazing, because they can't survive more than 24 hours off of their human hosts.  They feed on blood from the scalp and gravitate to areas, like behind the ears, where light is low.  An adult female louse lives approximately 30 days and can lay up to 100 nits—the gold-brown eggs that attach themselves to hair shafts.

In an online video describing her experience with lice, the Wall Street Journal's Jennifer Corbett-Dooren says one of the best ways to distinguish the nits from dandruff is "it's sticky."  The gluey substance is one reason getting rid of the problem takes time, diligence and know-how.

LoveBugs® offers free head checks and makes visits to area schools (free of charge) to check student populations.  Most children require only 2 to 3 visits to the salon to get rid of the problem — "If they do their homework," Mavromatis-Broumand warns.  "Homework" is an 11 item list of to-do's, including everything from washing hair with LoveBugs' non-toxic products to vacuuming stuffed animals.

Because lice don't fly or jump, they usually pass from person to person through close contact.  Sharing helmets or hair brushes are obvious things to avoid, but so are mutual headphones and even cell phones.  "You can't vacuum your headphones," Mavromatis-Broumand says, "but you can isolate them in an airtight bag for two weeks."  After that, they can be safe to use again.  "But still, don't share them," she adds.

Mavromatis-Broumand's salon offers only natural products.  Based on salt and vinegar, their solution slows the lice down so they can be caught.   About over the counter products, she says, "Children's scalps are far more absorbent than adults', and anything that claims to kill lice, contains a pesticide."  When asked to detail the risks, she admits the studies are inconclusive.  "There aren't a lot of studies about lice, because they don't carry diseases like mosquitos and other bugs.  But why take the risk of using toxins?"

Mavromatis-Broumand's team of eight vigilant de-licers are all as enthusiastic about their jobs as their leader.  "I tell people I'm a de-licer!" Equella Hearne says.  "I say, 'I take lice out of cute kid's heads all day!' "  Josie, a fellow staff member, describes the families who accompany their kids.  "The men!  They're all off it… until they get checked with their kids," she says.  "I had one man tell me it was the first time a woman had run her hands through his hair in a long time and he really missed it!"

Despite all the fun and camaraderie, untreated head lice do carry a risk.  "If there's an over-infestation and repeated scratching, there's a danger of infection," Mavromatis-Broumand says.  School districts clearly take the matter seriously, devoting multiple pages detecting, preventing and treating the problem on their web sites .

In many respects, Mavromatis-Broumand is following in her mother's tradition.  Creating a happy place, where kids don't have to be ashamed and where well-trained professionals will, in her own words, "just take care of it."

Editor:  LoveBugs® is located in Lafayette at 3746 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Suite 122.  They also have a second location in Palo Alto at 4037 El Camino Way.