Can a Blow Dryer or Hair Straightener Kill Lice?
Key Takeaways
- Heat can kill lice, but only when airflow, temperature, duration, and direction are carefully controlled.
- It is dehydration – a combination of heat and airflow – enough to kill the lice but not too much to burn the patient
- A regular blow dryer does not reliably kill lice or nits.
- A hair straightener or flat iron does not safely or effectively treat a full lice infestation.
- Excessive heat from home styling tools can damage hair and irritate the scalp (or burn the scalp).
- AirAllé® is the FDA-cleared heated-air treatment designed to kill lice and eggs safely and effectively.
Checking for Signs of Lice
If you or your child have a really itchy head, you might be wondering: does my child have lice? If your child has an itchy scalp, take a look at their hair closely. Using a fine-toothed comb and bright lighting, see if you can find any lice eggs, also known as nits. Nits are light yellow or brown in color and are similar in size to a sesame seed. You can check out more details on what lice look like here.
If you think your child might have lice, the next thing you’re thinking about is: how do I cure my child’s lice?
Why People Ask if Heat Kills Lice
One method that people have attempted to use is a blow dryer or hair straightener, thinking the heat would dry up and kill any lice. This idea is heading in the right direction, and while desiccation can be used to kill lice, it’s important to note that a regular hair dryer or straightener will not treat lice. It is dehydration that kills the live lice and nits, not just heat.
How Desiccation Kills Lice
Desiccation is the process of drying something out. The small packets you sometimes see in products known as desiccants rely on chemical properties to keep things dry, such as a shelf-stable product like a bottle of vitamins.
Desiccation can also mean applying heat directly to dry something out—in this case, an active lice infestation. There is some validity to the reasoning of this method, because lice indeed cannot survive hot air directed at them for a prolonged period of time.
Drying a human head louse out thoroughly would be like putting an amphibian such as a frog in a very hot desert. It can survive out of the water, but if it doesn’t get moisture soon it will overheat and dry out.
So, using this same logic, you might be inclined to think a hair straightener or hair dryer could do the trick.
Why Only Some Forms of Heat Kill Lice
While the rationale behind using a hair dryer or hair straightener to overheat and dry out lice makes sense, unfortunately, many complications arise in practice. In order for lice to be properly killed via desiccation, the following factors need to be controlled:
- Airflow
- Temperature
- Duration
- Direction
A hair dryer or straightener must have enough airflow, a hot enough temperature, be used for the minimum duration, and be directed properly at the head to properly kill lice. Unfortunately, hair dryers and straighteners fail on all these fronts.
Why Hair Dryers Do Not Work to Kill Lice
Think about the last time you used a hair dryer to dry your own hair or your child’s hair. When the hair dryer gets hot, what do you do? You move it away from the head. Once you do this, you feel less heat, but unfortunately, now the hair dryer is too far away. In order to have the temperature that you need to kill lice, you would need to hold that hair dryer right next to your child’s scalp, causing pain.
You would also need to use it in close proximity for at least 30 seconds. With that duration and proximity, it is likely to hurt your child. You would also need to be able to go through the entire scalp meticulously at hundreds of different angles, all while blasting your child with incredibly hot air.
The end result is a painful process that attempts to kill the lice and still results in failure.
Why Hair Straighteners Do Not Kill Lice
Hair dryers clearly don’t work, but what about using a hair straightener? You may already own one and see an easy solution. Unfortunately, hair straighteners present some problems too.
Using the same four criteria above, you would need to control airflow, temperature, duration, and direction. A hair straightener doesn’t really have airflow, which scientists at Lice Clinics of America found was an essential element to properly desiccating lice.
You could straighten a portion of hair and leave the heat on there, but you would need to leave it there long enough to kill the lice. In the meantime, it is likely going to destroy that hair and get very hot, which can be dangerous for a child and even an adult.
Safe and Effective Alternatives to Excessive Heat
The good news is there are plenty of alternative safe and effective ways to kill lice and lice eggs.
At Lice Clinics of America, we have developed a revolutionary tool called AirAllé®, which properly uses all of these criteria to kill lice:
- Airflow
- Temperature
- Duration
- Direction
AirAllé® properly controls the airflow, creating an incredibly windy and dry environment. It uses just the right amount of heat to kill adult lice and nits while not hurting the scalp of the person being treated.
In fact, it is totally pain-free and the only heated-air lice device that has been cleared by the FDA. The direction of the air is designed to flow in a pattern to get to each and every part of the scalp thoroughly, but because of the technology of the device, the duration is sufficient to kill lice while still being efficient enough to fit into an after-school appointment.
Other treatments include the OneCure™ Home Treatment Kit, the first and only at-home heated-air solution clinically proven to kill lice, super lice, and 99.2% of eggs in a single treatment. OneCure uses the same non-toxic, pesticide-free technology proven in our clinics, but can be administered at home. The CURE! Lice Remover Kit is another home treatment kit that allows you to treat head lice with a safe, non-toxic, and pesticide-free gel.
When to Call for Help
When the right treatments are used, lice infestations can be taken care of safely and effectively without the use of any harmful chemicals or excessive heat. If you have any questions about lice treatments, please give us a call at (855) 706-5423 or contact your local lice clinic.
FAQ
Does heat kill lice and nits?
Heat can kill lice and nits, but only when airflow, temperature, duration, and direction are carefully controlled. That is why home styling tools are not reliable treatment methods. AirAllé® is the better solution because it is the FDA-cleared heated-air treatment designed specifically to kill lice and eggs safely and effectively.
Does a hair dryer or blow dryer kill lice?
No, a regular hair dryer or blow dryer does not reliably kill lice. To create enough heat at the scalp, it would need to be held too close for too long, which can be painful and still may not treat the full infestation. AirAllé® is the stronger option because it uses controlled heated air designed for lice removal.
Does a hair straightener or flat iron kill lice?
No, a hair straightener or flat iron is not a dependable way to kill lice. It does not provide the airflow needed to properly desiccate lice and cannot safely treat the full scalp. AirAllé® is the better heat-based solution because it controls the conditions needed to kill lice effectively.
Does a hair straightener or flat iron kill lice eggs or nits?
Not reliably. A straightener or flat iron may heat sections of hair, but it does not safely and consistently reach lice eggs close to the scalp across the full head. AirAllé® is the better option because it is designed to address both lice and nits more effectively.
Can you kill lice with a hair dryer, blow dryer, or straightener?
No, not in a way families should rely on. These tools are not designed to treat lice infestations and may cause discomfort or hair damage before solving the problem. AirAllé® is the best first step because it is specifically designed to kill lice and eggs safely and effectively.
Can lice survive a hair straightener?
Yes, lice can survive a hair straightener because the tool does not evenly or safely reach every part of the scalp where lice and eggs may be present. A more complete solution is AirAllé®, which is designed to treat the full scalp with controlled heated air.
Does straightening hair kill lice?
No, straightening hair does not reliably kill lice. It may expose part of the hair to heat, but it does not provide the coverage or airflow needed to eliminate an infestation. AirAllé® is the stronger solution for families who want an effective heat-based treatment.
Does blow drying hair kill lice?
No, blow drying hair does not reliably kill lice. It may dry the hair itself, but it does not create the controlled treatment conditions needed across the scalp. AirAllé® is the better approach because it is designed specifically for lice removal.
Does heat from a straightener kill lice?
Not effectively enough to treat a full infestation. Even though lice can be harmed by hot air, a straightener does not provide the right airflow, coverage, or safe scalp application needed to work properly. AirAllé® is the treatment designed to do that.
What heat treatment actually works for lice?
The best heat treatment is AirAllé®, the FDA-cleared heated-air treatment designed specifically to kill lice and eggs. Unlike a blow dryer, flat iron, or straightener, AirAllé® is built to control airflow, temperature, duration, and direction in a way that is safe, thorough, and effective.
