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New Westminster business offering up free lice removal for one-day only

A local business is hoping to help as many people as possible at the Great Lice Egg Hunt. Lice Clinics of Canada is having its second annual Great Lice Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 13 at 301 East Columbia St.
lice clinic, Saea Vivian
Saea Vivian stands in front of the Columbia Medical Building where she opened a lice clinic this year. The business is getting set to host a free day of head checks and lice treatments.

A local business is hoping to help as many people as possible at the Great Lice Egg Hunt.

Lice Clinics of Canada is having its second annual Great Lice Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 13 at 301 East Columbia St. It’s offering free head checks and express treatments to as many people as it can between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

“This is our second year doing the event, but this year we are offering free head checks and express treatments for those who wouldn’t be able to afford our services,” said owner Saea Vivian. “Last year, we offered half-price treatments, but this year it will be completely free.”

After Vivian’s daughter got lice and was treated at a clinic that had a patented medical device, she was so enamored with the technology that she opened a Lice Clinics of Canada business in Canada. She opened her first location in Langley in June 2016 and a second location in New West in March 2018

“The medical device uses heated air. What it does is dehydrates the lice and the lice eggs, which is what the important part is,” she said. “Typically, what happens up until now, all that’s been available for treatment is an over-the-counter product, which will kill the live lice but it doesn’t really do anything for the eggs that are left behind, or you have a comb-it option, which is essentially the same thing – you comb and comb and comb, but if you leave a couple of eggs behind then you are back at it again. This kills all of the nits in the hair.”

Vivian recommends people make an appointment for the Great Lice Egg hunt, as it’s expected to be very busy.

“It is for one day only. We are not giving out rainchecks,” she said. “If you can’t it make for the event, we are sorry but it is literally one-day only and it is only at the New West location.”

Because the treatment uses a medical device that’s approved by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Vivian said the treatment can be on the pricier side. She said the event gives community members a chance to get a quality lice treatment without having to pay the clinic’s regular price.

 “All we ask is that everyone comes in with clean, dry and brushed hair because if they have another lice treatment or anything else in their hair that’s oil based we can’t help them and we are going to have to send them home,” she said. “It’s a three-step process. We use the AirAllé, which is a medical device. That takes about half an hour. For this particular treatment we are going to do about a 10-minute comb-out of the debris that’s left behind. Afterwards, we put on an active rinse, which is essentially a really thick oil, in case any of the live lice have moved out of the way of the heat – this will suffocate them within 10 minutes.”

Vivian hopes the business helps tackle the fear that some people have in sharing the fact they have had lice.

“One of the things that we are trying to get past is lice shaming. It’s like catching a cold. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere, and over and over again,” she said. “It does not mean that they are dirty or they don’t take care of themselves or that they are low-income or anything like that. It’s just like a cold. It literally can hit anyone.”

While lice can be a touchy topic for some folks, Vivian said the event is quite fun.

“We are really looking forward to it. It was an awful lot of fun last year,” she said. “It was a great time where got to showcase that lice don’t have to be icky. It was done tactfully, effectively and with humour."

To take part in the event, call 604-961-0171 or book an appointment through the company’s website at www.lcclangley.com/new-westminster.