Best treatment for head lice

Maximum Strength Rid is a lice shampoo that claims to get rid of even the toughest of head lice cases. The problem with this claim is that every school nurse in America has recommended that children sent home with head lice, use Rid for the removal of head lice, and as such, the head lice have become immune to Rid. After trying many different brands of head lice treatments (see my HairClean 1-2-3 review), I am determined that Rid Maximum Strength is no better or worse than most of the other chemical based lice shampoos available over the counter. First of all, chemical based lice treatments are downright dangerous; products like lindane (prescription) have been linked to brain problems and even cancer. Second, there’s the smell, which is absolutely intoxicating and makes the average person want to vomit. Third, there’s the fact that head lice have become immune to them and they just don’t cure the head lice infestation that you are dealing with. To effectively remove head lice from your child, yourself, your family, and your house, see my review on HairClean 1-2-3. For my review on Maximum Strength Rid, keep reading.

When it comes to odor, every chemical based lice shampoo stinks. Rid stinks less then some other popular brands (such as Nix), but it still stinks. After all, it’s a chemical based shampoo, have you ever smelled a flea shampoo for dogs or cats that smells good? Didn’t think so. And you likely won’t find a chemical based lice shampoo that smells good either. Rid makes the claim that “nothing is proven more effective” and I wonder sometimes how the company gets away with making that claim. After Rid and many other brands failed for us, even prescription based products, we were informed by numerous sources (health care workers, drug store workers, pharmacists, and school nurses) that Rid has been ineffective for years, and that parents treat their child with Rid, assume that their child is safe to return to school because they have been treated, and that’s how the cycle begins in the classroom.

Maximum Strength Rid contains the following ingredients: Piperonyl butoxide (a lice treatment 4%) Pyrethrum extract (a lice treatment equivalent to .33% pyrethrin) Ammonium laureth sulfate Fragrance PEG-25 hydrogenated castor oil Polyquaternium-10 Purified water

Maximum Strength Rid is used to treat had lice, pubic lice, and body lice. I do not have any experience with pubic or body lice, but I can tell you from experience that when it comes to head lice, there is nothing that Rid gets rid of, and that there is nothing “maximum strength” about this product. First of all, the warning list on Rid is ridiculously long. Don’t get it near the mouth, in the nose, mouth, vagina, on the eyebrows or eyelashes. If you are allergic to ragweed avoid this product at all costs (I am allergic to ragweed and I was not allergic to this product, but could I really tell if I was, the smell was so bad). May cause difficulty breathing, an asthma attack, keep eyes closed and protected with a washcloth, if contact with eyes occurs flush with water immediately, scalp itching and redness may occur. Stop using and ask a doctor if you experience breathing difficulty, eye irritation, skin irritation, scalp irritation, or infection. Keep out of the reach of children. If swallowed, contact Poison Control immediately.

After all of those warnings, if you are ready to pour Maximum Strength Rid on your child’s head, continue reading this review. If you are thinking “there has to be a better way”, you are absolutely right, visit my HairClean 1-2-3 review for the safe, cost effective away to get rid of head lice in your child’s hair without harming your child. After following the directions on the Rid package step by step (apply thoroughly to dry hair or other affected areas, applying behind the ears and to the back of the neck first for head lice, allow product to remain on for 10 minutes, use warm water to form a lather, shampoo, then thoroughly rinse, towel dry hair, comb out tangles, use a fine tooth or special lice/nit comb to remove nits) there were live, crawling lice on my hair. I am not the only person who experienced this, in fact, when we went to the doctor about the lice problem that wouldn’t go away, they recommended putting Rid in your hair, putting a shower cap on, and leaving the treatment in over night, which by the way also failed. Then, they prescribed lindane shampoo, which also failed. Despite the failed attempt with Rid, and the fact that we still had live lice after using the product, the entire condominium complex tried to treat head lice with Rid multiple times. No one had results using Rid, and everyone agreed that there had to be a better way to treat head lice.

The comb that comes with Maximum Strength Rid is also a joke. The plastic lice combs included with Rid products cannot stand up to thick hair, extra long hair, curly hair, or tangled hair. They break so easily. I highly recommend that if you are going to use Rid, that you purchase a metal lice comb. But, why use Rid, when Rid doesn’t rid you of anything, except for maybe a few brain cells lost to chemicals, when you can use HairClean 1-2-3 which comes with a great metal comb!

On a side note, Rid does now make a pure alternative product. I do not know the effectiveness of this product, because the active ingredient is Dimethicone (which I am allergic to (it’s in the silicone family). I would love to hear if anyone has tried the Rid pure alternative product, and what you think of it (does it work any better than regular Rid or Maximum Strength Rid).

Recommended: No

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