Our latest attempt to deal with lice: call in the experts

There’s respect in Dee Wright’s voice when she talk about Pediculus humanus capitis. “They are a brilliant opponent,” she says. She ticks off their stats: They mate once, then lay eggs for 30 days. They are tenacious and wily and immune to just about any chemical you put on them. Is it any wonder that head lice are the insect that keeps on giving?

Wright’s symbiotic relationship with the louse began almost 4 years ago, when she set up Hairforce, a lice-busting service that operates out of her home studio in North London. There, teams of women in white uniforms and magnifying goggles give no quarter to lice and their eggs, seeking them out with scientific precision using tight-tooth combs, tweezers and what I can only describe as contraptions.

First there is the vacuum cleaner with a comb attached (at least, that’s what it looks like) that sucks out the larger creatures. Then there is Wright’s newest louse-buster, the only one of its kind in the UK. This machine heats and dehydrates eggs so they don’t hatch. If you have ever used a diffuser on your blowdryer, you will recognise the business end of this machine. If you have ever held your diffuser in one part of your head a little too long, you understand how much heat it takes to dessicate a nit.

Paying someone to find your child’s hair nits might sound like something for people who can’t be bothered to raise a comb on their own.

Yet while Wright understands the louse, she’s in touch even more with the desperation infestations can inspire. “We hear from a lot of people who struggle for a long time,” she says. Some children come in after being excluded from playdates or ostracised on the playground. While we all know that lice don’t mean the person is “dirty”, what we feel when dealing with an infestation is a down-to-your-bones shiver of “Eww”.

That perhaps is what Hairforce really battles with its hoses and tweezers and cheerful matter-of-fact staff in this smart, paisley-wallpapered front room. Parents have called for help in the middle of the night, even on Christmas Day.

I visited with my 6-year-old after 3 months of infestation and re-infestation. I couldn’t bear another evening with the excellent (and effective) Nitty Gritty comb, a handful of hair grips and Shrek 2. We were both exhausted.

In the end, after an hour and a half, the crisp young women didn’t find anything on either of us. That’s common, Wright says. “People lose their confidence in dealing with them,” and are never sure if they’ve gotten them all. That’s where she and her team stand ready, with an arsenal of silly-looking contraptions, mini DVD players and an eye fixed on one of the most tenacious opponents of all.

Watch Wright’s team at work on Embarrassing Bodies

View the blog at: http://timesonline.typepad.com/alphamummy/2010/06/our-latest-attempt-to-deal-with-lice-call-in-the-experts.html

Featured in the Vogue Beauty blog this week.  A real honour given we are such Vogue devotees.  Plenty of fashionista’s with nits and head lice.  Lice no longer have to accessorise the latest Marc Jacobs or Top Shop outfit – we can ensure that.

Their blog entry on us:

Today a public service announcement:  The daughter of one of our Vogue Editiors (who wishes to remain anonymous) has been trying in vain for years to get rid of her nits.  Nothing works and evenings and weekends have become a battleground to get rid of the pesky little mites.  You can imagine her delight when she discovered The Hairforce – Lice Assassins.  Run from a divine Georgian house in Primrose Hill, the problem is dealt with in three to four treatments from a team of ghostbuster style experts and lasts long enough for parents to flick through an issue of Vogue at nearby Melrose and Morgan.  Problem solved!

www.thehairforce.co.uk 22 St Mark’s Crescent, Primrose Hill, London, NW1 7TU

Link to the Vogue Beauty blog:  http://vogue.co.uk/blogs/the-vogue-beauty-blog/articles/100517-the-nitty-gritty/aspx

We had fantastic coverage in the first of Embarrassing Bodies Kids Series, which examined nits and head lice:

Combing out thousands of nits (eggs) from Tiffany's hair

The first kid in the waiting room is eight year old Tiffany whose hair has been harbouring some little monsters for the last 4 years. 50% of 11 to 14 year olds get nits each year, they are particularly prevalent in school children as they are caught through hair to hair contact. Tiffany’s nits had damaged her self-confidence, and although her mum had tried all treatments available, the stubborn nits just won’t budge. Dr Christian sent Tiffany to see specialist nit removers, who have an array of tools to drive those pesky nits out. They begin by hoovering the hair to get rid of all the living lice, then the hair is sprayed with a special conditioner and combed using a very fine toothed comb to get rid of the eggs, the more stubborn eggs are finally picked out with tweezers. Tiffany had 4 sessions of nit removal, totally 5 hours! But her hair is now nit free.

The Embarrassing Bodies team would like to thank:

Hairforce Lice Assassins

Check out the video and watch us clear Tiffany:http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid81922772001?bctid=82886535001

Watch this Friday 30th April at 9.00 pm Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies which focuses on Kids and head lice.  The Hairforce – Lice Assassins is featured clearing and shutting down a major infestation that the products and many medical specialists had failed to tackle adequately.

Check out Embarrassing Bodies website at: http://www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/

Thank you Jemima for the stella tweet

TWITTER OF THE DAY

Jemima Khan on the trials of modern life

‘Off to a place called The Hairforce – Lice Assassins with my boys.  Scratching like the devil.  Praying psychosomatic.  The glamour….’

Check out the Evening Standard: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/

Franchising – A way ahead for women

by Linda Whitney

STARTING a business can be the answer to the problem women often face of balancing your work with your private life, and a franchise can be less risky than going it alone.

‘Because it’s already tried and tested, the franchise model provides a more secure platform for starting a business,’ says Tom Endean of the British Franchise Association. Its figures show that more than a third of new franchisees are run by females. Women’s parenting experience is particularly valued by many franchisors.

‘The opportunity to nurture young talent while building a strong business appeals to women in particular,’ says Kerry Watkins, the head of the LIPA 4:19 franchise, where nearly 70 per cent of franchisees are women.

LIPA 4:19 is an offshoot of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts co-founded by Sir Paul McCartney Noun 1. Paul McCartney – English rock star and bass guitarist and songwriter who with John Lennon wrote most of the music for the Beatles (born in 1942)
McCartney, Sir James Paul McCartney , and its franchisees run academies offering singing, dancing and acting lessons. Investment is [pounds sterling]13,500.

At the Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts, 16 out of 20 franchisees are female. As with most stage skills franchises, you don’t need performing arts experience, as you can employ teachers, and the [pounds sterling]1,000 investment includes marketing, advertising and actress Pauline Quirke attending your launch.
Many Pop Stars Academy franchisees, who run sessions teaching street dance and dance-themed parties, are female. The cost is [pounds sterling]9,995 plus [pounds sterling]4,000 for equipment.

Women’s people skills can make them particularly suited to care businesses. Lorna Lyons-Smith of home care provider, SureCare, says: ‘The franchise care sector is an area where women excel.

‘Not only are they often financially astute, but they have chosen to work in an industry that they feel passionate about.’ Many SureCare franchisees have a care service background, but it’s not essential as Surecare provides support managers to guide you through the launch and ongoing operation of your business.

The franchise costs [pounds sterling]25,000, (a [pounds sterling]3,000 deposit, then staggered payments through the first year). Working from home is possible with many franchises.

The Hairforce – Lice Assassins (www.thehairforce.co.uk ) turn their home-based head lice removal service into a spa-like experience, with clients sitting in a massage chair to read, watch DVDs or play computer games. The [pounds sterling]9,950 package includes training and specialist equipment.

Many franchises allow you to work part-time or flexibly. ‘I work hard and long hours, but they can also be flexible,’ says Nancy Malone Nancy Malone (born March 19, 1935) is an American television actress, principally in guest roles from the 1950s to 1970s, who moved into producing and directing in the 1980s and 1990s.

She played “Libby” on the TV series Naked City from 1960 to 1963. , franchisee of the Energie Fitness for Women club in Hackney Hackney, inner borough (1991 pop. 164,200) of Greater London, SE England, on the Lea River. Clothing manufacture (in Hackney) and printing and furniture making (in Shoreditch) are the borough’s chief industries. London’s first theater was built in Shoreditch (c.1575). , London. You don’t need to be a trained fitness coach, and investment starts at [pounds sterling]19,000.

WORK out how much time you can give your business. Most franchisors expect you to put in a minimum number of hours. Franchisees with Rosemary Conley Rosemary Conley, CBE (b. 19 December 1946, Leicestershire) is an English businesswoman, author and broadcaster on exercise and health. She is the founder and president of Rosemary Conley Diet And Fitness Clubs, a franchise-based organisation that is, alongside Slimming World and  Diet and Fitness Clubs are expected to run at least ten fitness and nutrition sessions in local venues each week. The [pounds sterling]20,000 investment includes an exercise to music course plus business training and support.

Make sure you have the support of your partner and family. Kim Richardson, 27, co-owner of the Revive! franchise in Luton with partner Adam Smith, says: ‘It’s important to have your partner and family’s support. Sometimes you need someone to talk to who understands what you’re talking about.’ Revive! franchisees provide a small area repairs service to vehicles, and you can get started with [pounds sterling]10,000.

LIPA 4:19 0151 330 3000, Pauline Quirke Academy 08456 732 022, Popstars Academy 0870 850 6018, Energie 0845 363 1020, SureCare 01244 321 199, The Hairforce-Lice Assassins 020 7485 7351, Revive! 0800 056 2999, Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs 01509 622 000, Venture 01606 596 808. 

Go the the Daily Mail website: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html

AN OPPORTUNITY NIT TO BE MISSED

By Simon Read

Mirror Biz 

Our weekly look at Franchising and Business

A nit and headlice-removal franchise could be just the job to give you a headstart into running your very own business.

The Hairforce franchise was set up by London mum Dee Wright, a finalist in the Inspirational Business Mum Of The Year awards two years ago.

“I came up with the idea after I read about a company in the States that provided a headlice removal service.

“I had a good look and just thought, ‘I can do that so much better’,” says Dee.

After starting the business in her front room, Dee now has a Hairforce Lounge in Primrose Hill, North London, and is looking to build up a network of franchisees – or Lice Assassins.

Lice can hit any children, with half of all four to 11-year-olds in the UK catching nits each year.

Many traditional treatments prove useless as some bugs have become resilient to the chemicals used, leaving parents with little alternative than to scrape a painful lice comb through their kids’ hair several times.

Potential franchisees can provide great relief for parents and children, as well as building up a successful business.

They also don’t have to have any specialist knowledge to use the spa-like equipment – although most are mums who know about the problems of dealing with lice.

Customers are simply treated at home in a massage chair with a Lousebuster, which uses warm air to kill all the nits and head lice in one go by simply dehydrating them.

The business could be a part-time opportunity that can be run from home and visiting families in their homes, or by making speciallyarranged visits to schools to administer the painless treatment. Hairforce is being showcased at the British Franchise Exhibition being held at London’s Olympia on March 19 and 20. The franchise package costs £9,950 and includes all you need to start and run the business.

Find out more..

if you want to become a lice assassin email opportunity@thehairforce. co.uk or call 020 7485 7351.

www.thebfa.org is the main body for franchising in the uk.

www.whichfranchise.com offers lots of tips and advice on franchising.

 To view the article go to: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/03/04/an-opportunity-nit-to-be-missed-115875-22084423/

Lice-busters!

Head lice are an unpleasant business — and one that parents struggle to cope with. Treatments can be messy, ineffective, and expensive — but one innovative company has come to the rescue.

You can put this nitty problem in the hands of professionals at The Hairforce nit and head lice spa. They guarantee to eliminate all traces of head lice and their nits.

This specialised service is dedicated to killing all lice and nits without chemicals, by hand — strand by strand. All parents need to do is call the nit-busting hotline, arrange an appointment and arrive at the spa with their children in tow.

Currently, The Hairforce operate from Primrose Hill in London, but the good news is that this year they are looking to franchise the business, and bring it to Oxfordshire.

Upon arrival at the spa, children and adults are assigned an expert ‘Lice Assassin’. Armed with a lice hoover, medical magnifying visor, a LiceMeister nit comb, precision tweezers and a perfectionist streak, the Lice Assassin means business (pictured right).

While they defeat the little critters, clients relax in special massage chairs and are distracted with the latest computer games, DVDs and magazines.

Head lice, the bane of parents, have reached epidemic proportions here in the UK with an estimated three million children affected every year. In addition siblings, parents, grandparents, nannies and teachers are also susceptible.

A staggering £30m is spent annually on a variety of lotions, shampoos and treatments, which are proven to be ineffective 80 per cent of the time, as lice have developed immunity to them. In the worse cases, parents have used products for months, even years on end in the battle to clear their children and themselves.

The Hairforce guarantees its service is 100 per cent effective.

Company founder Dee Wright said: ‘I wanted to find a creative and effective solution to an ongoing and unpleasant disease which is so difficult to solve. Head lice and nits are becoming increasingly immune to previous methods of treatment, rendering most ineffective. We clear many people with major long term infestations that couldn’t be treated any other way.’ The Hairforce service currently operates from The Hairforce Lounge in Primrose Hill where children and parents are checked and cleared on an appointment basis six days-a-week. They also make home visits where Lice Assassins go to a client’s home to check or clear the entire family.

The Hairforce additionally acts as an in-school mobile Nit Nurse service, where teams of Lice Assassins go into schools to check and clear whole classes, or the whole school, to ensure the end of a cycle of infestation and reinfestation.

To access the article go to: http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/features/education_directory/4875632.Lice_busters_/