I recently had a difficult time dealing with a head lice case I had gotten from work. I tried Nix multiple times and it did nothing. Once in A Licetime helped me with decreasing the amount of lice in my head, but did not completely rid my hair of them. They were friendly and helpful only as long as I was spending hundreds of dollars, the second there was an issue, they weren't so nice....I had a severe case and had 4 total appointments, here is the timeline of what happened.
Appointment #1: Went in with severe case for the first time, was asked to sign a waiver and was rushed through signing it, and was assured it just said that if there were an issue with the lice not being cleared, they would take care of it (I later found this to be not true). Most of the lice were probably clear by that point but that night I found a baby lice that was left in my head. Now, I have VERY thick and long hair and they spent less than an hour combing my hair through, so I could see why one or two were missed. I didn't think much of it since I'd be going back in a few days. [Paid ~$280 for 2 treatments + 3rd check]
Apt #2: 6 days later. Head was treated again and once again, I found a full grown lice on my head within 6 hours of leaving my appointment. I alerted them immediately and even sent a picture for proof and they were so friendly in assuring me they would take care of it no charge when I returned for my final check.
Apt #3: 6 days later. I return for my final check, which is supposed to be complimentary, they of course find more lice in my head, which I had expected considering I found live lice right after my last appointment. The technicians tried to get me to pay an additional $70 for continuing to treat it and tried to claim I just got "re-infested". Which was impossible. I only still had live lice due to their lack of thoroughness the last 2 times. After a bit of trouble and my constant pushing that I was told I multiple times that I would be taken care of at no extra charge if their treatment didn't work, they treated my hair again for lice without charge. Withing 12 hours, I AGAIN found a live baby lice in my hair. Though this time I opted to buy the $35 Enzyme Lice Treatment they used in the salon and decided to treat myself at home. I begun to use the enzymes every other day for two weeks, each time leaving it on my hair for at least 12 hours.
Call #1: I called after my final check to express my concerns about finding lice in my hair after the final appointment (and the previous 2). I was again assured of the "guarantee" and told to use the enzymes for 10 days, which I did.
Apt #4: Unable to check my own hair to see if they enzyme solution worked, I opted to contact them again to ask for another head check. And considering their "guarantee", and the fact that after each of the 3 appointments, I had still found lice in my head due to their lack of thoroughness, I expected them to waive the head check fee. This is when the customer service when from friendly to outright rude and even mean. I was told that despite being told I would be taken care of at no charge over and over again if the treatment didn't work, and despite STILL HAVING LICE after each appointment that I promptly communicated to them, that the "guarantee" only lasts 10 days after the second appointment. (Be aware, after my final appointment, I was told to use enzymes for 10 days, assuring that I would run out of the guarantee time before going back). I ended up still paying the head check fee to have peace of mind that the enzyme solution did in fact work.
Long story short, they do use a formula that I believe works to rid the lice (that you can buy on Amazon btw). But their combing technique is rushed and not thorough enough especially if you have really long or thick hair. They will have you sign something at the beginning, READ IT FULLY, don't let them rush you. Also, do not rely on their guarantee to treat you even if the treatment doesn't work. If they treatment does not work, they will just charge you more.
Biggest issue of all was the turn in customer service at the end, with Olivia. I was perfectly pleasant the entire time and simply asked them to follow through with their guarantee, especially since after each of the 3 treatments failed. It left a bad taste in my mouth making me realize that I was lied to purposefully and made to be intimidated to get as much money out of me as possible.
My advice: Buy the enzymes, use it at home for 10 days, and go elsewhere for a head check for lice. read more
