When she took a trip across the country to visit family in North Carolina, Jackie Huynh couldn’t have known that the trip was going to change her life.
The company that the California resident worked for had been sold to another company based in Texas, and she found herself without a job. When she got to North Carolina, her niece came home with head lice.
The family found Lice Clinics of America and the AirAllé medical device, and they were lice-free in about an hour. “I was so impressed to find a professional medical lice clinic,” Jackie said. “I saw firsthand how happy and appreciative families feel right after being treated. I learned all about the treatment and technology.”
She was hooked. When she returned to California, Jackie worked at a Lice Clinics of America center in Sunnyvale. “I saw time after time how parents were almost helpless dealing with head lice,” she said. “After helping many parents and their children and seeing how happy and appreciative they were, I wanted to start my own clinic!”
Lice Clinics of America – South San Francisco was born.
Jackie found what many have learned, that over-the-counter lice products are now mostly ineffective. Studies have shown that most head lice in the United States and North America are now resistant to pyrethroids—the insecticide used in most drugstore lice products. In addition to now being ineffective, pyrethroids have also been linked to health problems and have been banned for household use in some countries.
Even when they were effective, over-the-counter lice products killed live lice but not eggs (nits). Eggs are the most challenging aspect of lice removal, as they are very difficult to see, and they cling to hair follicles with a powerful glue-like substance. Removing nits by hand requires hours of tedious nit-picking sessions that may take days or weeks.
“We have the only FDA-cleared medical device that is proven to kill live lice and 99.2 percent of eggs,” Jackie said. “It is fast, safe, and effective—using no chemicals and eliminating the need for constant checking and combing. People love it!”
Customers started coming right away. “One of our first customers was a 19-year-old girl with beautiful long hair,” Jackie said. “She came in with her mom, and they said they had tried many over-the-counter and prescription medications, but none worked.”
“Believe it or not, a nurse had told the girl that her only remaining option was to shave her head and wear a wig,” Jackie said. “The poor girl was so desperate when she found us. She left our clinic lice-free. She and her mother were both very happy.”
“I love helping families,” Jackie said. “That it turns out to be a good business is the icing on the cake.”
The FDA-cleared AirAllé medical device is available exclusively at Lice Clinics of America treatment centers. Certified technicians apply the treatment, and results are guaranteed. The device uses carefully controlled warm air to kill lice and eggs through dehydration, a novel approach that has proven extremely effective.
With more than 250 clinics in 20 countries, Lice Clinics of America is the largest and fastest-growing network of lice treatment centers in the world. To learn more or to find a clinic, visit www.liceclinicsofamerica.com.
