Tengo Piojos...

After a long day of teaching I was FINALLY able to take a quick shower. What I thought was going to be my usual night time routine lead to a 3 day adventure...

As I washed my hair, two small bugs ended up in my hand. Panicked, I quickly finished rinsing off so I could google what lice looked like. To my horror, it was LICE!! I frantically searched the internet for ways to kill lice quickly, and Vaseline was one of the top suggestions. By this time, it was midnight, so not thinking and worried that I wouldn't have access to proper supplies, I put HALF a tub of VASELINE in my HAIR! I covered it with a trash bag and tried to go to sleep.

*note what my shirt says...little did I know when I picked it out as my bedtime shirt*

I woke up the next morning expecting that I would have to stay home but was allowed to attend the scheduled events of the day. I put my hair in a slicked-back bun and proceeded to attend a birthday party, church, and go out to lunch (we had no food at the house). While out, my Guatemalan roommate helped me get lice shampoo and a comb because lice are not uncommon here. Once home, I spent an hour combing out a massive amount of Vaseline and the disgusting bugs that were living on my head. My hair stuck up straight! With a massive amount of Vaseline still in my hair, my other roommate scrubbed my head with dish soap and a bar of laundry detergent (this stuff is no joke) in the shower. My hair still lathered in Vaseline, I had a lot of questions for myself. Mainly how I thought that this would somehow be a GOOD IDEA?! We decided to stop trying the Vaseline and put the lice shampoo in my hair. After 20 minutes of it sitting, she combed through my hair for another hour. Some lice came out but it was mainly heaps of Vaseline. Regretting everything, I showered, did several rounds of body soap, dried off, and applied a second round of lice shampoo. After 30 minutes of it sitting, I combed through my hair again and again. An hour more of combing, my roommate and I headed to go get dinner. After dinner, she combed through my hair one last time and I showered, again using body soap in my hair.

On day 3, we had a full day of work, so we didn't get to the lice problem until that night. Praise God for my Guatemalan roommate because she has dealt with lice her whole life, so she knew exactly how to help. After dinner, she picked through my hair, just like a mama monkey would do to her babies. She had to go through all the hairs on my head for the lice eggs that stick to hair follicles. Luckily, by this point, there were no more living lice on my head.

After she finished picking through my hair, we did a quick run to the store to buy Dawn dish soap and the supplies to make Rice Krispies. Once we returned to the house, we treated ourselves to Rice Krispies and then got to work. I lathered my hair with Dawn dish soap and let it sit for about 20 minutes. We then boiled water to mix with cold water so that we could have warm water. I hung upside down in the hammock as my hair got intensely scrubbed. After 2 washes with Dawn dish soap, 1 wash with shampoo, and more lice egg picking, my hair began to feel normal again! My hair and scalp, now badly damaged, we applied loads of conditioner and let it sit for 10 minutes. After showering, I went to bed.

Now that we had spent 3 days and far too many hours working on my hair, it got checked one more time for lice and I was officially FREE! I felt like a new woman! I was no longer a disgusting street dog! Now, I am working on repairing my hair using olive oil, rosemary, and aloe vera. I desired a scalp massage and exfoliation, so I guess God answered my prayer in the weirdest way possible. I guess this is your reminder that God hears and answers prayers, so be careful what you pray for...and be specific!

Blessings in Christ Jesus | Bendiciones en Cristo Jesús,

Harper Foriest