NO NITS, ANDS OR BUTS: SALON TAKES CARE OF A LOUSY JOB.

Byline: Andrea Cavanaugh Staff Writer

After she discovered a colony of head lice thriving in her 9-year-old daughter Julie's long, brown hair, Beth Silverman had 11 awkward phone calls to make.

A few days earlier, Julie had hosted her entire Girl Scout troop for a sleepover at the family's Agoura home.

``I had to call every mother in her Girl Scout troop and tell them my daughter had head lice,'' Silverman said. ``Some were more understanding than others.''

Then came the question of how to send the parasites packing. Silverman's pediatrician referred her to Hair Fairies in West Hollywood, a salon that specializes in nit-picking, or removal of lice eggs.

Next month, Hair Fairies will launch a mobile unit to serve the San Fernando Valley, where half of the salon's clients come from already. About 160 children and parents visit Hair Fairies each week - from across the socioeconomic spectrum.

``It's the Beverly Hills problem; it's the Bel-Air problem,'' owner Maria Botham said. ``We're breaking the stigma.''

Many parents turn to professional nit-pickers after learning that drugstore products don't always effectively treat infestations.

Some strains of lice have grown resistant to over-the-counter pesticides designed to treat the problem, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Using a fine-tooth comb to remove nits is an essential step in effectively treating lice, according to the CDC, but many parents say they don't have the experience or the time to comb through their kids' hair.

``I didn't know what to do,'' said Greta Parker of Century City, whose 4-year-old daughter, Liliana, picked up lice at preschool. ``This is a lot of work. It's easier to have someone who knows what they're doing.''

The discovery that the family has been infested by lice is universally creepy, parents said.

``Ewwwwwwww,'' Silverman said. ``I was horrified.''

The commonly held belief that head lice only afflict dirty children is a misconception, said Suzanne Rue, the Los Angeles Unified School District communicable disease-control nurse.

``Actually, they're kind of finicky,'' she said. ``They like clean environments.''

School districts across the nation say they lose valuable attendance money when children miss class because of lice infestations.

LAUSD doesn't track the number of cases among its 750,000 students, but school nurses report that some students can unnecessarily miss as many as 20 days per year from repeated infestations, Rue said.

``The child can come back the very next day if they would just nit-pick,'' Rue said. ``You don't have to cut the kid's hair off.''

Julie and her mother, who also was afflicted with lice, hoped to be nit-free after visiting the salon three times over a 10-day period and using Hair Fairies' line of nontoxic shampoos.

For Silverman, Hair Fairies was the perfect solution to the pesky parasites. The salon's charge of $65 per hour was well worth the money, she said.

``How could I be sure if I got them all?'' she said. ``If you miss just one, you're back where you started.''

She knows what she's talking about. A single nit becomes a louse that can lay up to 100 eggs during its 30-day life span, according to the National Pediculosis Association, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping children nit-free.

Smaller than a sesame seed, lice are spread by hair-to-hair contact or by sharing hats, brushes or other accessories. Lice crawl up and down the hair shaft, but cannot jump or fly.

Parasites that feed on human blood, lice cannot live apart from a host for more than 24 hours.

In addition to nit-picking and using medicated shampoos, experts recommend vacuuming thoroughly to pick up stray lice and nits. Clothes, bed linens and stuffed animals should be washed in hot water and dried on high heat for at least 30 minutes.

Lice don't affect pets, but family members should be checked every couple of days to ensure they haven't been afflicted.

Hair Fairies' three-station salon, decorated with gauzy butterflies and stocked with video games, snacks, children's books and DVDs, is designed with kids' comfort in mind, Botham said. The atmosphere puts both children and parents at ease, she said.

``Their perception before they come in is doom and gloom,'' she said. ``Then their kids want to come back here.''

Hair Fairy Mayra Bautista, 22, doesn't hesitate to tell people what she does for a living. The East Los Angeles resident, who has been working at the salon for nearly a year, said she's proud of the work she does helping families overcome an uncomfortable problem.

``I'm not embarrassed,'' she said. ``I'm not going to lie. People are very amazed.''

Botham, 33, founded Hair Fairies in 1999 after reading about the bugs' resistance to insecticide-based shampoos, she said.

Hair Fairies' mobile nit-picking service in the San Fernando Valley, which will provide in-home service, is part of an expansion that will include Orange County, New York and Miami, Botham said.

The East Coast licensing agreements will make Hair Fairies the only chain in the country that addresses head lice infestation, officially known as pediculosis, Botham said.

``We're the McDonald's of head lice,'' she said.

Andrea Cavanaugh, [phone]

andrea.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Mayra Bautista, 22, goes through a young client's hair, looking for nits, at Hair Fairies in West Hollywood. Next month the salon plans to launch a mobile anti-louse unit in the Valley.

(2 -- color) Mayra Bautista works on 4-year-old client Liliana Parker, a preschooler, at Hair Fairies in West Hollywood.

(3 -- color) The West Hollywood salon offers a line of anti-louse Hair Fairies products for families hoping to nip a nit problem.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer

Box:

HEAD LICE LIFE CYCLE