Lice treatment clinicians

Who We Are – A Brief History

Lice Clinics of America’s secret weapon in the battle against lice is our AirAllé® device.

It uses heated air, not toxic chemicals, to dehydrate head lice. The concept of treating head lice with just heated air originated in the laboratory of Dr. Dale Clayton at the University of Utah, where he is a professor in the Department of Biology.

The Discovery

While doing research on the biology of birds and their feather lice in 1996, Dr. Clayton discovered that, due to Utah’s arid climate, it was difficult to keep lice cultures alive. Around this same time, his own elementary school aged children contracted head lice that appeared to be resistant to chemical shampoos. He wanted a more effective method of getting rid of lice, one that used dry, warm air. Ultimately, he found that a combination of heat and considerable airflow is required to desiccate the lice. However, he also discovered conventional blow driers do not work well because they tend to mat the hair (which protects the lice) and also have wide temperature swings that may be too cool to kill lice or dangerously hot on the scalp.

Dr. Clayton head lice treatment

Image Source: Newswise

After years of development and experimentation, Dr. Clayton’s lab created a custom-engineered prototype they dubbed the “LouseBuster.” The results of this work were published in 2006 in the journal Pediatrics. This paper revealed the success of the LouseBuster device for killing head lice and their eggs. An accompanying press release by the University of Utah got attention worldwide, leading to international interest in this device, and the critical need for it.

Larada Sciences was formed in 2006 to take this innovative technology to market. In 2014 Larada Sciences created the Lice Clinics of America brand.

As previously seen on Lice Clinics of America