A hairdresser has shared a clip of her client's severe nit infestation and claims the teen had 'more lice than strands of hair'.
Lice technician Rachel Maroun, 21, posted the video of the 13-year-old's locks completely covered in lice to her stunned 1.7million followers on TikTok.
Rachel from Sydney, Australia, said when she arrived to the appointment she was shocked by just how severe the case was.
In the video Rachel film's her clients hair and says "we have a massive treatment day".
As she does, she zooms in on her scalp, showing the mass of lice scurrying next to their eggs.
Rachel said in some cases she will shave her client's head as it's a sure-fire way of getting rid of the fleas.
But on this occasion she did her best to save teen girl's long locks if possible.
She says: “As you can see these lice are just having an absolute rave in her hair, they have just completely taken control.
“I think there were more lice than strands of hair on her head.
“There was no more space in her hair so they were crawling onto her face and drinking blood out of her face.”
The video shows the lice drop from her hair root down onto the girl's clothes and as they scurry across her face and body.
Rachel applauds the client's calmness as she sits quietly and plays on her phone while the technician is busy scooping out "massive wads" of lice - before popping them between her nail to dispatch them.
After three appointments, taking a total of eight hours, the child was lice free.
Rachel made a point of clarifying that the girl's case was not to do with neglect, but that she had special needs and couldn't "communicate that she had lice until much later".
The post soon went viral after racking over 8million likes and being viewed 74 million times.
One person commented: “Omg how can you let it get this bad tho.” [sic]
“My head is itchy,” another user said.
Someone else said: “Please the fact that she’s just sitting there feeling them all crawl of her is beyond me.”
“Oh nah we gotta go bald,” added another user. [sic]
One person said: “Whatever you get paid, it’s not enough.”
“How so calm! The lice is running around her head!” added another viewer.
Someone else commented: “Christ this poor girl her entire head is alive with them. Glad u were able to help her.” [sic]
“It’s really overwhelming because obviously I am sympathetic towards the poor child that is in that situation,” Rachel said.
“But it’s the prime thing that motivates me to do a good job because I know it means I can make a difference.
“I had a lot of pressure for that case. I understand that lockdown really limited the family’s ability to seek professional help.
“They were dealing with a case of super lice and the client wouldn’t let her parents do her hair due to over-stimulation, so they left it all up to me.
“It’s pretty rare to see such severe cases but when it does happen it’s always a shock. I couldn’t believe someone could’ve had them for that long and managed to be okay with it.”
The youngster couldn't stop smiling and touching her hair after the appointment, Rachel said, adding that she called being lice-free an "indescribable relief".
She said: “Being able to see her scalp was a milestone moment but seeing her long hair completely clear was what made the process so worth it.”
