First, Don't worry! Just because your child has head lice does not mean that your family is "dirty". In fact, just the opposite is true. Head Lice seek out a clean place to live and lay their eggs.

Second, You don't have to cut off your childs hair. There are many ways to kill the lice and remove the nits without shaving the hair off. Don't let a Dr. or a school nurse talk you into doing that.

Third, be careful what you do use on your childs head. Many of the prescription and over the counter products that are available can cause a lot of harm to your child if used improperly. Lindane in fact is banned in California as well as many other countries because of its link to cancer.

Chemical treatments for head lice contain potent pesticides and insecticides known as pediculicides. These pediculicides have been known to cause immuno suppression, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, circulatory collapse behavioral changes, neuromuscular damage, chronic skin eruptions, liver damage, asthma, respiratory failure, stillbirths, birth defects, cancer and even death.

Here is an article about a class action lawsuit agains Nix, Rid, Clear and A-200.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/1999/04/04/SC24391.DTL&type=printable%20TARGET=

So, enough about what not to use, here is a product that I highly recommend that you do use. Ginesis has created a product called NitFree Lice Infestation Removal Kit. It is a non-toxic, pesticide free product that eliminates both the lice and their eggs. It is a mousse shampoo that is very easy to use. It comes with a plastic nit comb but I recommend buying a stainless steel comb that can be boiled and re-used. Ginesis also makes the NitFree Terminator Comb that is, in my opinion, the best on the market. To help you find the nits, I recommend a product called Neon Nits. You spray this product on the hair, let it dry and then use a normal brush to brush the pink color out of the hair. All of the pink that is left behind is attached to the nits making it much easier for you to find and remove them with a Nit comb. To prevent the lice from returning, use a shampoo that has peppermint extract in it. Again, Ginesis makes a Natural Shampoo that has the peppermint extract as one of the ingredients.

All of these products can be found at http://www.licescabiesandbedbugs.com

In fact, this company offers a Lice Kit which contains all of these products bundled together. The kit comes with 2 bottles of NitFree Lice Infestation Removal Kit, 1 bottle of Neon Nits, 1 NitFree Terminator Comb and 1 8oz bottle of shampoo for only $54.99. This can be found at http://www.licescabiesandbedbugs.com/Head-Lice-Body-Lice-and-Pubic-Lice-Products-Lice-Nits-and-Head-Louse-Treatments/Head-Lice-Body-Lice-and-Pubic-Lice-Products-Lice-Nits-and-Head-Louse-Treatments.asp

Again, Don't worry, your not the first parent to deal with this problem. Take your time and find the right products to help you and you will do just fine.